1996 IDRA WPX RTTY Contest
Call used: KE3Q (Op & Stn: KF3P)
Location: MD
Entry Class: Single Op, All Band, High power
Band QSOs Pts Mults
80 184 516 -
40 180 646 -
20 399 950 -
15 69 131 -
10 0 0 -
----- ---- ---- ----
Total 832 2243 320
Prefixes counted only once (not once per band)
Most frequently worked prefix: I2 - 14 QSO's
Score: 717760
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Claimed Score: 717760
Power Output: 1500
Club Participation: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Well, this was certainly the most bizarre contest experience I've ever
had! About 5 hours into the contest as KF3P, computers crashed one at a time
and the result was an obliterated log! After resurrecting one of my computers
them (with careful verification that my Q's were now being saved), I had to
decide what the heck I was going to do next. With about 175 low-band Q's in
the log when it disappeared, I realized that it would be an impossible task to
get all those guys to work me again. With 6 hours of prime lowband time now
gone, it felt almost hopeless.
But then the lightbulb came on!
With so much off-time built into the contest, I could still be competitive
IF I started over with a fresh callsign! So, I placed a late-night call
to our club president KE3Q and asked for permission to use his call to try
again! Luckily, Rich was up late filling out some QSL cards and he said
sure, no problem. I told him he could expect some more cards coming in very
soon!
Now I was a man on a mission, feeling the oats of an underdog! Although
my #2 computer was still losing all its contacts, #1 was now holding solid,
so I used it to log everything. Realizing I had a lot of ground to make up
on the low bands, but also that I only had to take 12 hours off the rest of
the contest, I pushed them well past my planned quitting time of 0700Z,
took about 3 hours of rest and hit them again for about an hour before
head-banging with the europeans on 20. The runs on 20 were solid but not
very fast, but this is bread and butter time on the east coast. Excursions
to 15 brought in a few "big-gun" europeans and stateside 1-pointers...
10, well, we all know about 10. After EU sunset, I took off a few hours
both days...this is Midwest/West Coast's time domain. Back on to explore 40
and close out 20 about 2200Z, with a nice 1 hour JA run on Saturday.
Saturday night was spent agressively seeking out every last QSO, especially
those EU 6 pointers that are so essential to a winning east-coast score.
IK2BUF and IK0HBN were fixtures on 40 meters were consistently loud
on this band. Only a couple hours after sunset, 40 started going flat...
you know we are in a minimum when 40 shuts down at night! It was still
alive, but signals were way down from earlier. 80 was noisy but good for
DX, yet way long by the time most stations migrated from higher bands,
so the east coast to east coast performance was severely limited. 160
would have been nice! hi hi Sunday was more of the same, but conditions
werent quite as good ( the A index was headed up higher).
The DX highlights here was probably working a very weak VK9XY on 40 meters
who got my call for a DX QSO, but I never got my number. (Wish I'd had RITTY
running at the time!) Also worked VK9NH/VK4 on 40 and 80 and A22BW on 40
and 15. VU2PTT on 20 thru a swarm of europeans was a nice catch as was
FK8GM, A92GD, and a nice pile of JA's.
Well, I'll certainly remember THIS one!
73, Tyler KF3P
It's off to burn holes in the sky from W3LPL tomorrow night on CW...
Hope to see everyone at Dayton!
Tyler Stewart
28501 Clarksburg Road
Damascus, MD 20872
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