ARRL 160-Meter Contest - 2023
Call: K1DG
Operator(s): K1DG
Station: N1LI
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: ME
Operating Time (hrs): 11
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 743 Sections = 56 Countries = 21 Total Score = 127,520
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
Wow! What an amazing contest! Long runs of Europeans, with signals well over s9.
Pin-drop noise levels and tons of activity across the U.S. Even a JA run! Very
likely a new USA record score.
"Huh?" you ask.
Of course, I am reminiscing about the unforgettable amazing 2009 CQ160 Contest,
not the train wreck of the 2023 ARRL 160M contest. I will do my best to forget
this weekend.
Actually it started out sort of OK...decent rates for the first few hours but
hardly any action from Europe. Then around 0300, with 500-ish Qs in the log, my
receive antenna system failed. Dead in the SW direction. I took about 90 minutes
time off to try and get it working but to no avail. I almost quit at that point,
but decided I would limp along using the transmit antenna to receive and that
was going OK for a couple of hours then the activity just dried up.
A few Europeans showed up in the usually-strong 04 and 05z hours. But only a
few. And they were all much weaker than usual.
The 06 hour felt more like the Sunday overnight doldrums and just got worse. At
0630 I was done.
Saturday the receive antenna system came back to life somehow. But activity was
terrible, my multiplier was horrible, and catching the leaders was unlikely
unless the Europeans showed up early and often. But I did not hear a single
European signal Saturday.
Not. A. Single. One. This has never happened before.
The Caribbean guys were plenty loud...when ZF2VE called in I had to rationalize
a signal that strong not being local.
The 21, 22, and 23z hours each produced 25 Qs. At 0000z I was done.I plodded
along for a few hours but my heart wasn't in it. I operated an hour, took an
hour off, rinse, repeat, until about 0400z. Then I went to bed so I would be
awake enough to shut down the house for the winter Sunday morning and catch the
early afternoon boat home - a day earlier than originally planned.
Conditions were strange. As some have noted, at times the locals were way weaker
than the distant stations. There were some periods when certain areas were
booming for a little while, then a half-hour later the same stations were down
in the noise. Of course, I kept finding stations that I needed on the second VFO
right at their signal lows, which meant many calls and repeats before getting
through.
Thanks to every one who called in, to those who copied me calling, and congrats
to those who persevered.
I like the boat ride, Peter. On the way to the island, it gets my head in the
game. And in this case, the ride back allows me to start forgetting a dismal
weekend.
See you all in the next one!
73,
Doug K1DG
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