ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: W1WEF
Operator(s): W1WEF
Station: W1WEF
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: CT
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 80 42
80: 230 53
40: 573 69
20: 942 90
15: 521 82
10: 216 64
-------------------
Total: 2562 400 Total Score = 3,073,200
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
Since I restored my computer in order to get on line after I quit, I lost my log
in N1MM...BUT luckily I had submitted it at about 5PM yesterday. Yes, with two
hours to go...
Let me start at the beginning. Everything was set to go early Friday. My
antennas survived the recent storms, everything was in good working order...I
even had an up to date SCP file for the first time in years. I had it all ,
except enthusiasm.
Two minutes before the start when I attempted to change bands from the
keyboard...nothing happened! Luckily I decided to restart N1MM and that fixed
it. I never had another computer glitch all weekend until the end. My plan was
to start running from the start on 40, but after 6 CQ's on a clear frequency,
no one came back! Plan B...S&P and that resulted in about a 122 hour as I
recall. Halfway through the second hour 80 was hot and I did great there
until about 0300 when I went to 160 where signals from Europe were as good as
they get. Every band seemed as good as it gets throughout the rest of the
contest.
At 0600 when my score was exactly 200,000 and my point total was my former FOC
number, I took it as an omen telling me to go to bed. I did that but slept
terribly, and was on at 1100Z unrested but raring to go. After picking up a few
low band mults, 20 was rocking and I had some of the greatest pileups ever.
When I searched for mults I was cracking pileups on one or two calls, no matter
how big the pileup. Everything was going well. I found 15 and 10 in great shape,
and sometimes would have the ideal runs with one or two stations calling at a
time, making it easy to pick them out. At other times it was pileup control
mode with so many calling I had to pick out a piece of a call and sometimes
insist that only the guy with that piece come back. Everything was going great
until in the late afternoon on 40, with a huge rate and more wonderful
conditions, it hit me. Was I having fun yet? I thought I was, but for some
reason I just didnt feel like continuing! I quit in the midst of a giant pileup
and great rate, with a good score, but decided I'll just play around when I felt
like it for the rest of the weekend.
I went to bed early Saturday night, went out to breakfast Sunday, watched part
of the U Conn basketball games, and had fun taking it easy when operating, even
enjoying the continuing pileups. I actually spent more time than ever just
S&Ping, mainly looking for a couple stations in particular. I needed PJ2T on 40
to round out 6 bands, and because of an affinity for that station I searched all
bands looking for them so I could ask the 40M frequency, but couldnt believe I
never found them. I actually looked for Kurt VP9/W6PH for over an hour, but
never found him either and only had him on two bands. I did work new mults as I
ran across them, but skipped the opportunities to run again and quit when I
reached a new goal set after I threw in the towel.
I often questioned my sanity pushing myself in contests for the biggest score I
could get. Maybe this is my "contest shock syndrome" kicking in (N2NT about 20
years ago). Maybe it's old age. Maybe I'll forget this weekend and do it all
again come November!
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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