Low-power multi-single station
What prompted OM0A to participate in the WPX contest in the Multi-single category? And how did we fare?
The idea popped into our heads when Oliver, VK8DX (MW0JRX, OM0ARX), let us know he’d be in Slovakia at the end of March. Oliver is an experienced contest operator who has traveled extensively around the world and was recently part of the 4W6A pile-up frenzy. So we put our heads together and came up with the idea of participating in the MS category.
At the same time, preparations were underway for the new OM4C team, which included several operators who used to go to the Tatra Mountains. However, Rado OM0AMR expressed a desire to join OM0A, which we welcomed.
Out of laziness—what else?—I suggested using the existing remote station, with the idea that we’d connect to it directly via a LAN cable from the client computer, which would essentially make it not remote. Oliver offered his Elecraft equipment: a K3 transceiver, a P3 panadapter, and a KPA500 power amplifier.
Elecraft line
The Tatra Mountains are harsh, and a few weeks before the contest, the wind damaged the Moxon tribander that I normally use. On top of that, the winter was severe and there was a lot of snow everywhere, which made repairing it seem hopeless. Rado selflessly offered to finish the spiderbeam he had been working on for the 20m–15m–10m bands. We welcomed this opportunity, as we’d heard good things about the antenna.
However, just as winter had come, it went away, and together with a group of friends, I managed to repair the Moxon in the week leading up to the WPX contest. In addition, I set up a tried-and-true beverage antenna.
On Thursday, Oliver’s equipment arrived first, followed by its owner. After greeting him, we assembled the scaffolding and the second mast. In the evening, we picked up Rado, who was bringing a lot of equipment. However, after setting up the workstations, we were surprised by a problem with the K3. The panadapter wasn’t displaying any signals. Since the panadapter was responding, we figured the fault was in the transceiver. After taking it apart, we found and fixed one issue, but it wasn’t the right one. Oliver called Elecraft support, where they gave us an excellent tip, and within a few minutes everything was working again. Meanwhile, Rado was setting up the Spiderbeam.
Setting up the Spiderbeam
On Friday morning, we assembled the Spiderbeam. Since Rado had prepared it well, it wasn’t difficult. We tested the tuning with an analyzer, but the antenna was tuned too low. After shortening the elements as needed, it was perfect. We mounted the antenna on the rotator and hoisted it up. Even with just the three of us, it went relatively smoothly.
The weather was pleasant—almost like a Tatra March day. We bought some sausages, grilled them over the fire, and devoured them. Then we just waited for the contest to start and relaxed.
Oliver kicked off the contest on 80m, where he generated a decent pile-up. We took turns in 4-hour shifts; the second station was mainly in operation during the day. Since we were new to multi-single operations, it took us a while to coordinate the operation of both stations. However, since we were in the same room, the operator at the second workstation would raise his hand, and the main operator would nod in agreement and wait. Communication via N1MM also worked well. To stay within the allowed frequency changes, a system emerged where the second workstation would find several stations and work them all at once in a single frequency change within a few minutes.
Second workstation
It worked well; only once did Rado and Oliver “lock me into” a single band. The first thousand contacts went smoothly, but then it became apparent that we lacked power (200 to 500W depending on the band and operating station). It was hard to generate a pile-up on a call, so most contacts were search-and-pounce. It was a pleasure to make a QSO with my friend Tim, M0URX, and later with Chris, G1VDP. TNX!
On Sunday night, we focused more on the 40-meter band. Six-point contacts are a significant contribution to the overall result, so we worked hard on them. It’s remarkable how the band spilled over into unauthorized frequency ranges. Finding EU stations above 7200 kHz wasn’t unusual. Don’t those people have the proper licenses?
Sunday’s propagation conditions on the higher bands were definitely better than Saturday’s. We used the 10-meter band primarily as a multiplier station, but on the 15-meter and 20-meter bands, we also managed to make the necessary contacts to North America. From here, it’s too difficult to transmit across the Tatra Mountains.
During the contest
Oliver, who took over for Rado, wrapped up the contest. At the end, the monitor showed 2,043 QSOs and just under 3.5 million points.
In the evening, the wind picked up considerably, which slightly damaged the Spiderbeam (one section of the boom was pushed in, causing the structure to loosen). On Monday, in cooler but still pleasant weather, we packed up the antenna and the beverage antenna and soon headed home. This marked the end of our multi-single attempt.
Our thanks go to everyone who picked up our signal and called us. It was a pleasure for us to work with ham radio operators from all over the world. GL!
You can view more photos in the photo gallery.