I'm a fourth-year student, preparing for the graduate entrance exam, and I decided to participate in a contest. My performance was as follows: I used a 15-meter single band, single operator setup, with the following scores. This time, I participated in a contest at the home of an experienced and respected senior, using equipment including an FTDX101MP radio and an OB11-3 antenna, which was installed on the rooftop of a building within the city center (6 floors).
Before starting, I hesitated about whether to use a Yagi antenna for full-band or single-band operation. Initially, I decided to stick with 15 meters and see how it went. After some time, I found that the 15-meter band was reasonably productive, so I made the decision to operate in the single-band mode on 15 meters. It was a bit challenging, but otherwise, everything went well.
The work started at 8 AM on Saturday and continued until 10:30 PM, with a scheduled break. The next day, I woke up at 5 AM and then resumed work.
Due to my busy academic schedule, I didn't operate any shortwave radios in 2024. As a result, it took me a full night to figure out the propagation patterns for 15 meters.
(While there are also software-based predictions, changes in the electromagnetic environment around the antenna can also affect propagation conditions. Therefore, I still recorded the propagation patterns under the current conditions.)
0500 - JA, YB
0600-1100 NA, SA, JA, YB
0720-0900: Caribbean Sea, NA, SA, JA, YB
1230-2030 EU, RU, JA, YB, VK_
The first day was quite challenging, but things started to improve on the second day as I developed a more consistent approach. Specifically, when there were only 2 hours left until the competition ended, I successfully obtained V26B and WP4WW.
After waking up at 5 AM, I aligned the antenna to 30°, initiated a NA trade, and successfully captured CQZ1, CQZ3, CQZ4, and CQZ5. During this period, SA, JA, and YB also generated profits. By around 7 AM, I captured CQZ8.
Around 10:30, the propagation on NA started to improve, and the Yagi antenna was focused on receiving signals from JA, YB, and VK, successfully making contact with CQZ25, 26, 27, and 28.
It was around noon (12:30), and the antenna was pointed at 300 degrees. The EU and RU stations should be coming in now, so I'll set up my equipment and start scanning for CQZ channels 14 through 18.
It continued running until late at night, with EU, SA, and JA frequently appearing.
By around 10 PM, the transmission essentially stopped, so I turned off my device and went to sleep.
In the final minute of the match, BI2AD made contact and ended the competition.
Before this competition, we prepared call signs, large diagrams, and CQ zone maps. It turned out that these were very useful, allowing us to adjust the antenna direction based on the other party's reported zone information, resulting in better reception and transmission.
We would also like to thank BH3FZA for their participation in this competition. @BH3FZA Provide time support and technical support.
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