1997 ARRL DX Contest - CW
Call: WA7BNM
Category: Single Op, High Power, 15-meter only, Unassisted
Location: S.Calif
Op Time: 12.75 hrs
Band Q M
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15 178 51 = 27,234
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Rig/Antennas:
FT-1000D/Alpha 87A
Stacked Tribanders at 72/105 feet
Comments:
Due to bad cold before/during contest and need to finish contest club
newsletter, I knew that I wouldn't be able to do a full, all-band effort.
So, I figured a semi-serious 15m effort would best fit my schedule. The
serious part was putting the tower up and running high power (no low power
single band categories?). The unserious part was going to lunch both days
with my wife, going to the printers, etc. during 15m openings.
15-meters died 45 minutes after the start of the contest -- at which time I
had managed to work everything I could hear or could hear me: 8 QSOs. What
a start! JA7FTR who is one of the loudest JAs, was barely above the noise
level (and there was no noise). Most of the contest was spent copying
signals that didn't move the S-meter, many of which would fade in and out
of the ether.
Most unusual QSO of the contest was working OK1RF at 1554Z Saturday
morning. I couldn't believe my ears. Not loud, but copyable on a path about
45 degrees skewed from short path. I think he was as surprised to hear me
as I was to hear him!
Finally had a small run of JA/VK/ZL/Asia during late afternoon Saturday. No
one seemed very loud, but definitely much better than at start of the
contest. Worked stations down to the QRP power level.
Spent the first operating hour Sunday morning trying to find someone I
could hear that I hadn't already worked. Gradually, the curtain lifted,
revealing that the vast empty stretches of frequency were really occupied
by East Coasters CQing. Then, barely above the noise level, France and
Italy.
S92SS was a pleasant surprise toward the end of the contest with a
fantastic S9+ signal.
I look forward to being humbled by the 15m totals from the East Coast and
the descriptions of running EU.
For the phone version, I'll be losing 10 dB and back to screaming into the
mic to try to be heard.
Continent Statistics:
QSOs Percent
North America 27 14.9%
South America 42 23.2
Europe 4 2.2
Asia 81 44.8
Africa 5 2.8
Oceania 22 12.2
73 de Bruce, WA7BNM (bhorn@netcom.com)
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