ARRL DX Contest, SSB
Call: N6WG
Operator(s): N6WG
Station: N6WG
Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: Newark CA
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 0 0
80: 6 3
40: 1 1
20: 45 14
15: 55 23
10: 4 2
-------------------
Total: 111 43 Total Score = 14,319
Club: Northern California Contest Club
Comments:
This was a lot more fun than the CQ WW DX SSB contest last month,
with a 42% improvement in my score that made me feel pretty good.
Part of the improved score came from a special dipole I put up aimed
at JA that just happened to aim at PY and LU in the other direction.
It really helpled when my main E-W antennas were just not doing
the job. It's really nice to be able to switch directions
instantly at the press of a button.
I blew the last half hour of the contest, trying to work a station
in Paraguay for a new multiplier. I might have been better off
chasing some more JA Qs, even if they wouldn't give me a new mult.
I got up real early Saturday morning, expecting to work some DX in the
early hours, between 5 and 7AM. Wrong. In the first two hours, I worked one
station, and I could have worked him easily later in the day. Missed
out on several hours of sleep with nothing to show for it.
Got up a bit later on Sunday morning after a good night's sleep. On
20m, I heard a number of European stations, but only managed to work
OH6QU in Finland. But at least I got my toe into Europe :-)
My money bands were 20m and 15m, and I suppose that was true for most
everyone else too. I checked on 160m occasionaly, but nothing heard
there. 10m only produced one KH6 QSO and three LU QSOs. Again,
nothing else heard. Oh, how I miss 10m.
Our JA friends saved me from a much lower score. I wound up with
19 Qs on 15m and 19 on 20m. I found one lone VK on 15m, and never
heard a single ZL. Usually it's the other way around for me. Several
ZL and no VK. My main 40-20-15-10m antennas point right at them, so
I know my signal blows in that direction. Maybe the path just wasn't
open during the hours I worked.
Forty meters was a complete mess with the SWBC stations. I only worked
one station there, YW4D in Venezuela. Eighty meters did a bit better
for me, with two Hawaii, two Alaska and two Mexico QSOs.
I took it a bit easier in this contest. SSB is such a pain anyway, so
I took time off in the evening during the hours when the bands were very
unsettled. Went back on the air around 9 or 10 PM and picked up Qs as
I found them. Then got a good night's sleep :-)
As always, there were some alligator stations. Huge signals, but they
must have had receiving problems. I heard many stations call them and
never connect, me included. Oh well, it's just part of the game.
One highlight for me was working AH7ZA in HI for a two-way QRP QSO. Good
solid copy both ways. Another was working VP8KF in the Falkland Islands.
This was my farthest DX, at a bit over 7000 miles. Let's see, that's
about 1433 miles/watt :-) Gee, nothing special after all. People do
that all the time. I also had my first UA9 SSB QSOs with two stations
on 20m.
My thanks to all the operators who worked with me to get my correct
callsign through. Like I said before, SSB is a pain, especially at
QRP levels.
I hope the WPX will be easier, with better conditions. Hope to work as
many of you as possible.
73, Bob N6WG
The Little Station with Attitude
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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