I saw Chip's comments on the success he had over the weekend with the
little rig. I can't top his record! But I did want to just mention
that I, too, enjoyed contesting last weekend with the '817.
Over a period of a little better than 10 hours, I made 60 DX (only)
contacts. All but 4 or 5 were in Europe and the remaining few were in
the Pacific (JA & VK) and South America. Three or four of the
contacts were on 10 meters or 15 meters. All the others were on 20
meters. All contacts were with a (15 ft high) 20 meter dipole and no
tuner.
I was using my new CW filter which UPS delivered only a couple of
hours before the contest began! It sure does help - especially when
coupled with the movable bandpass.
I made one contact at the end with the 1000mp just to confirm the
fact that it is easier with the "big rig". It is! But there's no
denying the special kind of fun that comes with doing it with the
little fellow.
I really appreciate how hard several of the guys worked in "breaking
their rhythm" to allow the multiple repeats it occasionally took to
make the contact. I never mentioned in any contact that the rig was
QRP. Thanks again guys!
