Stew Perry Topband Challenge
Call: NB1B
Operator(s): NB1B
Station: W1KM
Class: SO HP
Grid Square: FN41
Operating Time (hrs): 12
QSOs: 295 Score: 1,346
Club: YCCC
Comments:
Started the contest earlier than last year, with EA8/OH2BYS first in the log at
2053Z. From 2100 on I could hear a number of Europeans working JAs, but not a
peep of a JA from here. The first European QSO was with G0IVZ @ 2145Z, quickly
followed by DK2JX. The 2200Z hour brought OM, FM, YV, GM, and 7 other DX; the
2300Z hour brought OE,OZ, GW, SM, S5, HA, ON, and LY for the best DX hour of
the test. I felt my precontest goals of 320 QSOs, 175 grids, and 1500 pts was
on target. At 0002Z I worked 4X3A; little did I know that would be the best DX
of the contest for me. Over the next 2 hours UA2, OK, EI, F, and a handful of
other DX stations made the log, and I was at 192 QSOs at 0200Z. At this point,
things started to slow down- Herb KV4FZ was the only DX station to be worked
during the 0200Z hour, SM4CAN and LA3XI were worked during the 0300Z hour,
OH2BO was worked during the 0400Z hour, and PY2FUS was worked during the 0500Z
hour- that was the sum total of the DX. As we approached European sunrise,
another 7 stations worked worked, with only 9A2AJ and PA3AAV being new
countries. At 0700Z, the rate slowed dramatically, so I decided to take the
1:15 of off time needed to stay on the air until 1200Z. I nestled in, slept
thru both alarms, and awoke with a start about 1000Z. I tuned back and forth
across the band to maybe 20 stations- all of them worked. I called CQ for the
next 1.5 hours, interspersed with tuning the band, and worked a grand total of
5 more QSOs. I heard the VK6 on, but he was never copiable here.
Totals for the contest: 50 DX contacts in 28 DXCC countries, 164 grid squares.
Notable misses- KH6 and VK6. I slept thru the KH6 opening, and the VK6 wasn't
audible. Overall, I felt the opening to Europe was no better than so-so; the
Europen sunrise "bump" in signal strength produced few new stations to work.
Going the other way, the furthest north station on the Pacific Coast I worked
was N6RO (never did hear K7RAT, W7EW, or W7RM). It seems that many stations
worldwide turned in early to be ready for holiday festivites later that day.
Congrats to N6RO and N2WW for fine HP scores.
Dennis NB1B
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