ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: K8CN
Operator(s): K8CN
Station: K8CN
Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: FN43nc
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160:
80: 3 3
40: 89 39
20: 191 50
15: 148 53
10: 118 47
-------------------
Total: 549 192 Total Score = 316,224
Club:
Comments:
I had high hopes for for a "full on" effort in this contest after last
year's new personal record, especially since the local electric utility had only
two weeks earlier quenched a major power line arc source just up my street (try
contesting with S9 noise across every band from 160 - 6 meters!) - thank you
Public Service!
Murphy was not to be denied though - a nasty head/chest cold set in the day
before the contest start. I came home early from work on Friday, finished set
up of the radio and logger, then laid down for a nap. Well, a half-hour after
the start I limped into the shack, still exhausted from the cold symptoms, eked
out a few Qs, bailed out after a couple of hours, and proceeded to sleep the
rest of Friday night, all day Saturday, and all of Saturday night. The extreme
body fatigue finally relented Sunday morning, so I jumped back into the fray at
1400Z and managed to stay at it (with breaks only for dog walking) through to
the end.
Pleasant surprises? Yes, there were a few: the extended period of activity on
the high bands Friday night allowed me to postpone visiting the 40 meter jungle
for a while; the great conditions Sunday morning, although I gather from reading
here that Saturday was better; the extended runs I could maintain on both 15 and
20 meters on Sunday (it really helps to be fresh meat!); the joy of being
spotted (I presume) and being called by 4 or 5 stations simultaneously, all
exactly zero-beat on my frequency.
Out of curiosity I checked last year's log to see at what number of on-air
hours I reached 550 Qs. It took 16 hours last year, but just 12 hours this
year. Propagation conditions and my delayed entry into the contest surely
played a role - now if only I could maintain that kind of average rate for 30
or more hours, eh?
Thanks to all those great DX ops who dredged me out of the mud - your copying
skills are the stuff of legend. The "K8CN Amazement Award" goes to
JF1NHD who must have employed mind reading in addition to superb weak signal
copying skills in giving me my only JA mult and QSO this year on 15 meters.
Next year: no illness, no (audible) power line arc sources, and 35+ hours in
the chair. We'll see......
73,
Mike, K8CN
Durham NH
Rig: K3 @ 5 watts; crippled Lazy H, hanging much lower than usual, and my
trusty Johnson Matchbox.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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