CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB
Call: VA7ST
Operator(s): VA7ST
Station: VA7ST
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 27
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 2 2 2
80: 105 13 17
40: 118 18 29
20: 651 24 58
15: 270 22 48
10: 10 3 4
------------------------------
Total: 1156 82 158 Total Score = 637,440
Club: Orca DX and Contest Club
Comments:
* FT-2000 + SB221 ~400W (SO1R, unassisted)
* N1MM Logger (didn't bother with the DVK)
* 3 ele. Steppir @ 40'
* 40M Steppir dipole @ 40'
* 2 x 80M verticals
* 160M Inverted-L (75' high/60' horizontal)
Didn't hit my band targets, but still had a personal best (primary goal) with
most Qs, most zones, most mults ever. And I felt like I didn't even scratch the
surface from BC.
But VA7FC sure did -- great outing Perry! The new Orca DX and Contest Club (
http://orcadxcc.org ) fielded Team Orca with VA7FC Perry, VC3X Dave (VE7VR),
VA7BEC Rebecca, and VE7XF Ralph (15M), and me. They all did extremely well.
Must applaud good friend VE4EAR -- watched Ed's score rising all weekend on
getscores.org and realized early on that he was going to claim the roses in our
horserace. He managed more than twice as many Qs and 100 more mults. I heard him
running a Stateside pileup Sunday afternoon. Smooth operator, and in his
element.
I went into the contest intending 30-plus hours, but ended up with just 27
hours. Being an infrequent phone op, I just couldn't take more than a few hours
at a time, so walked away far more often than is healthy for a good score. Got
into the Halloween candy a couple of times. Likewise not healthy.
Perhaps driven by a sugar crash, I took a "just a quick" nap with two hours to
go. Woke up at 0000z on the button, so missed out on perhaps 200 extra Qs,
which I'm keeping in reserve for next year, so please show up :)
Highlights:
* 270 Qs on 15M, which offered almost as many zones and countries as 20M for
me.
* A "blink and you miss it" Sunday afternoon opening to South America on 10M.
CX, CE, PY, LU, and then they were gone.
* Mozambique on 15M and 20M, IG9 on 20M. ZS on 15M. (A juicy 20M ZS double-mult
was lost to ill-timed callers who obviously couldn't hear either end of the
Q).
* PJ2 Curacao and PJ4 Bonaire for new ones on SSB.
Also enjoyed some long, steady runs. Not huge point-makers but awesome fun. The
best was 317 Qs at 172/hr high on 20M Saturday afternoon. Then Sunday afternoon
with 102 Qs at 210/hr before being booted off the frequency by not one but two
amp-tuners working in concert (literally). Flutes warming up in the opera pit.
Heard a few good mults (i.e. OX, V5) that couldn't be cracked due to the
east-coast wall, but patience (er, and the bandmap for quick return) proved a
great virtue in most cases.
Lowlights:
* 40M. And that is all I have to say about that.
* 75M. Just 105 Qs, 17 countries and 13 zones? Oh. Just checked last year: 62
Qs, 5 countries, 6 zones. Never mind. Cancel the antenna razing party. My folly
was missing the prime-time hours on 75M trying to eke out countries and zones on
40M.
Spent too much time on stations who don't ID after four or five Qs... guess
they're only interested in working Assisted ops. As I patiently waited to hear
who they were, I could feel the pick-pocket tug as they padded their rate from
my already paltry Unassisted log. As pileup management goes, it may be the
thing to do, but sure turns Search and Pounce into Search. Wait. Wait. Wait.
[insert X more QSOs here]. Pounce. Wait...
Comparing my first-night tallies, I figured I'd finish with a personal best.
The opening hour on 15M put me quite well ahead for the first night effort,
despite poor capability on 40M and 80M later in the evening:
Qs Cty Zn Score QRT
2010 200 54 42 45,120 1050z
2009 139 28 27 17,000 0900z
2008 169 42 33 27,300 0949z
Too bad antenna season is done. After this contest, I'm ready to get out there
and build something that works for 40M. The low dipole is fine but it is a low
dipole. I miss the point-and-shoot of a beam. Verticals are the only realistic
option for some DX-angle gain in the right places (EU, JA, SA), so perhaps a
triangle of them is next. Can't wait for spring, and it's only Halloween. Gonna
be a looong winter, hi.
Great fun to be in on the action. Thanks to all. See you in Sweeps and my
all-time fave, CQWW CW.
-- Bud VA7ST
http://www3.telus.net/va7st
http://orcadxcc.org
Year-over-year comparison:
Qs Zn Cty Score
2010 1156 82 158 637,440 SFI= 86 A= 4 K=1
2009: 1030 61 130 434,525 SFI= 74 A=17 K=4
2008: 1080 73 154 559,101 SFI= 68 A= 1 K=0
2007: 349 54 97 123,367 SFI= 67 A=14 K=4
2004: 167 38 61 39,303
2003: 46 11 22 4,356
2002: 12 8 9 493
Band comparison:
160M QSOs Zones DXCC
2010 2 2 2
2009 3 2 2
2008 14 2 3
75M
2010 105 13 17 twin verts
2009 62 6 5 twin verts - new box
2008 149 13 19 twin verts - old box
40M
2010 118 18 29 Steppir dipole
2009 121 11 14 " " "
2008 54 18 32 Twin half-squares E-W
20M
2010 651 24 58 SteppIr 3 el.
2009 605 26 71 " " "
2008 614 27 74 Mosley CL-33
15M
2010 270 22 48
2009 239 16 38
2008 249 13 27
10M
2010 10 3 4
2009 - - -
2008 - - -
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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