ARRL 10-Meter Contest
Call: ZL6QH
Operator(s): ZL2AOV ZL2BSJ
Station: ZL6QH
Class: M/S HP
QTH: Wellington
Operating Time (hrs): 36
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
CW: 759 75
SSB: 585 66
-------------------
Total: 1344 141 Total Score = 593,046
Club: WARC
Comments:
Surprisingly good condx across the Pacific into the W and VE; much better than
during the CQWW-CW.
Quite good signals from most US stations during most times of both days, but
also drop-outs lasting several hours. Good signals from Asia, but not much
activity - apart from the loud JA contesters.
Our score is only 1/3rd of last year's raw score, QSO totals were down
by almost 50 %.
----
The first evening provided the hoped-for Eastern Eu short-path; we decided to
split it between CW and SSB...a good move because that was all we heard from
Europe. The band then fizzed out with S5/OK/SP and closed an hour after local
sunset.
The next morning (our first morning) the band was open to the US East Coast on
local sunrise with reasonable runs, but things were slow during the day. Your
scribe - unemployed CW op - became bored with reading magazines and
connected the NorCal20 QRP rigto the 6 el. monoband yagi to work a
couple of Eu's - long path. That was fun.
No Central Asia or Eu that 2nd night; the band died half an hour before local
sun-set, and that was it....
This provided the perfect excuse to duck down to 160 m. To our amazement, loud
signals were heard in between S-9 static crashes. We scrambled to convert the
station for Top Band use, and within 15 minutes three continents were in a
hastily opened 160 m log. VE7CC produced at S9+20 dB the loudest
off-continent signals I have ever heard on 160 m.
The 2nd morning: a 4:45 AM start. The 10 m band opened half an hour before
sunrise with excellent signals from the The Far Side (NA East Coast).
By late morning the band faded, with W0YK (CA) the last station to sink into
the noise floor...so we went QRT half an hour early to pull the
station to bits.
----
In order to combat fading and QSB, we had diversity reception on a 2nd
receiver with a vee beam spaced 10 wavelengths or so away from the yagi. This
gave us the yagi in one ear, and the vee beam in the other.
The diversity reception experiment was interesting at times, particularly on
CW. We had a similar scheme last year at ZL1V with ZL1CT's SO2R setup, and we
used it to listen to JA at the same time as W.
This time however, both antennas were were much wider spaced, and pointed at
the US. On occasion, the diversity reception helped to copy badly fading
signals as they seemed to 'move' from left to right and back again. Also, at
times, the yagi produced level pile-ups when the vee would favour one or two
signals amongs the callers, making it easier to get a partial.
However, most of the time the yagi outperformed the vee. In fact, SSB op
ZL2AOV found the diversity a distraction (which - at times - it was).
Thanks to Doug ZL2AOV for looking after the sideband, and to Brian ZL1AZE for
stepping into the climbing harness to help with the Eu/JA yagi repairs at
short notice. Please QSL via ZL2AOH.
Wilbert, ZL2BSJ (for ZL6QH ops ZL2AOV and ZL2BSJ)
CW: 54 State/Prov
PHONE: 53 State/Prov
Worked NAM CW:
CT MA ME NH RI NY NJ DE PA MD DC AL GA KY NC FL
SC TN VA AR LA MS NM TX OK CA HI AZ ID MT OR UT
WA MI OH WV IL IN WI CO IA KS MN MO NE ND NS NF
QC ON MB SK AB BC
Worked NAM PHONE:
CT MA ME NH RI VT NY NJ DE PA MD DC AL GA KY NC
FL SC TN VA AR LA MS NM TX OK CA HI AK AZ ID MT
NV OR UT WA WY MI OH WV IL IN WI CO IA KS MN MO
NE NS ON AB BC
DX CW:
BV FO HL HP JA LY LZ OK OM PY S5 TI UA
UA9 UN UR VK VR XE YU ZL
DX PHONE:
BY JA JD/o K KH6 SP TI UA UA9 VE VK XE ZL
<EOF>
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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