The Sweepstakes Experiment

I have just returned from a whirlwind weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC and am sitting back reflecting all that has transpired in the last two days. It was education, vacation, frustration, elation, and exhaustion; all at the same time!

First, the Myth: I've always had this idea that contesting (or operating in general) is best when I am on the receiving end of a run where stations are falling over themselves to work ME! I hope I'm not the only one! Anyway, since I don't have wheelbarrows full of money to spend on joining an exotic dxpedition, I thought (and now here's the myth) that all one had to do is travel to a “rare” sweepstakes location here is the good old USA and that would satisfy the appetite for that elusive pileup. After all, how many times have I been one of those mediocre signals in a pile seeking Northern Territories, Idaho, North Dakota, or Rhode Island for that final section in Sweepstakes? Lots of times.

The Twisted Logic: I did some research and looked at past results from Sweepstakes in years gone by. Twenty-Eight logs were submitted last year from North Carolina contesters. Seventy-three had participated from Virginia. There were only seven from Delaware, the state with the fewest hams. Then I checked South Carolina. Seven. Huh? Only seven? I guess there aren't many contesters in the state to our south. I have always had trouble getting SC section in the past; maybe my pileup was there?

Darn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead: OK, we're going to South Carolina for Sweepstakes Phone. Where can I get an antenna high in the air and be fairly comfortable (I didn't want to operate from a picnic table in a public park, hi!) I thought putting a small antenna on the balcony of a top floor room in high rise hotel. Combine that with the ocean, just the ticket! Myrtle Beach is that kind of place, and the XYL won't object to going there! Perfect plan. After all, height is the most important aspect in an antenna and even a small compromise antenna would be awesome on the 18^th floor! Not!

The Reality: I knew the antenna had to be small. A lot of good things have been said about the W3FF Buddipole, so I built one and tested it. I acquired a Hamstick for 75 along the way and all was set. Both are good all purpose antennas, and I got good reports from casually operating with them. But they are severely compromised in the efficiency department simply because their small size. This didn't matter, I thought, after all height and location (See Twisted Logic above) was the great equalizer! The result? I had a signal that was strong enough to successfully interfere with my competition and make the station I was calling ask for a repeat of the other guy. I could not sustain a run for any length of time because shifting propagation caused QRM to “bump” me. I received strong stations that sometimes simply didn't answer me even with no one else calling them. Each and every QSO (with some exceptions) was an exercise of great effort. Long CQ's went with no answer. When I finely would work one, they would say, gratefully, “Thanks for SC, needed that one last year, you're my third one, glad to see you guys out this year.” Urrrrgh! That was just great! I was getting the revelation on my Twisted Logic. To add insult to injury, I too needed SC section for my score. I found one who was running a big pileup, massive pileup, MY PILEUP, a pileup I was never able to break into. I missed only 9 sections, SC was one of them.

The Glass is Half Full: The Poindexter Hotel was right on the ocean and had some good quality time with my XYL at sunrise when there were no signals on any band. She was a real trooper, taking care of my creature comforts and pretending not to be disappointed at getting a room with the balcony facing the street (west) and not one facing the ocean. She also said it was no problem getting the $45 room, as the $117 room was much more than we needed. Almost every one of the 425 guys (and a few gals) I worked expressed gladness, relief and great appreciation for working SC. Some, you could just tell in their voice, others expressed it to me, and a few were even beside themselves with joy. It was fun being on the receiving end of all that. I had two brief runs (less than an hour) on 15 meters; I may have been spotted once. I'm guessing the multiplier hunters from the big stations were working the other SC stations I mentioned. Bottom line, I got 60,064 points, 71 sections, and worked the entire allotted 24 hours (out of 30). If there were sweep credits for receiving, I had a “receive” sweep, just couldn't break the piles for a Q.

Post Mortem: I've had a better score working casually from home in North Carolina where NC Q's are a dime a dozen. What I have learned from this experience is that contests are brutal. Compromise antennas that, under ordinary circumstances, are entirely satisfactory don't bode well in contests. No height or seemingly “rare” location will make up for this deficiency. And the lower the frequency, the worst this is. If ten meters had been open, maybe I would have had a different result. The semi-rare stations running good pileups (MS, WY, ND, MB) all had BOOMING signals. Twice, when I worked a Q I got the comment, “nice signal” how did that happen? Most of the time I would get beat out by a station, then, as I was listening waiting my turn, the running station would tell that caller, “please repeat all, I can barely copy you!?!” Sheesh, was my signal that weak? Running stations had good signals, period. Signal and technique were really the most important aspects of success; location was only a minor enhancement in contesting, not the great equalizer I had hoped. I have a new respect to the QRP contesters, it must take a lot of patience. That is what I learned.