KC1XX WW 98 CW Story
====================
Edited by Dave Pascoe, KM3T
Contributions and stories by the KC1XX ops
CQ WORLD WIDE DX CONTEST -- 1998
Call: KC1XX Country: United States
Mode: CW Category: Multi Multi
Zone: 5
BAND QSO QSO PTS PTS/QSO ZONES COUNTRIES OP
160 248 516 2.08 22 80 T93M
80 1020 2771 2.72 30 115 N1RR
40 2156 6257 2.90 37 143 N2IC
20 2282 6588 2.89 38 158 K1GQ,KM3T
15 1843 5281 2.87 39 146 K1DG
10 1630 4677 2.87 35 135 KC1XX
---------------------------------------------------
Totals 9179 26090 2.84 201 777 => 25,516,020
----------
(NEW CLAIMED USA M/M RECORD)
THE TEAM (alphabetically): K1DG,K1GQ,K1TR,KC1XX,KM3T,N1RR,N2IC,T93M,Christine
Antennas & Equipment
---------------------
160: 1/4-wave elevated feed vertical w/raised resonant radials
80: Delta loops (NE/SW and NW/SE) top at 200'
160/80 rx: 1100' & 580' Beverages (EU) 1000' Beverages (west & south)
40: 4el yagi@130' (K3LR design) + 2el yagi@200'
20: 4/4/4/4el Cushcraft yagis w/top@200',4/4el@45'/90'(JA),3el south
15: 4/4/4/4/4/4el Cushcraft yagis w/top@200',4/4el south,4el W2PV @90'
10: 4/4/4/4/4/4/4/4el Cushcraft yagis w/top@200',5el@90'(W2PV),
4el rotary yagi @ 200',8el long boom yagi @ 35' (EU)
20-10: Cushcraft R5 vertical
160: Kenwood TS-940S + Ameritron AL-1200
80: Yaesu FT-1000 + Alpha 87
40: Icom IC-781 + Ameritron AL-1200
20: Yaesu FT-1000MP + Alpha 77
15: Yaesu FT-1000 + Alpha 76
10: Icom IC-781 + Ameritron AL-1200
Mult station: Icom IC-765 + SB-220 + R5 vertical
INTRO (by KM3T)
===============
Preparation
-----------
After our CQWW Phone Multi-Single operation, Bill (K1GQ) and I were
unsure that we'd be able to help Matt put together a Multi-Multi for
CW. But Matt was determined to pull it off. His drive and "just get it
done" is nothing short of amazing. So we just forged ahead, deciding
to do whatever it took to get everything ready and a final team
assembled. Bill helped us with a lot of the technical details, and
Matt and I concentrated on recruiting a top-notch team.
Matt, Bill, and I (with some help from Danny, T93M) spent a couple of
Saturdays before CQWW preparing the station. Putting a Multi-Multi
together is A LOT OF WORK. Fortunately, many of the technical
components from last year were still around. Zillions of cables,
Beverage splitters, CT network stuff, etc., etc. That helped a
lot. But many cables had to be rerouted since Multi-Multi spans two
operating rooms, 80/160 in one room and 40-10 in the "main room." And
making each operating position at least minimally ergonomic is an
additional chore.
Matt and I are ridiculously busy in our personal and work lives. So
Bill K1GQ has been a godsend this year. His vast experience, technical
knowledge, and operating skills have been a big factor in this year's
KC1XX operations. It's great to have him on the team. We're lucky to
have him.
Propagation
-----------
What an amazing weekend! It was full of outstanding propagation that didn't
overly favor any particular band. It was a rare one - some of us feel that
conditions like this may not happen again for some time, if ever.
We usually cringe on Friday as the A & K indices always seem to take
off. Not this time. Finally! The excellent propagation we observed all
week continued through the weekend.
In New England we enjoy a distinct propagation advantage to
Europe. This is difficult to debate. At least in CQWW CW, the bands
open earlier and provide slightly longer "running time" to
Europe. This alone isn't enough to win a contest, though. You still
must have a sharp, alert TEAM that knows how to work together to
exploit the propagation advantage....they need to know how to run fast
and pass their brains out.
Some comments on winning and setting records
--------------------------------------------
A team of single-band experts who can't work as a team would probably
not win a contest like CQWW. Not these days. Why? The competition is
getting tougher all the time. Operators and technology are getting
better and better. And part of what really distinguishes the winning
team is the constant passing of multipliers and QSOs. Every op has to
be acutely aware of not just the needs of his band, but the needs of
the other bands. He has to know what other bands might be open if a
4S7 calls in on his band. And he has to act on it, quickly, before the
4S7 spins the VFO and gets away. And each op has to do this, all
weekend, to achieve an optimal score.
I've been helping to build big multi-op stations (N2RM, W3LPL, K1EA/AR
and KC1XX) and put multi-op teams together for 15 years now. I've been
part of many winning and sometimes record-setting operations. But it
never ceases to amaze me how challenging it is to win. And even if you
do, how much winning has to do with antennas, location, propagation,
and luck. But, above all, a huge factor in winning is THE TEAM. We
couldn't have done much better in any of those categories.
I feel fortunate to work with such a great team at such a great
station. And to compete within a circle of the best (W3LPL, K3LR,
N2RM, K1KI, and others). Thanks guys! Thanks Matt!
New Antennas & Stuff for 1998
-----------------------------
R5 vertical - this was a secret weapon this year - tnx K1EA for the
idea. Matt put this together and mounted it on a 10-foot section of
sometoweroranother and strapped it to the kids' swing set. Instant
20dB of isolation due to polarization difference alone. Mounted far
away from other high-band antennas. Hooked it up to an IC-765/SB-220
station with K1GQ's Top Ten decoder box and Dunestar bandpass filter
gizmo. Almost instant band switching. Used this as a searching station
to work mults and stuff.
Turned 4/4el 20m stack from EU to JA. Seemed to work pretty
well. Usually useless to EU so figured we'd give it a try.
8el 10m "Elephant gun" Yagi fixed on EU at 35' (what a monster)
"The Can" - I brought a can of cashews over...once the can was empty,
Matt (or someone) picked it up and dropped it. It made kind of a cool
sound. Almost like a CO station sending CW. So we decided to pick it
up and drop it every time a new mult was worked. It's a
keeper. Contester bonding at its best. (Not to be used next time from
0300Z to 1200Z, though - the noise might be loud enough to wake
Christine and the little girls)
BLOW-BY-BLOW COMMENTARY
=======================
160 meters by Danny T93M
-------------------------
Main op: Danny T93M (also member of T9DX/T9A & ex-YZ4Z/YU4EXA clubs)
Well, first of all, contesting on 160 from US and EU is totally
different, but my previous experience on Top Band from T9-land helped
me a lot. Small things like choosing clean frq. for CQing below 1812
kHz where I got A61AJ and 6V6U and many EU's and searching for
multipliers over 1860 kHz where I got A45 and LX4B, ER2 etc. were good
tactics toward getting 22 zones and 80 countries. Of course, there is
also pure luck on which we all rely on. I also missed working NL7Z and
EU1AZ and couple of other EU's but there is always next time. Finally
I've heard those big sigs from EU like S50U, DF0HQ and YZ6A (who
probably used mountain peak for his location to generate big signal)
to get picture how it sounds from this side of the Atlantic.
80 meters by Charlie N1RR
-------------------------
Main op: Charlie, N1RR (ex-WZ1R)
I have enjoyed two previous WW Phone weekends at Matt's but had not
operated CW with him and his team before. There was a real pressure to
defend their previous title. E-mail lists and planning as always but
it all seemed more focused on the goal: WE MUST DEFEND OUR TITLE!
The 80m and 160m stations are side-by-side in a separate room. All
Beverages are shared between 80m and 160m. Two Beverages were
available for Europe, a short 500-footer and a longer one (1200
foot). There was also a west Beverage. The south Beverage had last
been used during WW Phone and would have to be rolled out this
afternoon. We decided to move the feedpoint further north, since the
south neighbor was working in his yard near the usual place for the
south Beverage. KM3T and I ran it up to where the neighbor was working
and terminated it there. Later it was noticed that the south Beverage
was too short for 160m. It worked fine on 80m.
Preparations on Friday revealed that the old Alpha 78 was not up to
the task on 160m but was perfectly capable of 1500 watts on 80m. KM3T
and I moved the AL-1200 over to 160m without cutting AD1C's line cord
off! No compromises permitted this weekend! Driven by an FT-1000D, the
amp tuned well, but the two loops offered different loads. It wasn't
until early Saturday morning that I had a comfortable system in place
to change between the loops without changing the settings on the amp.
Europeans are audible from 1930Z but can not be worked until nearly
2100Z. Spent some time before the start to become comfortable with the
FT-1000 and switch Beverages and TX antennas. The CT network was up
and all was set. We all spent some time completing the 160m station
and testing.
As Danny, T93M was settling into 160m, I was working Dean N6BV at
6Y2A. Dean was working Europeans and we chatted for just a
moment. He'll make a lot of QSOs this weekend, especially with a pair
of N6BT Force 12 verticals! The band is relatively empty up until even
2345Z!
I work 6Y2A at the start and jump around and work a few
stations. Suddenly I find a real weak one who is calling CQ but not
being answered by anyone! He works a European and gives him 599-22!
I'm gonna stick around for this one, it may be my only opportunity for
Zone 22 all weekend! 8Q7DV. I call and he gives me a report right
away! As soon as the 8Q7DV 80 QSO makes it around our CT network, the
rest of the KC1XX team roars! ALT-F3 and it's out on packet for
everyone. A great way to start the weekend!
I dash around for a few more minutes working everyone, knowing that I
must settle in for some CQing. At 0016Z I start CQing on 3502 and
would stay there for nearly the next two hours. Jumps for packet
multipliers are required if you want to "win the band": J6DX, EA9EA,
TI1C, YT0A, P3A, and Robert, EK6GC, J3A, Z31JA, LX, 4U1VIC are all
logged thanks to packet. During this time 160m is beginning to produce
some Europe. I will be sending as much as I can there, but the band
has to be good!
>From 0200Z until 0430Z the band is full! Plenty of spots, 70 kHz of
CQers and slower rates on my CQs cause me to stop CQing and start
calling! EA8,IS0,4X, Papa Forty Weezer, 5V7A, V47KP, CT3FN, RW2F, PY,
HB, T9, ER, ES, OH0, OZ, FG ,HI, and CU are among the new countries
for 80m. Chris, ZS6EZ is worked on 160m and I yell to Danny to move
him to 80m. Thanks Chris!
I find a hole at 3506 from 0426 until 0600Z and work over 100
stations. Packet spots are used to work: SV9, J45, UT, 3V8, 8P, EA6,
VP2V, KH6 (at 0526Z), GU, 3E1AA, ZF. Several good mults are moved to
160m, but many are not. I decide to dash around the band for dozens of
European spotted QSOs before the end of their darkness. At 0630Z I'm
back calling CQ, but this time on 3532. During this run several good
multipliers call. XR1X is sent to 160m - not heard.
By 0725Z there are enough QSOs in the packet window to stop CQing
again to check the band. HC8N is worked for a double multiplier and
D44BC has a huge pileup but is going slowly. I find 3500 empty at 0818
but it is near the end of the propagation to Europe! I log a dozen G's
and F's. By 0830Z there will be very little to CQ to..and the slow
time begins. I cannot let LPL or LR get too far ahead now. No breaks
and I must work everything I can hear.
TF3IRA is spotted for a double mult. Other multipliers: OY,PZ, CE3F
answers a CQ but is not heard when passed to 160m. Herb KV4FZ appears
and I spot him. Although others spotted JA earlier, my first JA is
logged at 1058Z. I struggle to pull UA9JLJ through from Zone 17 at
1111! Wow! Minor roar from 40m and 20m ops. There was very little
activity and I question whether I've had the same propagation as the
western stations. Only 27 QSOs between 0830Z and our sunrise! I've
been up since FRIDAY at 7 AM, I'm tired. 385 QSOs, 24 zones and 92
countries. I'm very pleased by the multiplier, but the QSOs are very
low! I must CQ more tomorrow! But instead of sleeping, I help the high
band second station and then sleep 10AM to 2PM. I did not get enough
rest, but I know that K1TR is coming tonight!
I start CQing on 3508 from 2140Z to 2213Z. My 4th QSO on 3508 is a
strong XZ1N! I'm floored but copy it the first time and ask him to go
to 40m. (That's exactly how it happened to me in 1996 at KS9K on
80m!) What a way to start the second day! I now have 25 zones on 80m!
Tonight will also be the night to pass everything to 160m: QSOs and
multipliers! 3508 becomes a bad place to stay and I find 3513 is
clear. I stayed on 3513 until 1100Z!
2304Z: ON7TK sent to 160. OX3SA calls in, but no luck with 160m.
4L2M, UN9LM and L36E call in.
100th country at 0213Z! 5-Band DXCC in 26 hours and 13 minutes!
0234Z: JY9QJ calls in and is sent to 160m on 1.810. He is there
quickly and there is a second roar from the 20m and 40m ops for this
double mult and pass. (The 10m and 15m part-timers are already
sleeping!) While JY9QJ is working KC1XX, A61AJ hears us, and calls
Danny for the double mult! A third roar can be heard.
0320Z: 4K9C calls in.
Every UA and UT is sent to 1.810 and every other QSO I ask them to try
1.810. Unfortunately we did not have propagation to UA/UT on
160m. RM6A was heard but not worked.
Beginning about 0600Z, I started to feel tired and sleepy. A short
walk. A short walk outside. As I get sleepier, I call for help. The
rate is still nearly 60 QSOs per hour and N2IC and KM3T love the band!
I take a 2 hour nap on the floor. At 0800 KM3T wakes me up. He has to
go to watch 20. The last European caller was G4CGE at 0833Z, or so I
thought. With Steve and Dave's help we manage hours of: (22Z to 08Z)
16,34,59,63,50,58,54,61,70,62,13 QSOs.
I take over at 0835. Now: 933 QSO / 26 zones / 105 countries! No one
is calling and I'm still waking up. I chat with Marty W1MD (ex-NB1H)
who's out at K8AZ's doing M/S. Then, like in a dream, V63X calls! I
hear the callsign, and type it in, but I don't know what to do next!
Finally I push the right keys and pass him/her to 160m. No luck
there. Surprised to have GM3JKS call in at 0923Z!
This is the last morning for 80m and at this point we are missing:
Zones 1,30,32 Countries: ZL,VK
I'm a little concerned. Yesterday morning was so bad, that I'm glad
that I napped! First VK2AYD gets spotted at 0940Z, then T32IW, and a
few get mad at me for even suggesting that he go to 1810! VK9LX is
cranking away on 3.503 TF3NX answers my CQ and is moved to 1840 for a
double mult. Ten minutes later VK5GN calls Danny on 160m! Too early
for VK5 on 80. Worked VK5GN an hour later. Several other VK's make it
into the log and now, with over 950 QSOs in the log, I'm starting to
look ahead to what might happen during the last few hours. Looks like
they only worked 15 QSOs duiring the last few hours last year. That
means I better not go to sleep until I have 1000 QSOs this morning!
This becomes the new short-term goal. W3LPL, K5NA, W7RM are
worked. VK6HD calls Danny on 160m (ROAR) but pass to 80m is
unsuccessful. JA6ZPR at 1118Z is the only new JA heard. RA0CG is on
again today, but he still cannot hear anyone calling him. KL7Y is
spotted at 1128Z and then logged for the double mult. Now: 958/29/110
Things are slower now. I call CQ and then tune some more, then CQ
again. AH2R is spotted on 3.529 but is too weak for a QSO. Must
wait. KH8 is spotted but too weak also and has huge pile up with no
one from the east getting through. Must wait.
Hear several W2's and 3's work AH3R then several 1's. K1ZZ calls but
does not stay. Finally near 1155Z his signal begins to rise. I copy a
5NN-27 solidly! Next transmission I can hear his call completely. I
begin calling. After a few calls he sends a question mark. Our QSO
takes 3 minutes but is completed at 1157Z. There is a roar from the
"day-timers" and a slap from Danny! But there's more to work!
Back to the KH8. Don is a better SSB operator than CW, so speed won't
do it and he'll move his RX freq around to hear. K1AR and I work him
close to the bottom of his listening range, within a few minutes of
our sunrise of 1215Z! Another roar is heard from the busy "RATE OPS"
in the next room. Now: 960 / 30 / 112 but I can't stop now! There's
still time and 80m could stay open for up to an hour after sunrise.
ZL6QH gets spotted on 3.505 at 1220Z - another country! That's 113! I
get back to CQing and trying to log enough QSOs to make my goal. With
no other new stations heard, I take a break at 1300Z to encourage the
"high-banders" and I help dish out the "breakfast a la Christine."
Everyone is surprised when I'm back logging American zero-pointers and
an occasional VE! Some even ask me to head off to bed. They are
reminded of "the 80m goal." I'm on for an hour and a half then off for
a 30 minute nap. I find a VE slow speed net and work everyone. Matt is
going to be receiving all kinds of cards asking for pictures of his
200 foot high full-wave loop antenna! During this time I lose the TX
antenna switch. The switch is replaced but a relay is failing. Cannot
listen to the loops anymore, just the Beverages.
By 1900Z I work WO1N at K1TTT/KY1H and now: 986 / 30 / 113. I'm back
on 3513 and YV1NX calls and is sent to 160m - skeds with 2 LU stations
and a CE are sent to 1.810 but it is too early. Danny hears several
Europeans, but no DX QSOs. HB0 is worked for #115. End: 1021 / 30 /
115
40 meters by Steve N2IC
-----------------------
Main op: Steve, N2IC
Matt (KC1XX) and Dave (KM3T) were very persuasive in convincing me to
return to Matt's super station for CQWW CW. Actually, it was an easy
decision - Matt's New England QTH combined with his fantastic 4
element 40 meter beam (K3LR design) makes 40 meters a quantum above
anything I have ever experienced from Colorado.
The first 30 minutes of the contest were very unsettling for me. I was
totally unprepared for the depth of the Europe pileup that greeted
me. It wasn't unruly, but there always seemed to be 10 stations
calling after I finished each QSO - that just doesn't happen in
Colorado. I kept thinking to myself, why the pileup? Don't these guys
know I'll have 30 or more hours of EU propagation over the next 2
days? I also fumbled with CT for the first 5 minutes, as I had not
used CT since last year's contest at Matt's. There were also lots of
interesting packet spots that tempted me, but I didn't want to lose my
running momentum. I had a real knot in my stomach when I consciously
ignored the 8Q7DV spot!
After the first hour, the pileup was gone, replaced by a steady stream
of EU. Some good mults called during the night - 4X, 4K, 9H, GD and I
aggressively went after packet spots. I was very happy to work XR1X at
0305Z, avoiding the Zone 12 fiasco I experienced last year. By Europe
sunrise at 0700Z, I was real happy to have 722 stations in the
log. JA4EKO was the first JA at 0736Z, but EU continued to outnumber
JA by a 3:1 ratio through 0900Z. After 0900Z, condx remained
reasonably good to JA short path, but the rate was way down. Worked
lots of good Asian/Pacific mults - V8, KH2, JT, XX, 9M6. It's really
surprising how easy it is to work these "tough" mults from New England
- much easier than working EU from Colorado! A real credit to Matt's
station. Sunrise came around 1200Z, with the last QSO of the night
(#975) at 1318Z. I kept tuning the band, hearing (but not working)
T88JA, XZ1N and EY8MM. Can't win them all!
Europe became workable around 1800Z, but it was tough going until
1933Z when the band suddenly opened, and I was off and running
again. The EU activity is just amazing! Worked about 20 JA's LP around
2130Z, but then they were gone. Not sure if the propagation wasn't
there, or all the JA activity moved to the high bands. HS7AC was
worked LP on a packet spot at 2248Z - a zone I missed last year. The
EU opening continued unabated until well past 0900Z. After 0900Z, it
was a mix of EU and JA until nearly sunrise. The 11Z hour was the only
slow nighttime hour of the contest. The JA short path was poor from
10Z until 12Z, improving greatly in the hour just after
sunrise. Again, XZ1N showed up around 1400Z (too late for a QSO) and
remained copyable throughout the daytime.
Sunday afternoon was a repeat of Saturday - EU and a little JA LP.
In summary, a great experience for a black hole resident - every bit
as good as a trip to Zone 8! Thanks Matt!
20 meters by Dave KM3T and Bill K1GQ
------------------------------------
Main ops: Bill, K1GQ and Dave, KM3T
20 is the "Energizer Bunny" band. Always has been, always will
be. That's what makes it so neat. Always something to work.
(Dave) Bill started the contest. I was fixing 80/160 issues until 10
minutes before the start and hate to start frazzled. In fact, I just
hate starting. Instead, I manned the 2nd station and made a bunch of
2nd station QSOs during the first couple of hours. First hour was
87/72. Bill worked XZ1N at 0026Z. Cool.
(Dave) I think I relieved Bill during the 0400Z hour which was a slow
hour (7/3). At 0500Z the band started picking up..this is sunrise near
Moscow. Lots of Russians go into the log from 05-07Z. Then other
Europeans start calling in as the sun rose at their respective
locations. Nice opening....I remember this opening from the last
sunspot cycle. Things slow down a bit in the 08/09Z hours. Around
0800Z some of the deep Asians start calling. EU becomes runnable
~1020Z. Bill gets up and takes over for the morning shift. I go to
check 15m for Doug since he's still enjoying his beauty rest.
(Bill) When I finally got a decent run frequency Saturday AM, Matt
shooed me away because the harmonic from 14.0005 was too close to
28.0005. I ended up around 14.055.
Sunday I spent 10 minutes or so trying to work 5A1A (double mult);
5A1A worked about 10 stations, moved to 10 meters, and never came
back. That was a really nasty pileup. We missed zone 34 - rats!
(Bill) I found that I really like 20 meters under these
conditions. The band is open to somewhere all the time. There are a
few hours where rates are very good, but never frantic like 10 and
15. Except during the peak hours it's easy and fun to use the band map
to work everything on the band without losing your run frequency. Lots
of neat DX calls in and you get to pass it to other bands which
otherwise might not work that multipler at all.
(Dave) I've done 20m before at other multi's but have been doing 80m
at XX for the last couple of years. 20m was a nice break from the low
bands. The nice thing is that there's always something going on; the
band is always open to somewhere. And lots of propagation surprises
can happen. That's fun. Plus, we're loud on 20. As N2AA (or his shirt)
says, "loud is good."
We averaged a little under 50/hour for the entire 48 hours. End
result: 2282/38/158
15 meters by Doug K1DG
----------------------
Main op: Doug, K1DG
Started out with some Asians and Pacific still coming in. Picked up a
few mults early, but heard lots I just could not work.
Saturday's opening was strange. Clearly the MUF was headed well past
21 MHz, since I was hearing loud steady signals from Zone 18 stations,
and the Zone 14/15 guys had enormous multipath echoes. The 11Z hour
was 140...started out faster, but slowed down as people went to 10 I
guess. Also had a problem when XZ1N landed on my frequency and started
his own European pileup. I knew I wouldn't win that argument, and had
to move. The single Yagi at 90 feet was louder than the big stack
until about 1700Z, when the stack took over. Saturday afternoon was a
struggle to the Pacific - was left behind in many pileups and did not
manage a QSO with V63X (every other W1, 2, and 3 seemed to make it
though). Listened to XX9X off and on for over 2 hours, never once
getting through.
Sunday was different - less multipath, and the stack was best all day
long. I had a terrible start in the morning - I was right on the
bottom of the band, but rates were awful. Moved up higher (21068) and
the rate came back up to the 70s for most of the day (peaked at 100
just at European sunset). I was worried that I might be too high in
the band, but there were stations running all the way to 21140!
I had 37 zones (missing 23, 24, and 26) with a couple of hours left,
and when the JAs starting to peak up over S9, I figured there was a
chance for a sweep (all 40 zones), which I've never done on 15. In
fact, my records show that only 6 15M sweeps have been accomplished on
CW, and none from the U.S. Could this be the year?
By 2300, the JAs were 10 over 9, and the band was littered with other
Asians. I took a 20-minute tune through the band, and managed to snag
V63X, VP9, and some DUs. I was surprised to hear the UA9As in Zone 17
and UA0As in Zone 18 - unusual to hear them on that path. Could not
find any of the zones I needed, so I went back to CQing, hoping to get
them to call in.
At 2340, I told 20m op K1GQ to find Brett, VR98BG (single-band-20 from
Zone 24) and ask him nicely to come to 15. Five minutes later, Dave
KM3T found him on the multiplier station (running an R5 vertical) and
Dave had K1GQ (on the big antenna) ask, and BG agreed. I got real
excited, and called another CQ, knowing a mult was on the way. Down in
the noise, I hear a signal - sounds like somethingW5somethingM. A
quick mental Super-Check-Partial and...could it be 3W5FM? Yup - it's
him, for a double mult from zone 26. Wow! A quick TU, sign the call,
and there's Brett. Bingo! Back-to-back doubles and 10 minutes left to
go! I look at the map on the wall, and zoom in at Asia. The band is
open to the whole continent, East-to-West, and North-to-South. And
right there in the middle is Zone 23 taunting me. I concentrate real
hard, figuring some karmic force might lure a Zone 23 station to my
frequency. I think about the letter I got from the JT1KAA club station
a couple of years ago. I focus on the concert tour of the the Tuvan
(UA0Y) throat singers a few years back. Every time a JA calls, that J
at the beginning of the call gets my hopes up for an instant, but the
second letter is never a "T". A UA0 calls, and I wait for the "Y" that
never comes. It was a long, tense 10 minutes, and alas, I am left with
39 zones when those 0s roll up on the clock.
After the contest ends, it appears that K3RV and K6AW operating at
W3LPL have done the deed and swept 15m. I take comfort in my higher
QSO total and the team win, but still... maybe next year.
10 meters by Dave KM3T (based on KC1XX's log and personal observations)
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Main op: Matt, KC1XX
The first night was pretty uneventful, as usual: 10 QSOs with W's and
South America. Yawn. Band dead by 0100Z. Matt hung around for a little
while and then headed off to bed. He would need a good night's rest to
concentrate on the high 10m rates that he hoped would come Saturday
morning.
During the week prior to the contest we observed EU signals as early
as 1000-1030Z. So Matt rose early. On Saturday he started working
Europeans S&P at ~1100Z. By 1125Z the runs started. The 11Z hour
produced 75/35 and the 12Z hour produced 182/25 (!), followed by hours
of 151/24, 141/9, and then 99/11, 87/6, and then some 20something
hours as the sun set across Europe. Matt started on 28.002, moving to
28.001 for the rest of the EU run. No trouble maintaining a frequency
- I assume the backscatter signal combined with the strong signal in
Europe help.
This is the first contest in which the big 10m stack (8x4el Yagis
stacked vertically) really showed what it can do. Matt also had put up
an 8el "Elephant gun" yagi at 35' (fixed on EU) this past summer, in
anticipation of the high-angle propagation that was sure to
come. There is also a 5el W2PV Yagi at 90'(rotary). The stack was
still best most of the time.
By 1730Z Pacific stations start to appear. KH8/N5OLS goes in the log
at 1746Z, followed by KH6, A3, ZL, VK9N, VK, V6, FK, T32 and KH2 over
the next couple of hours. The JAs start to appear just before 2200Z,
with JK1ASO the first to be logged. VK6AJ calls in the middle of the
JA "run" and goes in the log at 2207Z. Matt ran JAs until a little
after 2300Z, after which the band closed. Hard. Matt goes night-night
after bonding with "the boyz" for a while. The first day yields 924
QSOs and 148 countries. Not bad for a day's work!
Sunday morning comes and the band becomes runnable around
1120Z. LY2BTA goes in the log and Matt is off to the races again.
11Z 58/2
12Z 131/4
13Z 123/1
14Z 105/8
15Z 101/0
By 1600Z the sun is setting over Western Europe and the rate starts to
drop quickly:
16Z 52/2
17Z 28/1
>From 1700-2200Z it's the typical South America/Canada/North America
stuff. The last European station logged is SL3ZV at 2007Z. JA4EKO
calls in just after 2200Z. KM3T then relieves Matt to work JAs until
the end of the contest. About 65 more JAs go into the log. N7ET/DU7
calls in at 2248Z for the final 10m mult!
It's still true - there's no meters like 10 meters! It's only going to
get better, folks.
Random Murphy events:
- Oil leak in K1GQ's Alpha 77. (Does anyone know if Peter Dahl or
somebody might know how to repair oil-filled caps? Alpha wants $300
for a new one!)
- Possibly flaky transfer relays in the 80m Alpha (intermittent
receive, no sign of transmit intermittent).
- Broken 15m ICE filter
- Bad 2-way RF switch (mis-aligned innards due to twisted UHF connectors)
See you next year! QSLs for this operation (and many of our others)
will appear eventually.
--
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