CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB
Call: W6YX
Operator(s): N7MH
Station: W6YX
Class: SOSB/20 HP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 33
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160:
80:
40:
20: 1054 38 130
15:
10:
------------------------------
Total: 1054 38 130 Total Score = 412,440
Club: Northern California Contest Club
Comments:
I decided to "take it easy" this year and do a single band effort so
I could get some sleep without missing valuable operating time. The 20 meter
W6 record held by W6QHS (W6NL) of 493K seemed possible to break, especially in
the waning solar cycle when 10 and 15 weren't likely to be very good.
I dismissed the reports of 10 meter openings and stuck to my plan and went with
20. Little did I know that 20 would be open the entire contest and I probably
missed a good late night opening while I slept, based on N2IC's report. 10
meters would have been a much better choice for both overall score and sleep.
I tried to set up voice keying but I'd recorded over my CQ Contest message with
a "CQ Field Day" message that just didn't seem appropriate for CQWW.
Something had been reconfigured in the SO2R box or WriteLog configuration that
prevented me from recording new messages so I just did the contest without
voice keying.
I missed zones 23 and 34. I heard B9/BY9GA in zone 23 CQing but by the time I
finally understood this unusual callsign the signal had faded enough that they
weren't workable. I also heard JT1T call someone with about an hour to go.
The only zone 34 I heard was a Z8 calling someone else.
There were only a couple of decent openings each day, one in the early morning
and one in the late evening. During most of the day the absorption was too
great so I could only work some of the European big guns, South America or VEs,
most of whom I'd already worked by the second day. Things got really slow on
Sunday afternoon. I was surprised to work only 83 JAs. 457 Qs with Europe was
more than half of the non-US Qs I worked (188 US stations called).
As others have mentioned I got very frustrated with the running stations who
failed to identify themselves often enough. When they finally did identify
themselves it usually got covered up by the callers who were used to the
non-identification and jumped in right after "Thanks".
In the end I was a couple hundred Qs short of breaking Dave's W6 20-meter
record, although it looks like I may now have the second highest score in that
category. A second radio might have helped but I have enough problems
deciphering fluttery accented callsigns with both ears. I could hear both W7WA
and W7RN running stations I couldn't hear. Stacked Yagis definitely do better
than the single Yagis at W6YX.
Thanks to everyone for the Qs, especially those who called in with needed
mults.
73,
-Mike, N7MH
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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