Call: WI9WI
Operator(s): WI9WI WI9WI WI9WI 
Station: WI9WI

Added: 03/Dec/2007
Contest: ARRL 160-METER CONTEST
Class: SINGLE OP LP
QTH: WI
Operating time: 4

Summary: 
Total:  QSOs = 165  Sections = 48  Countries = 1  
Total Score = 16,170
Club: 

Soapbox: 

I did this one from my home in
Madison. I don't have a permanent 160
antenna here. Last year I rigged up a
sort of inverted U with 130 ft of
wire, about 25 ft vertical, 90
horizontal, 10 ft droop,  fed against
my chain link fence. It loaded but
barely, I was able to get 35 watts or
so into it through a tuner.
Was able
to work some stuff, but it was useless
on recieve, very noisy, so I did
almost all my listening on my
tribander.

This year I built a 180 ft
dipole, center fed with 450 ohm ladder
line, via a 4:1 balun to the tuner.
The center was about 25 ft, with 90 ft
to the tree in the front of the house,
and under the cover of darkness I
strung the other 90 ft over my side
fence, over the neighbor's yard, and
to a small tree behind their lot. It
loaded OK throught the tuner, and I
was able to get almost 100 watts into
it, though I had to retune every 10
kHz or so. I had S-8 noise Friday
nite, and S-6 Saturday, but with 20 dB
attenuation in the front end of my 765
I was able to hear some of the weaker
signals. All in all much better than
last years antenna.

It worked pretty
good out to 800-1000 miles as you
would expect. I heard few 6s and only
worked 1, K6XX. I heard no WA
stations. Only DX heard was PJ2T, and
KV4FZ. I actually worked Jeff K8ND at
PJ2T...great op. Unfortunately I
didn't spend as much time as I would
have liked in this one. Went to the
Wisconsin-
St. Cloud hockey game
Friday nite, and spent a lot of time
digging my daughter's car out of the
ice/slush/snow down the street
Saturday about 2300 local. Lots of
midwest QSOs which was what I really
wanted. Lots of SMC, MWA QSOs.

Thanks
to all 
73 
Jim