ARRL DX Contest, SSB
Call: VP9/W6PH
Operator(s): W6PH
Station: VP9GE
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: Bermuda
Operating Time (hrs): 38.1
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 331 41
80: 447 45
40: 1163 54
20: 1702 60
15: 567 53
10: 356 23
-------------------
Total: 4566 276 Total Score = 3,777,336
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
Equipment: IC7000 Yamaha CM-500 Win-Test 4.23
Antennae:
160m Dipole at 28 feet
80m Dipole at 25 feet
40m Dipole at 27 feet
20-10m Cushcraft A4S at 20 feet
I didn't get into the contest with the same enthusiasm that I once had now that
I am 75 years old. I took five hours off each night. However the runs really
perked me up at times.
With propagation to Europe being so poor for the US, it was an advantage for
me.
I was able to get answers to my CQ's on 20m for the entire day on Saturday. It
was a dilemma whether to continue on 20 or go to 15 to pick up multipliers and
contacts there.
I checked 10m often and finally got a short opening to the northeast on
Saturday that put 40 contacts in the log. On Sunday on an impulse I listened
for beacons and heard one signing FN32 with good signal strength. I decided to
call CQ and was called immediately by K3OO who saw my blip on his P3. He
spotted me and I put another 316 contacts in the log via the Es opening. There
was no F2 propagation at all. It was pretty exciting and I have only had this
experience one other time in the 18 years I have been doing ARRL Phone from
Bermuda.
I did not make any effort to move multipliers which is a tactical mistake but I
wasn't that motivated. I frequently took time out to chat with people I know.
The antennas are pretty simple as they are subjected to gales and occasionally
hurricanes. The location is on a 25 foot rise that looks at the ocean about
300 meters away.
I had a bunch of six banders with stations in the northeast and mid-Atlantic.
I thought that the behavior of the calling stations was excellent. When I
specified a partial call, others stood by. My only criticism was when I got a
bad spot and stations called me as a dupe without evaluating the legitimacy of
the spot. This auto-response is stupid. I made a big effort to identify
frequently and don't recall a single "what's your call".
My friend W6SX says the Prime Directive of contesting is to have fun. To quote
an unknown source, this is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes
on. It was fun.
73, Kurt W6PH
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