ARRL 160-Meter Contest
Call: K9YC
Operator(s): K9YC
Station: K9YC
Class: M/S HP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 28
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 785 Sections = 77 Countries = 10 Total Score = 142,854
Club: Northern California Contest Club
Comments:
I wasn't really multi-op, but I did use the cluster a lot.
One of the most important things to know about 160M is that band
conditions are always changing. Paths that are loud one night (or one
hour) are lousy a half hour later, and/or the next night. It's real
common for a given path to be enhanced for a half hour or so, then
disappear. Indeed, when we can work EU here on the West Coast, stations
further to the east can't hear them at all.
This weekend was no exception. Friday night was terrible to the east
coast, a path that I can do fairly well with when it's open. Saturday
was better, and I managed 176 QSOs that N1MM thinks are in Zone 5, as
compared to 155 last year.
Band conditions were tough for me. I made four more QSOs than last year,
but I had to work very hard for them. I worked only 12 JAs, compared to
21 last year. DX was P4, PJ2, XE, KL, KP2, KP4 (a first in ARRL 160),
VP2M, ZF, UA0, FO, KH2/N2NL,and ZL8. As usual, I worked all states, but missed
WCF, NWT, and NNY. I've NEVER worked NWT on 160M, and haven't even heard NNY
since 2004 from Chicago, but I think this is the first time I've missed WCF.
QSOs by Zone -- Zone 3 265 this year, 279 last year; Zone 4 308 this
year, 301 last year. Zone 5 176 this year, 155 last year. That suggests
that west coast participation was down -- not surprising for a contest
where the west coast is severely penalized by the scoring rules. I heard
at least a half dozen east coast stations calling CQ EU! It is SHAMEFUL that we
can't work out scoring rules that make a far more level playing field, but just
like in our national politics, those in power (the east coast contesting
establishment) likes the 5:1 advantage they have in most contests.
Let's all show our disdain for this by participating in the Stew Perry
two weeks from now -- its scoring rules are FAR more fair to stations
not near the Atlantic basin. The Stew is a great contest, whose only
shortcoming is not enough activity.
73, Jim K9YC
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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