CQWW WPX Contest, CW - 2019
Call: N3QE
Operator(s): N3QE
Station: N3QE
Class: SO(A)AB HP
Class Overlay: TB-Wires
QTH: MD
Operating Time (hrs): 36
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160:
80: 278
40: 720
20: 1117
15: 130
10:
------------
Total: 2245 Prefixes = 839 Total Score = 4,888,014
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
Well, that turned out nicely!
Things didn't look so optimistic Thursday night. A line of storms ripped through
the area at 4PM Thursday and when I got home at 6PM my antenna was on the ground
instead of up 80 feet like it's been for the past 12 years. Immediately check
out the tennis ball cannon situation: Cannon works but not nearly enough fishing
line, only have a dinky reel not good for shooting over my tall trees, and only
one tennis ball. Run off to the sporting goods store to get the stuff! At same
time send an urgent text message to neighbor Eric W3DQ to see if he has any
rope, and he steps up with the good stuff. THANKS ERIC!
Then I get home about 8PM with the stuff and ... wait, what's that utility truck
slowly prowling around my neighborhood? Oh no, all the houses in the
neighborhood are dark!
So Thursday night: no antenna. No electricity. Pepco giving increasingly sliding
prediction for problem identification and resolution. Not looking good.
Get up at the crack of dawn Friday to try launching some balls before the
predicted breezy winds arrived. Takes 3 tries but around 7:30AM I get the
perfect shot for re-hanging my antenna just where it was before. Do a little
more work to patch up some 12 years of weathering on the insulators, use the
fishing line to haul twine then the real rope into the tree, manage to get my
old pulley (still in great shape!) recovered and back up. The antenna is in good
shape at 11AM but where's the electricity? Start exploring the possibility of
renting a generator on my phone's web browser. Then: Click, whir, the
electricity is back on at 11:05! This is gonna be great!
And indeed WPX did turn out great. First night, no atmospheric noise on 40 or 80
at all. Lots of strong Europeans on 40M after dark. After running on 40 for an
hour I decide to "go for it" - I am assisted after all - and do
nothing but click on 6-pointers for a whole hour. Yep, 600 easy points in one
hour! Make it to 80 before EU sunrise and this is the best WPX CW conditions to
EU I have ever heard - everything EU is loud and super easy to work. Great!
Each day started off well on 40M at dawn then an hour offtime for breakfast and
to walk the dog, then get to 20M before the sun has risen too much. At this
point EU is coming in fine and there's AMAZINGLY GOOD conditions to Japan on
20M. Just super good. 20M to EU slows down to a near-stop couple hours after
dawn at absorption goes high. BUT there's wonderful short skip on 20 to the
midwest and northeast states. Really good short skip! Lots of 1 pointers but
they are loud and clear as a bell and they never stop. 15M has a few EU's on,
but also a lot of short skip in the states too. So that works out great!
The second night had a lot more storm noise on the low bands before my sunset
but it cleared up shortly after sunset nicely. Not as easy as the first night
but still very productive point-wise.
And the third night I didn't do anything at all on 40M. Just stuck to 20M, and
boy was 20M giving a lot. 20M Short skip still around, and excellent 20M
conditions to EU at their midnight.
In all this was nearly as good as my best previous efforts in WPX CW. So happy I
got the antenna back up and the electricity came on. AND THANKS A TRILLION TO
ERIC W3DQ for stepping up with the rope! Enjoy PJ7, Eric!
Ten-Tec Eagle + AL-1500 + Link Coupled tuners for each band + 130 foot doublet
up 80 feet between treetops.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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