| Contest | Year | Month |
| ARRL SSB Rookie Roundup | 2015 | April |
| Op's Full Name | Entrant Type |
| Mark Felty |
Rookie |
| Call Used | Station Call | Category | Location | Call Area |
| KK4TXZ | KK4TXZ | Single Op | GA | W4 |
| Op Call | First Licensed | Entrant Type |
| KK4TXZ | 2013 | Rookie |
Score Calculation:
| QSOs | | Multipliers |
| Rookie | Non-Rookie | | States | VE Prov/Ter | XE Areas | DX |
| 112 | 165 | | 42 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| QSO Points | | Total Multipliers | | Total Score |
| ( 224 + 165 ) | x | 47 | = | 18,283 |
Comments:
I had a lot of fun this year during the Roundup, and was looking forward to putting the new K4KIO hex-beam to use for an improved score over last years effort. Needless to say, I wasn't let down; I worked 42 US states, an Italian station off of the back of the beam, and provinces in Canada and in the Northeast of the US off of the side.
Static crashes on all the bands prior to the roundup starting indicated that it was going to be a challenge to pull out weak stations and a duke-out for a frequency from other high-power stations on 20m. I started out on 10m, and made a few contacts before the band just fell away. I ventured to 20m, and heard the band abuzz with rookies and non-rookies alike calling each other. I did a few S&P QSO's and planned on coming back later when the activity died down toward the end. 15m was very good, although the noise level kept rising as the storms moved closer.
After a mandatory break imposed by Mother Nature (I had to unplug due to thunderstorms and lightning), I managed to find a frequency on 20m. It was both thrilling and intimidating to feel what it was like to be on the end of trying to work a pileup instead of trying to break the pileup. There were so many stations that were pleasant and patient, it was really encouraging to work more rookies than I had expected. Thanks to everyone who participated and made this sprint a success and fun for all participants.
73 de Mark
