ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW - 2023
Call: K3KU
Operator(s): K3KU
Station: K3KU
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: MD
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160:
80: 258
40: 184
20: 158
15: 97
10: 1
------------
Total: 698 Sections = 85 Total Score = 118,660
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
My only antenna is a tree-supported dipole, but I think one point is higher than
50 feet (where it passes over a branch, before bending down to about 25 ft off
the ground). I'll try to check that tomorrow to see if I can be in the Limited
Antenna overlay.
Usual 2345Z start. I don't use a detailed strategy driven by propagation
forecasts. I just do a coarse guess (high bands this year!) and quickly check
the bands and see where I can make the most QSOs... and have the best chance to
find the rare Sections. I did figure this year to start on 15M, and it paid off
-- VI, NE, TER, EWA, AB, SB, NNY, LAX, and EB (and several easy ones) were
quickly worked. Of course, this year some of those were not rare, but ya' never
know (remember the pileups on the LAX guys last year?). I also got BC, which is
no big deal for you, but some years it's tough for me.
I spent 55 minutes on 15M, making 73 QSOs from WNY to KH6, some even by CQing.
Those western QSOs had been tough for me in the low-sun-spot years.
I dropped right down to 80M, which is usually my money band. I had some sort-of
good runs on 80M this year, but not as good as previous years.
I bounced around the bands through the night, trying to find activity on 40M and
looking for spot openings on the high bands. Activity was wa-a-a-y down in the
wee hours, so I took a 45 minute break at 0745Z and another at 09Z. I delayed
my obligatory morning break until about 14Z, expecting (hoping) to find NL on
40M or 20M in the early morning. Yup! One VO1 called in on 40M at 1011Z and
another at 1053Z. (I did hear a VO2 running, later in the test, with a huge
pileup. I gave him one call with no luck, and was SO glad I did not have to try
fighting through.)
After the morning break and all day Sunday I flailed around 40M, 20M, and 15M.
CQ... S&P... CQ... S&P... on and on and on. I was getting pretty tired,
and I'm sure I was losing efficiency. (Oh, that F1 key looks so much more
inviting than the big knob.)
By Sunday mid-morning I was missing AL (Huh?!?!?), QC (sometimes it's tough) and
NB (which I figured for my toughest Section this year). Sure enough, AL showed
up at 1545Z, with a few more later on. (Don't laugh -- one year I missed
Oklahoma!)
Sunday morning late (I think) I found an NL runner on 20M (I think; maybe 15M).
I got beat out on my first try (I'm used to that). Then he CQed in my face a
couple of times and QRT. Oh no! That might have been my only chance to get
NL!
At 18Z, CQing on 20M, I had TWO QCs call in, two QSOs apart. Yes! My brilliant
tactics paid off! (I heard one of them running later, and, again, I was SO glad
I did not have to break the pileup.)
So, now what to do about NB? At 2150Z I found the same runner, on 15M
(immediately after working my n-th WTX). One call, and IT'S THE SWEEP!!! Oh,
yes! Oh, joy! (The same NB op called me Sunday evening on 80M; I had to tell
him he was a dupe.)
With that done, I could try for my secondary goal: 700 QSOs. My NR got up to
703, but I have five dupes in there, so total (before log busting)is only 698.
An improvement over the last several years, but still down from my best (with a
presumably lesser station). Maybe I'll do some analysis to see where I slipped,
other than inefficiency from tiredness.
AS many others have observed, 15M and 20M were marvelous, open continent wide.
(And more. At one point I worked A2R (or whatever the call is) on 20M, thinking
I had miss-heard a US call sign. 599 MD, and you are NOT in the log.) Many
eastern Sections were worked on 20M and 15M. 10M was never any good when I
checked it. I never noticed any effect from the solar flare that other op's
have mentioned. Maybe it happened during my 90-minute morning break. That
would have been plain luck.
With my obligatory late start and morning break, I can't use "normal"
off time strategy. That morning break stretched to 90 minutes (instead of my
planned one hour) because some external things demanded my attention. When I
got back on at about 1530Z, I had about 20 minutes of off time left. Gotta go
straight thru and end early. I took some needed short breaks during the day
without logging out. The I deducted some time to account for time I spent
listening before a break or when coming back on ("time listening counts as
time operating" -- even if it can't be enforced). QRT at 0211Z. N1MM+
says 23:33 On, but 24 is more honest.
For the first time I had several unique Sections answer my CQs. (PE called me,
but that doesn't count. He was just aggressive SO2R, and was available running
many other times. Besides, I worked a second PE by jumping ahead of his S&P
direction and CQing until he called me.) I hope my Sweep survives log checking
(many unique Sections this time, and I've had the Sweep busted several times in
the past).
I love SS CW! I used to be ready to do it again at 0305Z. Now, it takes me
three days to recover. When's the next one?!?! Oh, two weekends away, on SSB.
TNX QSOS ES HPE CU SS SSB.
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