CQWW WPX Contest, SSB
Call: GI5K
Operator(s): MI0LLL
Station: MI0LLL
Class: SOAB HP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 36
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 17
80: 341
40: 1221
20: 2046
15: 35
10: 0
------------
Total: 3660 Prefixes = 1092 Total Score = 11,122,020
Club:
Comments:
This is the first time entering this contest, with the main reason in the past
being is that I dont like serial numbers as I seem to have a problem with the
pronunciation of the digit 8, which plagued me the whole of the contest, anyone
I talk to locally dont see a problem and am assuming it must be my accent, I
dont know but it was a pain, 800, 1800 and 2800 hundreds were frustrating
times.
With being able to get the needed antenna work done in the mild (this year)
December weather I felt that the station was in good shape for a SOAB effort, I
had been planning the entry as past month, with no previous statistics to work
from I would just have to play it by ear and decide operating times by rate. As
past two years I would have been working 13 hour days before a contest and be
under slept before an event, this was not the case here I was well slept and
all needed antenna work and setup was done.
Just one hour before the start of the contest I was marking up the amps, when I
went to the main rig ft1000mp field it was deaf, disconnected, reset the CPU and
checked everything twice but no joy, my worst fears had been realised that I
blew the front end, 30mins before the contest I was inside the rig with a
soldering iron doing a temporary fix, although both rigs have an ICE 419b
filter and neither rig can get to an antenna if the other has it I conclude
that the rig more than likely was receiving through the beverage which is not
protected by a filter.
I started the contest on 40m slow working NA, by 0048 I could get no more
callers and quickly moved to 80m where I could get nothing going at all,
combination of working Jim CN2R who I give 66 and he give me 139, annoyance of
the rig and no one calling I decided to take an hour break to re-group and
settle the head, I have yet to start any contest obtaining a decent rate in the
first hour.
I came back on again at 0209 to 40m briefly and then to 80m where I settled in
for the rest of the night with an odd trip to 160m, I was getting NA 6 pointers
but conditions did not appear good, 0718z seen me move to 40m for mostly EU
contacts and at 0825z moved to 20m for the opening to the far east and Asiatic
Russia, at 1114z I moved to 15m which was a bad mistake, spent 15minutes there
and went back home to 20m, 1230z started the opening to NA, not fast but steady
hourly rates 121, 132, 132, 154, 141, 131, 139, at 2000z 20m closed and I moved
straight to 80m, a while later and listening on the second radio I find 20m
full of NA signals again, but this time everyone was 30db over 9, following 20m
jump I went onto 40m until 0100z where I took my first long break, got back on
again at 0600 for a 85h, 107h and a 95h of mostly EU signals before taking my
final break.
1133z was the start of the long day ahead on 20m, I tried several attempts to
get something going on 15m but to no avail, the propagation was all most
certainly north south openings and I was in the wrong part of Europe, I could
only hear EA stations, however the guys at D4C seemed to being having a blast
into central Europe.
With the stack match that Jay at array solutions kindly rushed out to me before
the contest it was the first time i was able to power split between antennas and
fill the gaps in my log, I worked very few stations on my second radio mostly
because every 3-4 contacts was a new mult so I concentrated on rate.
Around 1545z I moved to 40m to catch UA0 etc 6 point grayline contacts for
45mins and then back to 20m, with the rate dropping on NA 3 point qsos and
knowing I already worked a good chunk of them I decided it was time to end my
days on the low bands, at 1925 I moved to 80m where my overall total was low
but could get nothing going but QRM, every contact was a real stress so I had
only one option left and that was 40m, got a nice spot at 7186, no broadcast
stations was unbelievable and remember thinking 80m was the new 40m, rate was
126 and then 99, of EU and Russian stations every once in a while I would get a
strong NA station off the back of the beam, at 2147z I turned the antenna around
to NA realising that I had hit the jackpot and had good propagation at 6 points
per QSO to NA, seeing my overall score climb I tried to work as many as I could
with the time remaining, 30mins before the end of the contest the rate dropped
once again just like what I saw on the first night.
Although the overall score exceeds the EU record it is too close to pass log
checking, especially over the problems that I had with a digit 8, and lets see
what other scores are out there, as the contest ended I had an enormous sense
of satisfaction with no ifs and buts or maybe.
Thanks to all who have called.
73s
Chris MI0LLL / GI5K
www.mi0lll.com
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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