CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW - 2020
Call: K3ZM
Operator(s): K3ZM
Station: K3ZM
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: virginia
Operating Time (hrs): 30
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 1641 State/Prov = 58 Countries = 71 Total Score = 1,128,492
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
Did anybody manage to get the elusive Maine multiplier? :)
In all seriousness, the stage was set for some major competition in this running
of the big 160 contest. So many mighty stations in the great state of Maine
(let's just go ahead and say it - they are really in Southern Canada - call it
Western VY2) plus another likely operation by N5DX. Unknown, however, was the
operating category that each would enter. Would we see a second multi-operator
match between N5DX and the venerable crew at W2GD? The latter has no doubt been
smarting from their shocking defeat a year earlier by the upstarts. So many
possibilities.
In the meantime, down here, far, far down the coastline, where we say y'all and
pour Wild Turkey on our cornflakes at breakfast, I did my best to get all my
dogs barking. Almost everything was working by contest time. And it took a
W2GD-160-like effort to fix everything.
Conditions were very good both nights with strong signals and QRN was absent -
just some rain static in the wee hours of Friday night as a storm passed
through. Unlike last year, the EU's were pouring in at the beginning of the
contest. Except, of course, they were concentrating on dancing furiously with
each other for five points apiece for the first few hours.
My QSO rate started out briskly here:
109
111
129
118
99
79
82
80
A cumulative rate above 100 per hour for 8 hours - comparable to the lively ARRL
160 event. At bedtime Saturday morning, I had worked 361 EU's. Total QSOs was
1,016 in 59 countries and 56 states as I tried to sleep.
I fought a weird health issue that came out of nowhere Friday evening and night,
where my left eye got severely irritated by something - a scratched cornea or
rapidly on-setting conjunctivitis or whatever - it was making tears like crazy
and I had a tough time. But I just stayed with it until sunrise Saturday
morning. Sleep on Saturday was worthless as a result of this strange health
incident.
No JA, VK, ZL or KH6 the first night. But the West Coast was coming in fine.
The second night was similar to and equally good as the first night. Signals
peaked in the Middle East at about their sunrise. 7Z1SJ was really loud this
time, as well as 4Z4. I thought I heard 4K calling me but I guess it was just a
dream.
In the end, I made 624 EU QSOs, and only a few of those are dupes. 20 contacts
with Asia.
Sunday morning brought 4 JA's and 2 UA0's, as well as a few KH6 stations.
I am immensely grateful to the XYL. I had to miss her birthday AGAIN over the
weekend. She once again helped me debug two of my RX Four Square arrays by
listening from remote as I connected elements from deep in the reeds of the salt
marsh.
One highlight was being called by brother K2DM from his new contest station at
The Land, outside of the Villages in Florida. After building that nice station
at VP2M that so many of us have enjoyed (pictured on the cover of CQ magazine),
George has done it again. And he was very S9 plus on 160, much easier to copy
than the old attic wire.
I have no idea of the outcome of this competition, but this probably was my best
effort ever in any ham radio contest. I did my best to defend the title against
redoubtable competition.
Thanks for all the QSOs and 73 from the grand old South,
Peter K3ZM
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