Hi, all.
Well, this week-end, I made my first ever genuine effort to participate in
the ARRL November Sweepstakes CW contest. Since I wasn't totally
comfortable with the lengthy contest exchange, my effort was strictly S and
P.
After 16 hours and three minutes of operating time, I wound up with a total
of 320 QSO's. I operated on 10 through 80 meters. I got all but six ARRL
sections in the U.S. I missed VT, NLI, NNY, SNJ, WY, and ND. I missed 5
Canadian sections which are more challenging now because of the new Ontario
sections.
Doing this contest also allowed me to work extensively with the N3FJP
Sweepstakes logging contest software in the new C # format, and I'm happy to
report that there have been some major improvements over the older versions.
First, the software is much easier to install than previously was the case,
and the Wave files are now included in the initial installation. Second, I
noticed a much better response from the dupe Wave file when it came to
announcing potential duplicate contacts. Finally, and this is a real
important thing for me: I no longer have the problem of having to type the
first letter in an entry field several times before it takes. With the new
C# rewrites, what you type immediately goes into the entry fields, with no
need to repeat key strokes.
So, all and all, I consider this contest outing a success. My goal for next
year is to become comfortable enough with the contest exchange so that I can
do some serious C Q ing, and then really wrack up the points.
Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
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