ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB - 2020
Call: WX3B
Operator(s): WX3B
Station: WX3B
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: MDC
Operating Time (hrs): 11.3
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 0
80: 248
40: 711
20: 40
15: 5
10: 0
------------
Total: 1004 Sections = 79 Total Score = 158,632
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
Having set aside one day to operate in Sweepstakes SSB this year, I decided to
follow my good friend Bill K3WI's strategy for maximum fun by showing up just
after 7:00am Sunday morning as FRESH MEAT. It worked. My goal was to make
1,000 QSOs as quickly as possible - I had a ball of fun and stayed in the chair
until 2:00pm+ when I took my first break. 40 meters was so good, I just couldn't
convince myself to QSY to 20 except for a brief period.
Very few multipliers were called, in fact almost all of my QSOs were from
running.
20 sounded good Sunday afternoon - and it was temping to try 15 but I avoided it
when I heard mostly W6's running like crazy...though I did hear Dave N3RD (LOUD)
doing well calling CQ.
I went to 75 meters early and maintained a reasonable (albeit slower) rate
there; it was noisy at my QTH however signals were loud and short skip was
excellent. I managed a few QSOs with my RX beverages that wouldn't have happed
without them.
One thing that surprised me this year was how loud the west coast was on 75
meters at 7:15am Sunday morning. I also was surprised by the loud stations on
40 meters from West coast near high noon my time. The 40 meter band supported a
great variety of short, medium and long skip Sunday as the morning progressed.
Like others have mentioned, I was over-joyed to welcome a number of stations
with a "20" check - most that were new hams, some that were YOUNG -
into the fray of Sweepstakes. These new operators were very excited to learn
how the game is played. There were a significant number of callers licensed
after 2015 that were operating this year.
I am proud of my friend and neighbor Jay, KC3EMA, who has been building his
contest station and has recently purchased a legal limit amplifier and added it
to the mix. I believe he got his first taste of a Sweepstakes run on 40 meters
and he LIKED it - I bet he will be back for more.
Finally - a hearty thank you to ALL PVRC members that year after year, enter
this contest. This especially applies to folks that are die-hard CW operators
that somehow get into SSB anyway (truly taking one for the team).
I plan a similar effort for next weekend's CQWW CW contest by arriving Saturday
evening at 7:00pm and operating (most of) the remaining portion of the contest,
focusing on my elusive goal of making an 80 meter DXCC and seeing how well
10(???) & 15 open.
Happy thanksgiving to all!
73,
Jim WX3B
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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