FYBO 99


After reading much discussion about the "Freeze Your B--- Off" (links to official FYBO site) contest on the QRP-L e-mail reflector, I decided that I needed more contacts and so I started preliminary planning. There wasn't much! I did collect the equipment I needed and took it outside the night before the contest. I hooked it all up, and CQed around for awhile, but I didn't get anyone. Most of my other CQ's had been answered quickly, but not these! I packed everything except the headphones, flashlight and notebook into an army surplus ammo box. It fit nicely, but the gel cell is way to big and heavy! :-)

I didn't go out in the morning, because the contest didn't start until 9:00 AM local time, and I had to go "stuff" the Cincinnati Enquirer to raise money for a class trip to Washington, DC. I got home at about 4:00 PM, and I got my KPC-3 TNC connected to the computer, as I had only opened the box that morning. I started operating FYBO at about 6:00 PM and breaked for dinner as well as to check the temperature via a WX APRS station located close by.

I was setup in the back yard under my dipole, using my SW-40+ at 1 Watt. I was laying across one of those low lawn chairs (the recliner type), as I found it to be far more efficient than sitting up. It was dark most of my operating time, so I used a Pelican headlamp-type flashlight for illumination. I worked 8 stations, the farther ones being in Minnesota, Alabama, and Ontario Canada. Near the beginning of my operating time there were FYBO stations covering the QRP area, and it was hard to fit a CQ in edgewise. I had to go to the upper and lower portions, and there was RTTY QRM on the low end. Towards the end there were almost no stations, and I had worked almost all of them. The temperature was 53F when I started, but dropped to 41F by the end. Not quite low enough for the multiplier!

The most exciting QSO was with VE3VXO in Ontario. He was running only 900mW, so it was challenge to complete the contact, as there were often stations on top of us. I had a very enjoyable time throughout the contest. Here is what I calculate my score to be:

8 QSO's x 6 SPC's (not counting N1MVU where I didn't catch the state) x 2 for Alternative Power x 3 for temp. multiplier = 288 points

Thanks to all I worked for going as slowly as I did (especially VE3VXO).

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Corrected 10-28-99