CQ CW WPX SUMMARY SHEET Contest Dates : 26-May-98, 27-May-98
Callsign Used : K4RO Operator : K4RO Default Exchange : 5NN #
Category : Single Op Low Power (100W) Un-assisted
Team/Club : Tennessee Contest Group
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points Prefixes IC-765/IC-761
_____________________________________________________ TR-Log 6.26
80CW 17 17 68 4 half sloper
40CW 191 186 596 96 boom dipole, vertical
20CW 584 577 1190 326 PRO-57A @ 100'
15CW 109 109 255 43 " negative gain :-)
10CW 21 21 60 12 "
_____________________________________________________
Totals 922 910 2169 481
Final Score = 1,043,289 points.
After a full-scale visit from Murphy last year, I was ready
for a much better WPX CW contest this year. Conditions weren't
that great, but I managed to have a pretty good time anyway.
There were a couple of things which stood out for me in this
contest, mostly just attitude changes. The first thing I noticed
was how relaxed I felt through the whole contest. This was due
in part to NOT re-designing and re-assembling the station just
hours before the contest (my usual routine.) I had a few minor
things to change around, but basically the station was QRV and
ready to go when I sat in the chair. It all worked pretty much
flawlessly throughout the contest. I plan to prepare as much
as possible well in advance of future contests.
Another thing I noticed was that I wasted very little energy on
being angry or frustrated. The same old annoyances were still
present - lousy condx, QRM, lids, losing my CQ frequency over and
over again (LP blues...) and so forth. For some reason, I just
didn't let stuff get to me like it did in the past. I was still
fired up and intent on making a good score, but just didn't waste
any energy on the lids. I credit this in part to some revealing
conversations at Dayton regarding single-op tempers and attitudes!
Two-radio contesting is much easier with low power. I still don't
have bandpass filters, but with 100W, I had very few problems.
I really only used the 2nd radio effectively for the first few hours
of the contest (CQ on 20m while S&P on 40m.) As the contest wore on,
I somewhat lost motivation to keep the second radio going much more,
though I did find the occaisional QSO/multiplier throughout the contest.
For the first time, I did experience actually being comfortable working
stations on both radios. It was a powerful feeling, like my brain was
working at maximum capacity. I need to spend a LOT more time
practicing listening to CW on 2-radios. I need to spend a LOT more
time practicing CW period. That KCDX pileup test is very humbling.
Only had one good JA opening, and it was Saturday AM. Rate never
exceeded 47 (second hour.) Typical Low Power S&P grind. Good DX
included BY1QH, JY8B and A45XR. Missed T88X and a few others.
I tried to focus on making QSO points as much as possible, while
still keeping the PFXs coming in. My not-rare K4 PFX probably
limited the number of 0-pointers, but also the number of PFX
multipliers who called me as well. Next year's 1-point rule should
make this contest more exciting for those of us in middle Tennessee.
After last year, I was very glad just to make it all the way through
the contest without any major problems. :-) See you next time, and
thanks again for the QSOs!
-Kirk K4RO
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