CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW
Call: VE3DZ
Operator(s): VE3DZ
Station: VE3DZ
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: Toronto
Operating Time (hrs): 25
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 961 State/Prov = 57 Countries = 56 Total Score = 564,209
Club: Contest Club Ontario
Comments:
This is my first effort from my home QTH in this Contest after doing it HP for 7
or 8 years in a row from VE3SY, VE3OI, VE3NE and Zone 2.
My initial plan was just to make few Q's in this Contest here and there since I
don't have a very good set-up for Topband at my place, but when S51TA answered
my call few minutes before the start of the contest (and a good hour before our
sunset) I started to realize that the band must be in great shape.
We already know that conditions were exceptional on 160 the last weekend, so I
just want to express my feeling - I could never imagine that I might be able to
work SO MANY DX stations from my place on this band. My antenna was resonanting
somewhere around 1790, so I stayed most of the time in the 1800...1815 segment
which allowed me to work a lot of U.S. stations for points but very few DX. I
ended up the first day with only 29 countires in my LOG.
On Saturday afternoon I spend 2 hours outside at minus 15 deg Celcius trimming
and tuning my half sloper, but in the end it was perfectly resonanting around
1830. Saturday night (EU A.M. Sunday) was fantastic, probably because of
conditions but more likely because EU stations did not already have that huge
pile-up like they had on the first day which allowed them to hear better. For a
couple of hours while S&P'ing I was able to put A LOT of EU stations in my LOG
one after another, bringing the total of DXCC to 56. Still coud not break a
pile-up or attract attention of quite a few big guns like 4O3A, UW2M and
others. The activity from U.S. and Canada was enormous and, in my opinion, is
growing every year.
Even in the last hour of the Contest, at a day light, there were stations to
work.
Never heard WY or VE4. KL7RA was booming here on Sunday morning. Heard 2 JAs
but did not even bother to call (huge pile-up).
I had my usual PL noise, but ANC-4, NB on a radio and RX antennas sort of
helped this time.
Equipment: FT1000D, ANC-4 noise canceller, half-sloper with APEX at 56'.
RX antennas - K9AY loop (tnx VE3NE) and 40 m Delta Loop (helped in few cases).
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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