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[3830] WPX SSB NA0CW(W8QZA) SOAB QRP

To: 3830@contesting.com, wparker2@san.rr.com
Subject: [3830] WPX SSB NA0CW(W8QZA) SOAB QRP
From: webform@b4h.net
Reply-to: wparker2@san.rr.com
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:45:04 -0700
List-post: <3830@contesting.com">mailto:3830@contesting.com>
                    CQWW WPX Contest, SSB

Call: NA0CW
Operator(s): W8QZA
Station: W8QZA

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: San Diego, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 36

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:   15
   40:   57
   20:  122
   15:   99
   10:   31
------------
Total:  324  Prefixes = 198  Total Score = 139,590

Club: 

Comments:

QRP - All Band
_____________________________________________

Rig: Elecraft K-2 with output set to 5 Watts

Antennas:
     3 el SteppIR up 32 feet for 10-15-20
     HF-2V vertical for 40-80
_____________________________________________

Conditions were not good.  I was never able to work a European station and only
worked one African station: D44AC.

I decided to use a club call in this contest so I could give out a few "new
prefixes". The call was NA0CW and it was issued only a few weeks ago. As a
result it was not in the data base, ...but it should be in the future! Many ops
thanked me for a new one even very late in the contest, and that was great!

Murphy struck early in the contest. After operating about half an hour, I
looked at the country columns and point columns and realized it was full of
garbage. I decided to stop and troubleshoot it on the spot instead of hoping I
could work it out afterwards. I was amazed to find that somehow the new
download updates had been corrupted. When I downloaded again everything worked
perfectly, including the Qs already logged. I lost only one hour doing this 
....WHEW!!!!

Conditions were poor as everyone knows. From my QTH here on the West Coast, I
never got into Europe, and had only one Q with Africa. Japan no longer has the
contest activity it used to have, so it is impossible to compete when you lose
all the European multipliers. I only had 11 JA stations in my log.

In my best 2 or 3 hours I had 14 or 15 Qs. But I had one hour with zero Qs, and
many with four or five. 43% of my Q total was with USA stations, and I had
trouble working a lot of those. It was a struggle!

My best Q was with YJ8TZ with only 20 minutes left in the contest. I also
worked A35RK, V7, KH2, and KH0. Notice that they were all in the Pacific! I
worked a total of 42 countries in this contest. In the ARRL a few weeks ago I
worked 40. At the top of the cycle I can work about 85 to 90 or so.

Despite all the difficulties, I love DX contesting at the QRP levels. Even at
the bottom of the cycle it is a thrill, whether from my very modest home
station or from Keko's big station at TI5N. I'm 68 years old and hope I can
keep at it through this next cycle! 

After a real struggle to complete a contest QSO, the other op will sometimes
thank me for MY patience. If he could hear me well enough, I would like to
thank him profusely for HIS patience in completing the QSO which probably means
more to me than to him!

73, and thanks for listening for my weak sigs!

...Bill  W8QZA  -  NA0CW


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