CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
Call: K5AF
Operator(s): K5AF
Station: K5AF
Class: SOAB(A) LP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 20
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 8 5 5
80: 56 13 28
40: 171 22 72
20: 133 22 60
15: 205 24 73
10: 79 18 39
------------------------------
Total: 652 104 277 Total Score = 633,984
Club:
Comments:
What a completely different contest than last year! Like last year, I had a
music job on Friday night, so I decided to make this a 20 hour SOAB Assisted
effort.
I had about 45 minutes to operate at the start of the contest before I left for
my job, and was disappointed in conditions and the performance of the station.
When I returned around midnight, though, 40M was humming and 80M was noisy, but
usable. I operated until about 0900Z and then grabbed a few hours sleep. I
ended out sleeping through my alarm, and missed the sunrise openings. I was
amazed, however, at the very early 15M opening. I jumped in and worked a lot of
Europeans. 10M was spotty at best, and 20M was short most of the day.
The big surprises:
- No late-night 20M openings like last year, but instead, a beautiful, quiet 80M
band on Saturday night that was loaded with Europeans. I worked more three
pointers on 80M than ever. All this with a wire antenna up only 30?! Signals
just seemed to pop out of the quiet background. As good as 80M was, 160M did
not measure up from this QTH. It was noisy, and each QSO was a challenge.
- Late polar paths on several bands. I worked Scandinavians as late as 22Z on
10M and 15M, 00Z on 20M, and 11Z on 40M. Signals were weak and fluttery, but
very workable.
Thoughts about the assisted category:
Unfortunately, my spotting computer kept crashing, so I didn?t get the full
benefit of the spots. A low power guy should never chase spots, usually once a
rare station is spotted, there will be so much competition that a small pistol
doesn?t stand a chance. The best thing about being assisted is that you can
note trends in propagation. Its great to find out when the JAs are running, or
when there is unexpected propagation.
Overall, it seems that when the sunspots are on a downward cycle, the contest
becomes one with short bursts of good propagation and then a lot of slow hours.
I was amazed at the early morning openings on 20M and 15M, if you missed those,
you missed a lot of opportunities to add Qs and mults.
Big lesson learned: Despite a terrible start, my totals this year are not
significantly different from my similar operation last year. The points just
came from slightly different sources. The lesson is to not get discouraged
early, there?s life in those tired bands, you just have to pursue it.
Analysis between 03 and 04. 2003 scores are in parentheses:
Summary: 2004(2003)
Band QSOs Countries Zones
---------------------------------
160: 8(5) 5(4) 5(4)
80: 56(34) 28(16) 13(12)
40: 171(144) 72(52) 22(19)
20: 133(143) 60(62) 22(21)
15: 205(183) 73(68) 24(25)
10: 79(160) 39(66) 18(25)
---------------------------------
Total: 652(669) 277(268) 104(105) Total Score = 633,984(653,869)
The operating amount of time and the time of day and night operated are pretty
comparable between the two years, but the distribution of QSOs is skewed to the
lower bands this year. It is quite remarkable how the two scores are close,
even though the manner in which they were achieved is quite different.
I have an SO2R (Omni Six x2) setup in a restricted neighborhood, using two
fine-wire antennas, one is a 66' CF Zepp (40M-10M), the other is a 220' CF Zepp
(160M-10M). Average height of both antennas is 30'. I designed and built
bandswitching L Network antenna tuners with preset values that provide an
instant 1:1 match on all bands, tracking the transceiver bandswitching. It is a
very efficient setup. Despite my antenna limitations, I am very competitive in
most contests in the low-power category.
In analyzing the scores, the late night 20M opening last year accounted for a
few more Qs and Mults than this year on that band. 10M was obviously not as
productive this year as last and made the biggest difference in the scores, but
15M was the best band for most of us this year, and it showed in totals.
What is so amazing about this contest is that every year has a personality of
its own. Despite a very basic antenna farm, I'm glad to be able to roll with
the punches, er sunspots and post fairly consistent results from here in South
Texas.
Many thanks to our VE friends who helped all of us keep our Q totals up. I'd
guess that about 10% of my total Qs were north of the border. See you guys next
year, eh?
Operating this contest is like being the center of the universe and hearing the
world rotate around you. I never cease to be amazed at what can happen in this
contest, and always look forward to the next one!
73, Paul, K5AF
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|