CQ WORLD WIDE DX CONTEST -- 1997
Call: ZM2K Country: New Zealand
Mode: CW Category: Multi Single
BAND QSO QSO PTS PTS/QSO ZONES COUNTRIES
160 0 0 0.00 0 0
80 38 97 2.55 17 32
40 558 1645 2.95 27 67
20 901 2659 2.95 33 96
15 1297 3817 2.94 31 99
10 920 2710 2.95 27 45
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Totals 3714 10928 2.94 135 339 => 5,179,872
All reports sent were 59(9), unless otherwise noted.
QSL: via ZL2IR (via bureau)...any QSL to me will be returned!
Operator List: ZL2AGY ZL2DX ZL2ST ZL2IN ZL2BSJ
Venue: Barry's Woolshed on Long Ridge, sunny Wairarapa.
Equipment Description:
TS930 (3), SB201 (?) (2), a '$50 ZL2DX special' in a converted heater
cabinet for 20.
10/15/20/40 monoband yagis: 7 el, 5 el, 4 el, 2 el
80/160: wire dipoles
Club Affiliation: Kiwi Contest Group
Comment: Due to a lack of CW ops we decided to do a multi/single
(instead of m/m) this time. The contest rules were studied and a lot
of head scratching followed but in the end the dreaded 10 minut
rule proved to be quite easy. CT did the thinking for us.
Compared to our m/m score of 6.5M in the SSB event, the CW m/s
rewsult of 5.1M is very pleasing. Chris ZL2DX reckons we have done in
the 'zone-32 m/s best' of 4.5M. The multi/single scheme has its
vantages. You get to work bands that are active, instead of flogging
away at a dead band for hours while watching some other operator
scroll the screen for you...
The high bands certainly worked well, as usual 10 was better than in
the SSB event: we scored almost 3 times as many QSOs on 10. On Sa
night/Sunday morning the band was still open at 3AM local time
I recall hearing KH8/N5OLS booming in on the back of the beam well
after local midnight.
On Su 10 and 15 opened at daylight, but around 11 AM local (2200 Sa
UTC) something happenend and 15 (the run band) died a horrible death.
US stations disappeared first, and after some time there we
no signals left on the band. A little later the South Americans
started popping up again, as well as ZD8Z. An hour later it was back
to business as the run station was moved to 10.
Late Su afternoon the Nor'wester started getting up and by late Su
night it went berserk. The 10 m tower was twisting around by that
stage, and the 10 m yagi trashing and flapping like some monsterous
bird. The woolshed felt as if it was about to be lifted off its poles
and the noise from the corrugated iron roof was incredible.
By 3AM Mo morning the wind started shorting the power lines from the
road to the woolshed and one phase repeatedly dropped out, crashing
the 15 m PC as well our link into the North Island DX Cluster.
I little later something went properly and we were left with no
lighting and only a few power points working. The run station was
quickly plugged into one of the remaining working ones through an
tension lead and ZM2K was back on the air.
At first light on Monday morning the 15 and 20 m towers and beams
were found to have survived the storm, but the 10 m tower was looking
very wobbly with 5 of the 6 bolts holding the base broken off
We were lucky the storm hadn't lasted a little longer, the 10 m tower
could have easily fallen over on top of the woolshed. The place would
have been really drafty then.
Eventually the WX inproved and we found ourselves packing up with the
sun shining, feeling quite pleased with the result. The Kiwi Contest
Group will be making an appearance in the ARRL 10 m DX Contest as
ZL2DX (multi op/ mixed mode) provided the El Nino winds don't get the
10 m beam first....
Wilbert, ZL2BSJ
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