Notes from the SP DX contest

I never use a fixed power, but adjust my power from QSO to QSO.
Before I answer the CQ, I adjust my power to:  500 mW,  1 W, 2.5 watts or 5 watts.
If the signal is very strong, I use the S-meter to determine the power that I wil use.

For example: a signal of:  S⁺ + 10 dB, I can answer with 50 mW,
To make such a low power I use an attenuator of 10 dB.

To enter the call or write down  the call and to set the power at the same time, is impossible,
So I am always too late for the first opportunity to answer.
And sometimes, I even switch to the wrong setting, which can be to low or to high. hi

Using the lowest possible power is great fun, but can also be a nerve wracking enterprise.

Interesting Experiences      Wow's and Woo's from my handwritten notes, made during the SP DX 2014
* In the QSO with SP8HW I realized that listening is very important.
    When I started to answer a CQ, I heard an other station answering, in the background.
    When he stopped, I gave my call twice, in the clear and made the QSO with 500 mW.
* I worked 3Z50AYP in a hurry. I was so excited, that I used 500 mW instead of a lower power.
    After the QSO it was quiet on the frequency. But a dupe will be impossible. ;-(
* SP6EIY can not hear me with 500 mW and 1 W. Maybe later.
* I seized the opportunity to switch back to 500 mW, while waiting  for a very loud station.
    It's important to immediately adjust to 500 mW, after a QSO with 1 W or 5 W.
* I had to push to make a QSO with SP2GJV with just 50 mW, which is quite remarkable.
    There was a lot of QRM in the background.
* Station after station, visited SP3FYX.
    I had to have a lot of patience, not to increase the power to 5 watts.
    And finaly, to use just 500 mW.
* I love chirpping stations. I work SP7.... with 5W.
* Worked SP9YFF with 500 mW, before I got the call complete.
    I realized that . . . FF was a new one.
* After the QSO with SN8N, I realize that I should have used 50 mW instead of 500 mW.
    The signal was earsplitting loud. S⁺⁺
* One station after the other goes in to the log. It 's a mix of 500 mW and 5 W.
* It's very busy. I have to look for stations that are calling CQ with no takers.
* SP6ZDA At the last moment, I decide to switch in the 10 dB attenuator.
    Resulting in a QSO in the clear, with just 50 mW.
* Now I recognize new stations by the last letters of the call.
* 3Z8Z fades. I need 5 W.
* The numbers of my computer program and the Morse Machine differ.
    I correct the Morse Machine.
* SP9MZS Earsplitting signal. But the setting is wrong, so 500 mW instead of 50 mW.
    Next time better.

    I could make all these fine QSO's, thanks to all the fine operators in the from Poland.

SP DX contest

Poland - Voivodeships

My objectives
As a milliwatt enthusiast I tried:
* to make as many QSO's with the
   lowest possible power
* to make as many 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's as
   possible
* to work as many different prefixes as possible for the
   BQC- Marathon.

1000 MPW
The distance to many of Voivodeships is more than
500 miles  from my QTH in JO22na.
Only the distance to the Voivodeships Z, B, D and
a part of W, is less than 500 miles.
With a power of 500 mW, and a distance of more than 500 miles,
these QSO's will be, more than 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's.

Crippled antenna
This year I did not expect much of my Inverted Vee.
Last year the top broke and I fixed the antenna temporarily.
The top is now just 2 meters above the roof.
And recently I found out, that the 300 ohm ribbon is damaged, so only one wire is still connected
But the antenna worked better than I expected.
Click here to read about the state of the antenna.

1000 Miles per Watt
The number in red, show the QSO's with more than 1000 Miles per Watt.

Congratulations! Your log was accepted!

I just sent in the Cabrillo log for the SP DX contest and the CQMM DX contest.
Just in time, because I had almost forgot.
Often I leave the shack after the contest, when the contest ends in the afternoon.
Sometime I spent some time on the log in the same evening.
But often I forget the contest at all, until the next weekend.

After the contests I had little time to send in the Cabrillo files.
But today I luckily remembered.

Category
The most important part of the Cabrillo file is the Category.
Wrong category, no award.

Soapbox
I always spent much time on the Soapbox comments.
It's great fun to mention in the Soapbox, a single QSO that was made with very low power,
for example 10 milliwatts, using an attenuator.
Or the number of QSO's made with more than 1000 Miles per Watt.
Or a QSO that I made with South America, during the CQMM DX with just 2.5 W
But this can take quite some time to calculate the Miles per Watt and to write about it.

75 Characters
The Cabrillo file of the SP DX was immediately accepted.
The Cabrillo file for the CQMM DX was rejected at first.
The Soapbox line which are restricted to 75 characters in a line, so they were tooo long. hi.

Notes on paper
In the SP DX contests I made notes on paper during the contest.
I had great fun with QRP and QRPp in both contests.
So I wanted to catch these special moments, that I experienced,
while using the lowest possible power in these contest QSO's.      (Click to See the Notes)