CQ Worldwide VHF Contest
Call: W9RM
Operator(s): W9RM
Station: W9RM
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: DM58
Operating Time (hrs): 10
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 359 161
2: 25 19
-------------------
Total: 384 180 Total Score = 73,620
Club: New Mexico VHF Society
Comments:
Looks like I picked a bad year to part-time this contest. I think they'll be
some BIG scores.
A one-two punch of interference to the entire 6M band here in the valley,
combined with equipment maintenance that has me down to a single 6M antenna
instead of my usual three, made the part-time decision pretty easy. I was
really wondering if conditions would be good enough to see if FT8 has had a
detrimental effect on the absolute number of stations one can work on SSB &
CW. I had a 185/hour on Saturday afternoon (again, pointing only in one
direction) that seems to suggest the operator volume is there to run good rate.
But, we also had a super strong short-skip opening to W6 that, in the past, has
been able to generate 200+/hours. Today's rate to that area was very poor.
Were the 6's at the beach, in the pool, or, were they spinning their wheels on
FT8 ?
I had planned on at least trying to run guys on FT8 when the bands were
marginal. I tried, but soon gave it up as a bad joke. The majority of stations
that called were not in contest mode, or would switch mid-QSO or do some other
weird move. It was obvious the majority of FT8 users are not contesters and
they don't realize how FUBAR things get when one end is in contest mode and the
other, not. AT least I hope they weren't contesters - how hard is it to figure
out you need to check the CONTEST MODE box when there is a contest going ?
Maybe CQ Magazine has a bit of a PR problem with this contest now-a-days - was
it like this during ARRL June VHF, or do people not realize the CQWW VHF exists
? Anyway, I made about 10 QSO's on FT8 and called it done - too stressful, to
annoying and TOO SLOW !
I didn't do too much MSK144 meteor scatter since I was only part-time. I
fulfilled my obligations to work some of the deserving and didn't really hear
anything new, grid-wise.
Thanks to all who answered my CQ's on both bands, be it SSB, CW, FT8 or MSK144
and thanks to a small handful of Rovers. Oh, AC0RA/R has one WICKED rover setup
- you rule Wyatt !
Equipment:
6M - 1KW + 7 el @ 50'
2M - 600W + 5WL beam at 55'
-W9RM DM58 CO
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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