CQ Worldwide DX Contest, RTTY - 2019
Call: N1IXF
Operator(s): N1IXF
Station: N1IXF
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: CT
Operating Time (hrs): 37:04
Summary:
Band QSOs State/Prov DX Zones
------------------------------------
80: 102 29 11 6
40: 422 42 45 15
20: 534 38 65 20
15: 49 9 17 11
10: 3 1 2 2
------------------------------------
Total: 1110 119 140 54 Total Score = 733,359
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
At the start of the contest, I thought the condx were awful and wondered if I
would have the fortitude do my usual serious effort. The rates were so bad on
the first night I couldn't use the usual "contest adrenaline" to keep
going over night and I ended up sleeping for 4 hours. I decided the few contacts
I was likely to make in the next 4 hours would be so low that the sleep was a
better way to improve overall performance.
Early Saturday morning (local time) started out promising when I picked up Zones
30 and 32 as I expected on 40M. I was looking forward to the expected EU
opening on 20M but it was weak. I tried hard to find a run frequency but it's
tough when the entire World is on one band. When I did find a spot, it wouldn't
be long before the big boys would kill my LP signal and squeeze me out. :o(
Spent a whole lot more time S&P than I like. Again I am reminded that
keeping track of the stations in the bandmap without spotting assistance is
WORK. I spent too much time listening to signals only to find that I had
already worked them. Q totals were dismal most of the day and it was a slough.
Sometime during the day I realized I forgot to report scores to the distribution
server and that using the Contest Online Scoreboard would help create additional
motivation . I turned that on and kept a page open while I tried to move up in
the rankings from a poor start. It creates a "contest within a
contest" and really helps me continually think about what might be a more
productive tactic than what I'm doing at the time. Had a good "horse
race" with ON4CT.
Sunday was much better and easier to find places to run. My forays to 15 and 10
even produced a few multipliers. Had a couple good runs on 20M and later 40M
that added some surprise multipliers :o)! Even had a good contest closing Sunday
night on 80M where my inverted vee is the weakest antenna I have.
Overall, it was still a great contest and enough fun to want more. While I
whine about the guys who squeeze me out of my run frequency, I do think that the
vast majority of contest operators exhibit courteous behavior and good
radio-sportsmanship. Also on the plus side, kudos again to the N1MM Logger+
team as the program worked flawlessly once I had fixed my COM port identifiers
that the latest Win 10 update reassigned. It was great to work lots of familiar
calls but especially nice to work so many fellow YCCCers and see them leading
categories on the online scoreboard, hope we continue to get RTTY interest going
in the club. Thanks to Dennis and crew @ HQ9X for 2 new RTTY band countries,
the K1FSA crew @ K1TTT for the only 5 band station that I worked, and Eric @
FP/KV1J for using his YCCC filter to pull me out of a pile up on 80M for a good
mult.
Who were those guys in OH?... seemed like every op in the state was on for this
contest and I wondered if a club made a special effort to get turnout or if I
just had a pipeline to the Buckeyes?
73,
Rich N1IXF
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|