Working N8S -- 1 in 100,000 QSOs

DX'ing at the 5-watt level can be challenging in the best of times. But when a new comes on the air it's hard to avoid the DX bug. The Swains Island DXpedition offered one of those times where even the little pistols might have a shot at a rare entity. Having missed a Peter I Island QSO by my own bungling, I wasn't sure my station or I was up to the task. Add the progress of the current solar cycle and it became apparent there was a good chance this wasn't going to happen at NU4B.

To be in the QRP DXing game you have to be ever optimistic. The first days of the DXpedition were out. Once this "most wanted country" got on the air the bands were going to be a zoo for a while. Work was heavy also, so my attention could not be on ham radio. If I were to ever have a shot, it would come at the end of the operation.

As the final Wednesday came I became ill with a cold/virus going around. Between work and sneezing, I was not a happy camper and in no mood to get on the air. The next evening my QRP DX buddy, NV4G, called and said he worked N8S both on 15 and 17 meters. Wow, a great tip. I turned on the rig and unbelievably I could barely here N8S on any band. -- Certainly not enough to make a QSO. I think the term "ESP" was appropriate in describing what I heard. How did my buddy work these guys -- on two bands?

One important thing to note is that we essentially have the same set up. Both of us were using an ICOM 703 at 5 watts out and a Carolina Windom Short 80 antenna. My antenna was actually much higher in the air. The only difference was the orientation on the antennas. My buddy's was oriented in a direction that put KH8/S broadside to his antenna. Mine was 90 degrees off. The results were startling. Not only could I not make a QSO, I couldn't here much of anything to make a QSO with. With the final weekend approaching things were not looking good.

My next thought was to try 40 and 30. Like a trooper I got up in the middle of the night, miserable with a cold, only to find both bands with unworkable conditions. (Most of these unworkable conditions were man made.) With time running out, this really looked like another Peter I Island for me. Just thoughts of what might have been.

As Friday evening rolled around the solar flux sank even lower. However, N8S was coming in on 17. I could actually hear the exchanges. I knew this was my chance. N8S was at the point of calling CQ many times to raise contacts. I tried and tried and I could not get Swains to hear me. To add more insult I heard QRP station after QRP station work into N8S. When I called nothing - not even a "?". They had no idea I was there.

As my mood went from elation to depression (compounded by the fact that my buddy worked them not once but twice) I was about to give it up. It was at that time I thought about the Butternut HF5B sitting on the roof. I rarely use the antenna, since I find the windom works so well. I hadn't tuned it up in a few years. It survived heavy windstorms. In fact in one storm the wind picked up the patio umbrella, pulled it up over the house, and sliced one of the antenna guy wires causing the antenna to collapse. I did nothing to it but replace the rotator and raise it back up really to get it out of the way. On 17 meters it's nothing more than a dipole anyway -- but it is rotateable, hmm.

I had recently reconfigured my shack and took the rotator box out since I wasn't using it. Then panic set in. What did I do with the rotator control box? I found everything but the rotator control cable. Finally after digging through a box of cables I found it. After everything was hooked up, I swung the antenna around and yesssssssss -- N8S's signal picked up dramatically. After a few minutes trying to find out where they were listening, I gave it a shot and that sweet sound of code came back -- NU? Well that was certainly an improvement, but I was hoping for a little more. A few exchanges later the QSO was complete. I was in the log and I bet the only ham to get a 559 (I'm sure a generous report) as a signal report.

Many DXers think us QRPers are a bit crazy, but the fun is in the challenge. You win some and lose some. In this case, as with the majority of rare activations, the N8S ops were top notch. And I thank the op I worked for hanging in there. That's how I worked Swains, how about you?

In the meantime, as soon as the weather clears, I think I might tune up that HF5B -- just in case.

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