CQ Worldwide DX Contest, RTTY
Call: VA7ST
Operator(s): VA7ST
Station: VA7ST
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 29
Summary:
Band QSOs Pts State/Prov DX Zones
------------------------------------------
80: 76 147 31 7 7
40: 172 390 42 37 19
20: 376 931 48 61 21
15: 173 372 34 22 15
10: 2 6 0 1 1
------------------------------------------
Total: 799 1846 155 128 63 Total Score = 638,716
Club: British Columbia DX Club
Comments:
* FT-2000, N1MM Logger + MMTTY
* 3-ele SteppIR at 47'
* 40M SteppIR dipole, mostly at 47'
* 80M two-vertical array (SE-NW, broadside NE-SW)
* 80M Beverage 270' aimed due east
* No cluster
2010 Flux: 83 | Ap: 13>7 | Kp: 3>1
2009 Flux: 72 | Ap: 2>9 | Kp: 2>0
2008 Flux: 67 | Ap: 3 | Kp: 1
2007 Flux: 65 | Ap: 26>13 | Kp: 4>1
Another low-power entry to prove to myself that power isn't everything. But it
sure is something. Could have landed a few more juicy multipliers with a bit
more oomph over the pole, but overall I was quite happy with what 100W can net
from the far left in this contest. Thanks to a somewhat revitalized 15M, I went
far beyond all my previous bests, even the high-power scores from 2008 and
2007.
Highlights: Saudi Arabia on 20M, a bunch of Europe on 40M, and a handful of
Europe on 15M.
Lowlights: 80M -- every inch of it. The ones that got away (F6BEE on 15M, 4Z4
on 20M)
The contest was a tale of extremes here. Every band had its moments, except
80M. The most pronounced extreme was 40M on Saturday evening, when the Europe
window was so wide open the auroral curtain was almost ripped off its hooks.
Perhaps others have heard 40M better than that, but I sure haven't. CQing
produced little but I walked the band working everything I could hear, which
felt a little magical with just 100W on RTTY to a dipole at only 47'.
40M Dipole +
------------
The new wire reflector I hung 30' behind the SteppIR dipole worked just fine.
Not a lot of F/B, but noticeable gain when the dipole was aligned with the
wire. Flick a switch and the reflector becomes a director. The calculations for
pattern are complex, so naturally I haven't done them. But I did model (in a
rudimentary way) the rotary dipole with a fixed ref/dir so I could gauge where
I was sending RF. ( http://www3.telus.net/va7st/steppir_hybrid40.shtml ).
Band QSOs Pts Cty ZN Sec
2009 >> 7 172 390 37 19 42 LP rotary dipole @ 47' w/ passive
element
2009 >> 7 160 339 26 17 42 LP rotary dipole @ 47'
2008 >> 7 204 441 34 19 42 HP twin half-squares
2007 >> 7 145 296 13 11 36 HP Single half-squares, EW/NS
80M --------------------------------------
Here's where things went from the sublime to subliminal. When the frenetic 40M
band was worked out both evenings, I made tracks for 80M. Wish I'd stayed on
40! Last year, also with low power, I was able to squeeze 110 Qs and 36
sections out of the twin vertical array. This year, just 76 Qs and 31 sections.
Noise wasn't bad at all, and the Beverage really helped hear through it. I
simply found very few stations to work. Perhaps I stayed on 20M too long into
the evening Friday and Saturday. Working 40M for a couple of hours pushed my
arrival on 80M well into the night. The band was best after 0700z, but by then
it's the hard-core contesters and fewer casuals. All-in-all, not a good weekend
on 80M.
Band QSOs Pts Cty ZN Sec
2009 >> 3.5 76 147 7 7 31 LP twin verticals
2009 >> 3.5 110 214 8 9 36 LP twin verticals
2008 >> 3.5 205 398 9 10 46 HP twin verticals
2007 >> 3.5 106 209 7 8 37 HP delta loop
20M --------------------------------------
The only place I felt a bit weak was 20M to North America. This band is where
my powerline noise is worst (all those big signals swamp the noise blanker,
letting the crud through). Had some good hours to Europe both mornings, and
decent JA runs both afternoons.
With 15M in the mix this year, I poached time away from 20M. I really wanted to
surpass last year's 408 Qs on 20M, but in the final half hour, with Europe
played out and domestic Qs getting thinner, I headed to 40M instead and added
four more valuable states on 40M -- so it was a good move.
Band QSOs Pts Cty ZN Sec
2009 >> 14 376 931 61 21 48 LP SteppIR 3-element
2009 >> 14 408 1027 64 22 41 LP SteppIR 3-element
2008 >> 14 358 876 64 22 39 HP Mosley CL33
2007 >> 14 320 726 48 20 39 HP Mosley CL33
15M --------------------------------------
Stonger on Sunday than Saturday, but pretty good both days to NA. Caught what
must have been the tail end of a European opening on Sunday around 1750z...
lasted all of 5 minutes because by 1754z I had my six EU countries in the log
and there were no more. Well, I did return in the 2000z hour and first thing I
did was call CQ over the pole. Only G0ORH heard me, so that was EU #7 on 15M.
Band QSOs Pts Cty ZN Sec
2009 >> 21 173 372 22 15 34 LP SteppIR 3-element (It's
alive!)
2009 >> 21 25 63 9 7 7 LP SteppIR 3-element
2008 >> 21 17 35 4 4 8 HP Mosley CL33
2007 >> 21 28 64 6 7 7 HP Mosley CL33
10M --------------------------------------
Days of the living dead. Listened on 10M occasionally, but it was empty. Except
twice, with two Zone 13 stations worked. When this baby wakes up, it'll be a
whole new game.
Band QSOs Pts Cty ZN Sec
2009 >> 28 2 6 1 1 0 LP SteppIR 3-element (It's
alive!)
2009 >> 28 0 0 0 0 0
2008 >> 28 0 0 0 0 0 |-- dead to the world
2007 >> 28 0 0 0 0 0 /
What would I have done differently?
-----------------------------------
My 29 hours on was nicely distributed, and I slept from 0830z to nearly 1400z
both nights. Wish I had gotten up earlier to get more out of 40M to the Pacific
and Asia. The band was still useful to JA at 1400z (late in the grayline) but I
think I missed the real action by an hour or two.
I also would have stayed in the chair Sunday afternoon instead of feeling
compelled by a warm sunny fall day to go out and weed-eat the front yard with
1.5 hours to go. Took only 30 minutes and I enjoyed the break. But in the final
five minutes before 0000z, I realized I was just four Qs shy of 800. With two
minutes left, I was at 799. I left my unproductive CQ slot on a broad-daylight
40M band and searched for a station. Everyone I found was B4. Twenty seconds
left, I found a new one to work.... and lost the jump-ball. There's always next
year. I hate fescue.
That's a wrap on CQWW RTTY 2010. Had a great time, as always, and wouldn't have
missed it. On to the next one. See you in the fray!
73, Bud VA7ST
http://www3.telus.net/va7st
Year-over-year comparison:
TOTALS QSOs Pts Cty ZN Sec Score
2010 Total >> 799 1846 128 63 155 638,716 29.0 hrs
2009 Total >> 703 1643 107 55 126 473,184 26.5 hrs
2008 Total >> 784 1750 111 55 135 526,750 29.0 hrs
2007 Total >> 599 1295 74 46 119 309,505 23.0 hrs
----------------------------------------
Qs Mult Score
----------------------------------------
2010 SOABLP 799 346 638,716
2009 SOABLP 703 288 473,184 SteppIR
2008 SOABHP 784 301 526,750
2007 SOABHP 599 239 309,505 1st HP entry
2006 SOABLP 561 242 300,322
2005 SOABLP 365 221 189,840
2004 SOABLP 760 220 482,062 1st contest w/tower
2003 SOABLP 257 168 101,304
Be sure to check out the new Orca DX and contest club
http://www.orcadxcc.org
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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