ARRL DX Contest, SSB - 2023
Call: N1RM
Operator(s): N1RM
Station: N1RM
Class: SOUAB HP
QTH: VA
Operating Time (hrs): 24:10
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160:
80: 69 38
40: 113 58
20: 274 84
15: 338 88
10: 631 100
-------------------
Total: 1425 368 Total Score = 1,573,200
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
It surprised me just how much more fatiguing this contest was than the CW and
RTTY contests I've done recently. I think it had a little to do with sometimes
flakey propagation, but I think SSB contests in general are more tiring for me.
As a result I put in only about 24 hrs.
It was strange how 40M, my "money band" of DX contests for the last
decade, never really opened up and 10M just seemed to keep on giving. I had a
couple of good runs on 10M and 20M, and lots of S&P. Run rates were very
high in spurts, but seemed to quickly die out. I programmed {SPOTME} into a
spare function key and whenever I hit it I got a quick burst - like a
"turbo button".
Self-spotting seemed to change the dynamics. I need to search for a new filter
approach. The old filters seemed to tight, but opening things up seemed to give
me lots of unworkable spots, especially on 10M.
It was fun to work a string of JA's, and also to pick up India and Mongolia.
Thanks goodness for the uptick in Brazilian contesters! They kept rates
respectable when everything else seemed to go away. My top two most worked
entities were Italy (115) and then Brazil (112). It was also a gas to get 100
entities (exactly) on 10M.
The station is still acting loud, though I will need to overhaul the SteppIR
this spring. I'm starting to get slightly higher VSWR after lots of band
switching. It never got over about 1.6:1, but not what I've been used to so I
want to nip it in the bud. I now have over 40,000 QSOs on the station since it
went active in 2020, so I owe it some TLC.
Now I need to take up meditation or yoga or something to prepare myself for WPX
SSB!
73,
Rick
N1RM
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