CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB
Call: K3ZM
Operator(s): K3ZM
Station: K3ZM
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Virginia
Operating Time (hrs): 25
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 987 State/Prov = 57 Countries = 49 Total Score = 364,428
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
Wow. That was cool! Can we do it again next weekend?
I have never experienced so much noise during this contest as there was on
Friday evening. The resting QRN level was S8 to S9 with static crashes of 20DB
over nine - on the quiet antennas. I actually was copying EU stations pretty
well at the beginning of the competition but as usual, they were not hearing me
yet. I worked no EU stations during my sunset period on Friday. I decided to
point my antennas away from EU and try to gather states and provinces. This
was a hard task. The QRN was overwhelming. Under quiet conditions, I am able
to listen in three different directions at the same time, but in this go-round,
I had to flip through a variety of antennas and/or directions to find one that
could pull in the station calling me. Then, it was a matter of trying to copy
his callsign. I was doing more filling than a gas station attendant in New
Jersey.
The first EU in the log was CQ7A at 0309Z. Then IZ4ZAW at 0314Z. I did start
compiling EU sunrise QSO's on Friday evening at 0453Z. I actually had 20
straight EU contacts from 0552 to 0624. It was hard work the whole way.
Fortunately, the first EU's in the log are usually the Tier 1 stations who have
louder signals.
KH6CC boomed in like a W9 at 0653Z. I couldn't believe it. Pretty much on
schedule, G3UJE was the last EU in the log the first night at 0657.
Frazzled and tired, I went to bed Saturday morning with 615 QSO's, 20 countries
and about 50 states/provinces. I think my ears were bleeding. There was blood
on the pillow. I had only worked 34 EU's, an all-time low for the first
night.
Saturday night was better. There was less noise. But signal levels were not
that great, as is typical of the present point in the cycle. This second time,
I stubbornly kept my XMIT antenna pointed northeast for much of Saturday evening
and was rewarded with a call from 7Z1SJ. Other nice DX on Saturday was SV9COL
and P33W. I had gathered a nice collection of countries from the Caribbean rim
and was hoping to have a decent country total but I ended up missing some common
EU multipliers. Total EU's worked was 157, an all-time low for me at this QTH.
I did not work VK or ZL. Most of the West Coast stations that I worked, as
usual, were on Friday night, which was of course brutal.
I claimed the intra-family WAB award by making contacts with K2DM, KK6ZM and
VY2ZM.
My second-to-last contact was with W2MYA Sunday afternoon. We both agreed his
call sounds wrong. I told him he's an imposter.
My favorite callsign of the weekend was NC4SC.
I do not think K3MD should be allowed to send 599 PA. It is very confusing.
Someone please tell him.
Many thanks to the XYL for supporting me the last 11 days. I ditched her on
Wednesday before ARRL CW to come here, leaving her to cope with the incoming 16
inches of snow by herself - on Valentine's day. What a guy!
Many thanks for all the contacts.
73,
Peter K3ZM
"You May Have Been Doing This Too Long," by K3ZM
If you read about the serious fiscal challenges in Greece and your first
thought was, "Gee, I hope this won't jeopardize my ability to get the SV
multiplier in the 160 contests," you may have been doing this too long.
Back in the good old days of liberal baggage policies by the airlines, if the
main reason you took the XYL along to the Caribbean was to have another two
suitcases to put radio equipment in, you may have been doing this too long.
(credit N2ED)
If you thought that Halloween existed to celebrate the annual return of the CQ
Phone contest, you may have been doing this too long.
If you visited One World Trade Center in New York City and your only remark
was, "Gosh, it's nice to see the radio tower go back up," you may
have been doing this too long.
If you ditched the XYL on her 50th birthday because it was the CQ 160 CW
contest, you may have been doing this too long.
If you live in the same town as your alma mater and have not been able to
attend a home football game in November for years, you may have been doing this
too long.
If the ringer tone on your cell phone sends "CQ Test" in Morse code,
you may have been doing this too long.
If your high school daughter mentions she is interested in visiting a nice
liberal arts college in Ohio like Oberlin or something and you ask, "Where
is it in relation to Dayton?" you may have been doing this too long.
If the lowest and highest tuning buttons on your car's AM radio are permanently
set to 530 khz and 1710 khz for hunting line noise, you may have been doing this
too long.
If your XYL is the one who set them, well done, OM! And, yes, you may have
been doing this too long.
If you read in the newspaper that higher interest rates might affect the
S&P outlook and you think this is a story about finding multipliers in a
contest, you may have been doing this too long.
If your call sign is not only on your license plate but also on the XYL's
license plate, you may have been doing this too long.
If your family complains that your upcoming contest totally conflicts with
Memorial Day weekend and you reply, "And your point is. . .?" then
you may have been doing this too long.
If you are out running Beverages at your place and you bump into an inoperable
motor vehicle that you did not even know was on your property, you may have
been doing this too long.
If you think Titanic was a movie about radiotelegraphy, you may have been doing
this too long.
If your son asked for an ant farm for Christmas and you gave him a hybrid
coupler from Comtek, you may have been doing this too long.
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