CQ WORLD WIDE PREFIX CONTEST -- 2001
Call: VO1MP
Category: Single Operator
Power: High Power
Band: Mono 10
Mode: SSB
Country: Canada
BAND QSO QSO PTS PTS/Q PREFIXES
160 0 0 0.0 0
80 0 0 0.0 0
40 0 0 0.0 0
20 0 0 0.0 0
15 0 0 0.0 0
10 2061 4924 2.4 745
--------------------------------------
Totals 2061 4924 2.4 745 = 3,668,380
All reports sent were 59, unless otherwise noted.
Equipment Description: 950sd/SB220/ 4 element HB @ 30 Ft.
SOAP:
The Plan: Single Band 15 Meter Operation
Phase one: Make two antennas for 15 meters and position on two towers
one a 3 element HB wide spaced fixed at 750 ft ASL in the clear facing
north and the other a 6 element rotatable OWA on my 20 meter tower.
Well the production department( me ) delivered on time and both
antennas
were completed ahead of schedule.
Phase two: Identify obstacles and proceed with project. Had to remove
the
badly battered 20 Meter beam from tower, unfortunately the weather
refused
to co-operate and the maintenance team (me) wonderful procrastinator
that I am had all the installation work bunched
around the last week before the contest, although the weather
admittedly was
a significant determinant. Our running snow total has now passed 600
CM. The
last week before the contest our weather changed !!
In the city they had light drizzle temperature about plus 1 C , At my
elevation minus 1 C so that means ice. Wind ..just a slight northerly
breeze
at 70 + KMH windchill factor minus 20 or so !! No break in sight , by
Tuesday
my last minute plan was to take Friday off if the Wx is good and rush
to a
finish. Wednesday's little cough develops into a full blown flu by
Friday.
Scuttle all operating plans.
Phase Three: Decisions : Well I like to operate the WPX, VO1 is
always good
for a few runs on almost any band, so I am undecided, I only have two
working
antennas my HB 4 element 10 meter yagi and 80 meter wire dipole. So
because I
can't sleep anyway due to hacking cough and fever I decide to go single
band 80. Get my self prepared to CQ all night and sleep all day.
Phase Four: Contest begins, I listen around on 80 before the contest an
S50
is calling CQ in the window, he's about S9 - Piece of cake I fire up
the
SB220 dump my call , Nada, Hmmmm not good.... along comes KC1XX he's
going
to show how to do it he calls... Nada !! Oh well mebbe it's early .
Find a nice
clear frequency above 3800 to call and pick a nice clear frequency
around
3697 to listen. Call CQ frantically for 15 minutes listening on both
frequencies
never got one call.
At this point I figure the solar flare from earlier in the week had
really
done the low bands in also. So now it's qsy to ten and listen there
also nada
so it's off to bed, I finally cough myself to sleep at about 330
or so realizing now that I will play single band 10 and usually the
band opens
around 930z (600 local) so I might get three hours sleep. Oh well
better than
none at all.600 comes and I decide not to get up. By the time I do get
up it's already three hours into the ten meter opening or should be .
Things start slowly, I begin Cqing at 1242 more than three hours late
!!
I finally get a few runs going to Europe the band sounds really
ropey, things I should be working are just not there. Western Europe is
almost non exixtent. Around 1530 the band shows an unusual opening it
starts
with HS1CHB calling in over top of the europeans, followed in order but
not
one behind the other by YC3IZK, 9M2TO, YB0AVK,VU2CVP,V85GA and topped
off by
9V1YC , Cheeeeese where are all these guys during CQWW , the irony of
course
is that they are worth no more than a garden variety DM1 or GD3 none of
whom
I have logged yet.The first 7 hours CQ'ing produce 888 qsos so it's
enough
to keep my interest up between coughing and hacking fits.
One G station who called in wondered if I was loosing my voice , I
politely
tell him of my plight and he commisserates.
Day one ends with 1147 QSOs /506 mults and only part ofthe early
morning
opening, if in fact there was one ? What a difference a year makes,
I check last years totals at end of day one 1801 QSOs/713 Mults down
considerably. However last year I did have a very high 2 element delta
loop array that was effectively about 40 meters above the ground. That
antenna
was killer in the early morning and after dark to JA. There was no
opening to
JA or the fareast on Saturday night although I did work a bunch of
ZL/VK/Oceania
Day 2 : Got on the band at 1000 Z feeling really lousy was still
hacking and
coughing at 0230 so another sleepless and miserable night , by now my
ribs feel
like they might break every time I cough ! If Sunday morning's
conditions are
indicative of Saturday's, then I really did not miss much ! things are
slower
than the day before , but that's usually to be expected. There are
glaring holes
in propagation , ordinary pxs like SM,LA,OH, LX, PA, OZ, are not
there, in fact
after the contest a quick check reveals I only worked 2 PAs 2 OHs no
SMs no LAs
no LXs and only 2 OZs and only 2 ONs . At 14z the band is long again
and I work
HS0, DU1 SU1 and had already logged a JA an hour or so earlier. I keep
plugging
away at europe until things really slow down , decide to move up the
band to 510 and
point the beam west to get some Qs and see if I can develop rate. I
finally
get the rate meter to peak beyond 300 last ten so that feels a bit
better
and lots of the callers are new PXs, conditions feel better beamed
west than
they felt on Saturday and I am confident the band will open to JA from
here
today.Best hour for contest yields 190 or so qsos,log a VK4 at 2100
followed
by first JA tonight at 2111 7m2psc, his signal was loud .. It's
monday
morning in JA and guys are getting
ready for work. Maybe I'll get another run of JAs on 10 before this
puny
cycle is finished. from 2111 to 2130 trickle of JAs then three good
pXs/DX
at any time 2134 WH0V, 2141 AH7X/NH2, 2142 KH0C, more JAs until 2200
then
VK3MED who was loud.By this time I had a real 10 meter Ja run , very
scarce
during this cycle intersperced with W6s and some pacific, then HL5BDD
at 2217,
HL0c at 2242 and 4F4IX from the Phillipines at 2250 who was
surprizingly very loud. 3D2AG calls in to give me 001 another
pleasant
DX surprize.Finally finish by Calling TX8G who was cq/in.
SUMMARY: A reasonable score for a so so effort and so so conditions
long
way from last year's 3100+ qos and 7 Meg score, but enjoyable, 'flu
and all
I think we have seen the best of
Ten meters for this cycle, we may be fortunate enough to get another
small dose for the next CQWW , however I do not really think so. If
any body
has managed to last long enough to reach this part of this "Contestant
Dementia Dissertation" , it the 'flu medication !!! Hi! I'm at home to
day recovering
and just reflecting on Ten meters. FYI VO1's most difficult
paths are to the Pacific/SoutEast Asia/Oceania area so my excuse is
that my
Latent dx tendancies got the better of me hi !
73 CU Y'all next one GLWCDR.
Gus VO1MP
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