Invitation to CQ WW SSB contest bolo lákavé: „príď a o ostatné sa nestaraj“. Háčik bol v tom, že nemám rád výšky (slabé slovo) a dopraviť sa na sever Anglicka iným spôsobom ako letecky je poriadny problém. TNX, radšej nie…
However, several other favorable factors made me nod in the summer. Apart from Oliver MW3SDO, I did not know any of the team members personally. They asked me to solve the problem mutual interference in the multi-multi category, which they have had problems with in the past. Oliver was tasked with running the logs and the PC network.
You will read in the article
Road Slovakia – England
The Railways of the Slovak Republic tried to protect me from the flight. The express had a decent delay, but somehow I managed to check-in. The Boeing 737-700 Sky Europe took off effectively, we said goodbye to Bratislava and, after two hours of a very pleasant flight, good evening to Manchester. A smiling host - Oliver MW3SDO - was waiting for me there.
Wales
Wales is a proud country. It is proud of its people, history and language. The language in particular breathes antiquity. Slovaks are appreciated by the locals for the "ch", which the English can't pronounce, HI. Thank you is said "diolch". Names and many inscriptions are bilingual - English and Welsh.
A large part of the country is made up of fields and pastures. The houses are very nice, mostly brick and stone. However, they are far from cheap. The sea can be felt especially in the temperature, in some areas snowflakes fall only once every few years. You drive on the left and very correctly, but orientation is sometimes very difficult. Around the farms there are dense high thorn fences and paths with a width of two motorbikes. The main roads are perfect.
Ours QTH was located on the westernmost tip of Wales on a farm By MW0RLJ above the town of Fishguard. Hats off to Rob, moving in a bunch of radio amateurs for the weekend requires strong nerves and an infinite amount of willingness.
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Členovia MW5W a príprava na contest
While the first team members (Rob and G1VDP Chris, M3SDE Tim, MW0JZE Ant and Charles M0OXO) had been preparing workplaces and antennas for several days, we only managed to reach Rob shortly after midnight from Thursday to Friday. Thanks for the GPS, because otherwise we would probably still be looking for it today.
In the morning we could enjoy the antennas that were already prepared: 4el. Yagi on 20m, lambda/4 vertical with raised radials on 40m and vertical on 80m also with raised radials. In addition, a 10m yagi was assembled and a mast for a 15m yagi was prepared.
While most were assembling antennas outside, Oliver was preparing the computers and N1MM diary. The webcam, which was not in the end, was annoying.
The antenna on 160m, which was not tested, took a lot of time. MFJ-259 proved to be an excellent helper. In the early evening, other operators arrived - M0KCM Ian, M3POV Neil and MW0CRI Dai. The 10m yagi was the last to be prepared. For a long time we searched for the cause of the evil PSV, then the rotator went on strike.
The four of us went shopping in Fishguard and...we got lost. The tangle of farm paths above the city has taken its toll on the darkness. You try all the options at the intersection and find out that it is not the right intersection because no one remembers the tree that is around the corner. The GSM worked erratically, so we returned only after dark.
The guys were still fighting with the rotator for the 10m antenna - but already in the rain. They successfully managed the fight and everything was ready.
Three-two-one: start!
We agreed on rotations after two hours. Two hours on one band, two on another band, two rest and then again. And sometimes even six hours straight. As luck would have it, I always drew bands that were fully open at that time. For starters, 40m....
The beginning caught me not quite ready. While I was watching in N1MM how the connections were increasing from the other bands, I was tuning and calling the connections, because there was no room for a challenge. FT-2000 however, it has a lot of options, and after setting the filters to "almost CW width", there was room to prompt a pile-up he started running.
contest je dobrou príležitosťou porovnať zariadenia. Yaesu FT-2000 (80m, 40m and 20m) is an excellent facility. A joy to work with. FT-1000MP Mark-V (10m) was a good choice for this band. At times when conditions were deteriorating and one station called every five minutes, a second receiver for scanning the band was a good helper. Icom IC-756ProIII (160m) wasn't bad, but it wasn't that. The spectroscope is fine on a band that is more or less empty. Then it allows to register a new signal. But what about a band that is buzzing with activity? Neither DSP nothing much. She completed the lineup FT-920 (15m) and she didn't appeal to much either. A second RX and better filters would be useful here.
Coincidentally, I got the bands that were always open. I spent the most time on 40m and 15m. The pile-ups were beautiful but exhausting. However, most of the stations lived up to the idea of good counter stations that are a joy to work with. Difficulties were mainly caused by the big guns, who out of nowhere launched a challenge on the frequency, obviously with the aim of driving us away. Even though we had a final stage for five bands, stations with four times more power and larger antennas didn't worry too much about it and played as hard as they could.
I tried to have an attractive operation using the basics of five languages (English, German, Slovak, Polish and Spanish). It's challenging, but effective. Many OK/OM stations we worked with were surprised how well we know Slovak, hi.
Mr. Murphy also visited us when he damaged the 80m antenna in a night storm. The network occasionally crashed, but overall it worked. Oliver also made several interventions during the race. During my shift at 160m, the computer also froze in the pile-up TCVR. At the end of the race, the 160m ATU also retired. The antenna swayed in the wind and thus changed the impedance.
Oliver took me to see it on Sunday afternoon Stumble Head Lighthouse – lighthouse. Have a nice trip!
As the end approaches, there are fewer of us left. The score first jumped over 4 million points and then over 5,000 QSO. The forces were running out, as there was no one to replace. After more than seven hours at 40m and 20m in a row, when the hinges on the sled were already creaking at "mexico whiskey five whiskey", the end came for us and Oliver (QRL). Rob, Tim, Charles, Chris, Ant stayed until the end of CQ WW. At the end there are 5155 QSOs and over 4,300,000 points.
Čo na záver? Mal som možnosť zúčastniť sa prvého veľkého sq contestu v perfektnom tíme z výborného QTH. Je možné želať si viac?
QSL ticket MW5W
QSL tickets are ready. Team M3SDE offers for OK/OM stations the possibility to get a QSL ticket in a simpler way - write him an email at m3sde@btopenworld.com with all the details and you will receive the QSL via the bureau.
I would like to thank Oliver MW3SDO with YL Lucka, who I spent a wonderful week with, and the MW5W people - Rob, Chris, Ant, Charles, Tim, Ian, Neil, Dai and others who helped make MW5W a success. At the same time, many OK and OM stations that called. Thank you all!