ARRL RTTY Roundup
Call: KL8DX
Operator(s): KL8DX
Station: KL8DX
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Alaska
Operating Time (hrs): 16
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
80:
40: 24
20: 444
15: 51
10:
------------
Total: 519 State/Prov = 51 Countries = 12 Total Score = 32,697
Club: North Coast Contesters
Comments:
** Score prior to log clean up - dupe removal **
I left my beam parked toward the lower 48 due to temperatures down
to -45F and -50F. The high power entry kept the shack warm and it
was necessary due to the band conditions which seemed pretty cruddy.
Working into the upper Midwest and East Sunday was rugged. Lots of
heavy QSB and many who were calling were the same signal strength.
This lead to more than usual repeat requests. Also there sure
seemed to be one way propagation at times. I tried in vain to call
a few VE7's who were REALLY loud here but could not hear me.
A fun contest and a great way to break up the dark and cold winter
here in Alaska. The fact that AK is DX in this contest and not a
state threw a few off. Lots of pauses at the beginning of the contest
until some figured out we had to send a serial number and not AK. I
(like a few others up here I'm sure) have a macro set up just for
that. It's confusing to me too as I always have to review the rules
prior to the contest (not a bad practice anyhow).
20 meters was totally packed and it reminded me of a Mall the day
before Christmas. 15 opened up on Saturday and I spent some time on
that band but did not venture to 15 on Sunday. I did some S&P on 40
meters but most contacts were with Midwest and West Coast stations
on that band. Nothing heard on 80 meters here.
OBSERVATIONS
When I was parked calling CQ, I had at least three stations answer
my CQ by sending me their report followed by their callsign. That
was a bit annoying. I also had a few send their entire state name
rather than the two letter abbreviation. A few sent a serial number
and state which was not a problem, figured there must have been
another contest going on at the same time? The only one that did
catch me was a station in lets say SD, sent the following; "599 IN
SD SD". I clicked the IN thinking Indiana and had to remove it and
click on the actual state.
A few will not find themselves in my log due to leaving the frequency
prematurely. I asked for a confirmation of something they sent to me
and after a few attempts, I went on to the next person. Those who do,
are not only costing me a contact, but themselves also. A few stations
still use some darn short macros with their call and information.
Please stick around until you get the TU or 73 or something! I only
had a couple of dupes this time so not too bad along those lines.
All in all, lots of fun even with the band conditions. I know I saw
several stations on from up here so AK was well represented. Good
luck to those participating in the Triple Play as this probably got
many off to a great start. It's great to see standing room only on
the bands but it will sure be something when the cycle peaks!
I heard signals from 14050 to 14145, wow! I prefer to head up to
the nosebleed section rather than heading into the CW zone on 20.
Happy New Year and thanks for all the Q's! So much fun seeing so
many old friends and each contest yields new callsigns. For those
new to the RTTY contesting world, welcome! I am sure you will find
it as enjoyable as I.
73,
Phil KL8DX
Denali National Park, AK
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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