CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
Call: KT8K
Operator(s): KT8K
Station: KT8K
Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: EN82 SE Michigan
Operating Time (hrs): 26:39
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 10 3 3
80: 22 9 12
40: 87 12 44
20: 251 19 69
15: 150 14 52
10: 1 1 1
------------------------------
Total: 521 58 181 Total Score = 349,986
Club: Mad River Radio Club
Comments:
Possibly my favorite contest, and as demanding as they get.
The first 12+ hours of the contest were awful - my QRP signal was below
everybody's noise level - but after that things got a lot better and, as part
of a great Sat. AM here, I set a new personal best of 63 Q's in an hour - all
S&P (running doesn't work well when you're QRP and have no directional
antennas).
Both mornings I cleaned up on 15 and 20m. Great to hear 15m going great guns -
best in years - but the pileups were terrible, esp. for 9L5VT. When I was above
the noise level I did great, busting quite a few pileups on Sunday (you never
expect that when you always run QRP). Late Sunday folks started getting
flakey, struggling more with tougher QSO's, forgetting to confirm calls and
exchanges - the error rates were definitely on the rise.
Funny moments ... in a pileup K8BEG was just giving his suffix: "Beg", like he
was demanding it of the DX station. I laughed out loud at that one.
EF8M and EF8N trying to co-inhabit 7058 at 2157 Sunday ... I don't think they
could hear each other, and some tired ops probably got them confused, so there
was a temporary bit of pandemonium there.
My friend Mike K8CN, the only time I heard him, took HG3DX right away from me
at 2:47 Sunday ... thanks a lot, buddy ;-) (No big deal - They couldn't hear
me anyway - I tested that rigorously)
In the end I can at least tell you that I've been "CQ'd in my face" by the best
of them - I'm proud to say it - but fortunately most of them heard me on a
second, or third, or fourth try later in the weekend.
Thanks to all who listened, asked for repeats, and stuck with me on the tough
exchanges. There were a lot of great ops out there and less bad-sounding
radios than in the past, too, I think. I'm not feeling too swift right now,
but I'm looking forward to the next one. Best reception & 73 to all de kt8k!
PS - check out my new song about ham radio contesting "I Want a Big Tower" at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNWZjzrzgwA for a laugh.
Rig: Tentec Orion
Antennas: 550' horizontal loop zigzagging up and down between 20 and 70'
20/40/80m multi-wire inverted vee at <50'
K9AY loop still aimed towards center of US from Sweepstakes (oops)
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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