1996 ARRL DX SSB Contest Results
Call: WA7BNM
Category: Single Op All Band, Low Power, Unassisted
Location: S.Calif
Operating Hours: 24
Q C
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160 13 9
80 46 27
40 63 29
20 376 82
15 113 46
10 65 22
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676 215 = 436,020
Antennas:
160 - Balloon suspended 1/4 wave vertical
80 - Force-12 EF-180 rotatable dipole at 100 ft
40 - M2 3-el 40m yagi at 90 ft
20/15/10 - Stacked Force-12 C3XL yagis at 72 and 105 ft
6-band QSOs 5-band QSOs
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8P9Z P40V (no 160)
HC8N PJ9JT (no 10)
WR6R/KH6 TI1C (no 80)
WP2AHW V31DX (no 160)
PJ9G
XE2DV
XE2KB
Comments:
Based on my experience during the 1995 CQWW SSB weekend, I had hoped
that this weekend would be a chance to improve on my 1995 ARRL DX SSB
score using the new antennas.
Wrong! Very wrong!
Arrived home about 10 minutes after the start of the contest, turned on
the transceiver, tuned 15-meters and heard one JA. Took me about 30
seconds to decide that this was not a weekend for an all out effort. Lousy
15-meters means 20-meters is an even bigger zoo than usual. Spent most
of the weekend S&Ping, with a brief run of 20m JAs late Saturday afternoon.
Good part was that I slept both nights.
Spent 1.5 hours Saturday afternoon putting up 160m balloon vertical. Radial
system consisted of 2 raised radials 50 feet long, one raised radial 135
feet long (one 90 deg bend), and one 135 foot long radial on the ground
(many 90 deg bends). Even though this was not the greatest system, it made
a big difference: last year I worked 2 XEs on 160, this year I could work
any Caribbean station I could hear.
Quote of the Contest:
Me: "Your 59 California."
DX: "California, California, California, California. All I hear is
California. I wish they would have a contest without California."
On Sunday afternoon, the same DX had California standby while he worked
as many hams in other call areas as he could hear.
73 de Bruce, WA7BNM (bhorn@netcom.com)
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