CQWW WPX Contest, SSB - 2019
Call: PJ4R
Operator(s): KK9A
Station: PJ4G
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: Bonaire
Operating Time (hrs): 36
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160:
80: 227
40: 553
20: 1292
15: 722
10: 6
------------
Total: 2800 Prefixes = 670 Total Score = 7,112,000
Club:
Comments:
My wife and I visited Bonaire for our second time. We stayed longer than last
year so we would have more time to explore the island plus also scuba dive the
beautiful reefs surrounding the island. It was an amazing trip. I have posted a
few photos on the PJ4R QRZ page. We stayed at K2NG’s PJ4G mountain top home,
you could not dream of a more perfect property for antennas. I brought my
Elecraft K3S and peripherals to connect to the station's beams. The station has
a plethora of switches and temporary antennas that are used for multi-up
contesting but I kept my setup quite simple. The new Momobeams worked well and
my radio liked the low SWR. Band changes were instant thanks to bringing a band
decoder and relay box. I purchased a small Sony IC recorder and it appears to
have done a nice job of recording the contest without taking up much space or
time. I knew that operating low power with no sunspots would be a challenge but
propagation during much of the contest was worse than I have ever seen from this
region. W2GD/P44W sent me an email after the contest saying that it felt like
he had a 20dB attenuator in his coax. This is a perfect description of how I
felt at times. especially in the mornings trying to work Europe. I made 203 QSO
during the first hour but the high rate fun quickly stopped and it took me until
the 19th hour to break 1000 QSOs. On Saturday morning, I took an unplanned time
off period when I struggled to work anyone. This happened to be fortunate timing
as my XYL had trouble with the rental car and I was able to help get it started
so she could exchange the vehicle for a new one. She then went shopping with her
coworker friend who was also visiting Bonaire. On Saturday afternoon I kept
checking 15m hoping it would offer better rates than the congested 20m band but
it was slow to open at my location and when it did the opening was spotty. I
made only 170 QSOs on 15m before the band closed again. Stations further south
had a much better high band opening. On the second night I spent more time on
80m and had surprisingly good results using the sloper array. I had a little
local nighttime QRM from a party next door. The music was tolerable but I was
unable to work anyone during their fireworks show. Sunday provided a better 15m
opening which was a welcome relief from the crowded and noisy 20m band. I only
wish that it lasted longer as the QRM was brutal on 20m during the last two
hours. The station performed flawlessly. I would like to thank Noah, K2NG for
the opportunity to operate from his Bonaire superstation. I would also like to
thank my QSL manager Tim, WD9DZV for posting my logs on Clublog, EQSL and LOtW
as well as sending out cards.
73,
John KK9A – PJ4R
http://www.qrz.com/db/pj4r
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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