CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW
Call: N6RO
Operator(s): N6RO
Station: N6RO
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 28
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 821 State/Prov = 57 Countries = 19 Total Score = 179,664
Club: Northern California Contest Club
Comments:
This was a 'limited SO2R' operation (listen on two RX in-between CQs)
with FT1000MP, Alpha 76, Wire 4 Square, Beverages
MULTS:
Worked all states but missed DC LB NB NF NT. Tnx to VY1JA for YT.
DX: D4 DU FM FY HL JA KH0 KH6 KL7 KP2 PJ2 PY TI V3 VK XE YB ZF ZL
Heard traces of CT3 EA8 YV CE, not a whisper from EU in northern CA
Continent List 160 CQWW CW N6RO 2003
USA calls = 696
VE calls = 42
N.A. calls = 12
S.A. calls = 3
Euro calls = 0
Afrc calls = 1
Asia calls = 2
JA calls = 54
Ocen calls = 11
Total calls = 821
Soap: An interesting weekend. Had my best all-time QSO & MULT totals, and top
rate (93/hr @04Z Fri), but not best score due to QSO points lacking from low JA
total (47 JAs Saturday morning, 7 on Sunday. However after 12Z the JA opening
went away.) In contrast, I had 108 total JAs in 1998 when I topped 200K points.
Despite missing two hours of prime time on Friday night, I had 100 more Qs than
previous (~600) by Saturday sunrise, due to good Friday condx. I thought this
one might be a personal best until Saturday night. The band returned to its
current normal condx, with rapid, deep fades and no consistent long skip.
The new rules may have escaped some of the long time participants in this test.
I somehow caught the new hours rule in an NCCC reflector posting. I got on in
the last ten minutes at 2350Z (1.5 hours before sunset) and heard the east
coast, but had worked all heard. CQd and got two more QSOs in CO and CA. I
think this change might be a bonus for the East coast as the band has not yet
opened in the west. Also good for EU, but that doesn't affect us. They have
their own separate contest, with only a few big guns in the northeast US able to
penetrate the 'curtain'
For me, this was the first topband contest of the season without serious rain
static or power line noise. There was an intermittent S7 noise to the SE. I
guess that's why I missed some active South Americans. However, FM5GU and ZF2NT
were louder than most Texans for much of the test. I feel that the trend will
be up for the next few years. By 2006, we might have TWO nights of good
propagation, and an EU opening in northern CA during a 160 contest! Thanks for
the Qs, N6RO
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