CQWW WPX Contest, CW
Call: K7IA
Operator(s): K7IA
Station: K7IA
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: NM
Operating Time (hrs): 18
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160:
80: 18
40: 157
20: 400
15: 177
10: 12
------------
Total: 764 Prefixes = 365 Total Score = 503,700
Club:
Comments:
Ah, the downside of competing with your own previous scores--you've gotta keep
improving in order to have "fun!" I made more than half of last
year's best effort, but because the score is geometric and not linear, score
was less than a third. How come?
For starters, I didn't study propagation predictions. Good thing, too, because
at least I tried to hit it hard out of the chute. Within an hour, the KPA500
felt like QRP, so I put Big Al on the line to double power to a KW (more than
that strains the solar electric system). Three dB helps, but clearly the
indicies weren't overcome by more electrons. From that point, I went to
"coast" mode and simply enjoyed making contacts and watching some
Memorial Day weekend submarine flicks on Turner Classic Movies.
Late on Saturday afternoon, conditions picked up with better propagation to EU
and less noise on 40 and 80m, but the bands seemed to remain relatively
uncrowded for an event as large as this one.
Another factor, and this one is more personal. Early last week I went over to
my old hometown, Tucson, for commando raids on two skin cancers. Both were on
the tiny side and not likely to be invasive, but "Mohs" skin surgery
leaves craters that need to be filled in with normal tissue. The one on the
arm was straightforward, and the "dueling scar" should be a
conversation piece. But the little one on the lower eyelid was something else.
The AM Mohs procedure was followed by an afternoon Plastic repair in another
operating room across town. With half of the eyelid gone, filler material was
moved in from adjacent tissue, including from the upper eyelid. Yep, the upper
is the donor to the lower, and both are sutured together for a total of six
weeks (four to go). I've gotten pretty used to binocular vision over the
years, and stumbling around with no depth perception is the "pits"
(no pun). Wound care has been a constant activity, interrupting everything
including contest concentration. And I look at my keyboard whilst I copy CW,
and "fat fingered" mistakes owing to depth perception disruptions
were common. Many thanks to the chaps who were treated to variants of their
callsigns!
Now for a little medical advice from me to you re: skin malignancies:
1. Many malignancies can involve the skin, but the most common sun-induced are
basal cell, squamous cell, and malignant melanoma, in order of life-threatening
behavior. Basal cell CA rarely spreads, but it is locally destructive if not
treated. Squamous cell has the potential to spread, and indeed it does, but
it's potential is considerably less than squamous cell of other organs, like
lung, aerodigestive tract (lips to stomach), and others. Malignant melanoma is
very aggressive--with only minimal depth of invasion of skin, it spreads early
via blood and lymphatic systems, taking up residence--everywhere.
2. The identification of these three skin cancer types is really not
straightforward, because only a small percentage of each resemble the
"classic" photos given in the textbooks. Therefore, it is best to
take a close look at your skin from time to time and report any changes, bumps,
discolorations, scaley patches, etc., to your primary care physician. If there
is any doubt, then see a Dermatologist who can examine and biopsy. What I saw
on my eyelid looked like a cyst to me, and when I showed it to my
Ophthalmologist, he thought so too. He suggested I see his colleague, who is
board certified in both Ophthalmology and Reconstructive Surgery. She biopsied
in her office--quick and painless to me as well as to herself--and it was a
basal cell CA. Five weeks later, I had the two operating room adventure
mentioned above. There was nothing magic about the five week time frame--both
surgeons are busy, and they have to book their procedures for the same day.
The "pattern was full" in aviation speak.
3. There's something better than surgery, though, and that is prevention.
Here are some tips that can minimize the risk of developing a sun-induced skin
cancer:
a) Avoid long term sun exposure between the hours of 1000-1600 local time
(dwellers in high latitudes should adjust accordingly for summer exposure--I
well recall June sunrise in Edmonton, Alberta at 0330 or so!). That's when
ultraviolet A and B rays are the strongest, because there is less atmosphere to
absorb them when the solar angle is high. UV A and B cause the malignant
change, and not the visible spectrum.
b) Apply sunblock with a minimum SPF of 30 a half hour before sun exposure,
and reapply every hour. Use a product that won't wash off with water
(swimming) or perspiration (antenna work).
c) Wear a broad-brimmed hat, and wear long sleeves & trowsers. Take a
look at the components of shirts and trowsers--most are mixtures of cotton and
man-made fibers, and the cotton content can be as low as 35%, at least in my
closet. Cotton blocks UV A and B, but man-made fibers are transparent to UV.
d) If you have young children or grandchildren, make sure they do the above,
even if they kick and scream. They will thank you later in their lives! It
has been shown that an adult who has had a "bad sunburn" even once as
a child is much more likely to have skin problems later in life--especially
malignant melanoma. Yep, I had mine as a college freshman, and sun blocking
cream was unheard of in the Navy, way back when.
e) Make sure your eyeglasses have been treated to block UV A and B, and this
includes over the counter sunglasses. The eyelids never receive sun blocking
cream--it's simply too irritating and not intended for use in or near the eye,
so eyewear is the only reasonable means of protection. I have worn sunglasses
with wire rims, and I theorize my eyelid basal cell, located near the lateral
corner of my right eye, developed from exposure from sunlight streaming from
the sideways direction. Now I'm wearing broad-rimmed sunglasses made of black
plastic--the Dirty Harry look. Note also that malignant melanoma can occur on
or within the eyeball itself.
Ask any Australian about skin cancer and what he/she does to prevent it. That
should make for some interesting ragchews!
These tips come from a blue-eyed, formerly blonde-haired, Irishman, who sat in
a waiting room full of the same at the Mohs surgeon's office in Tucson! But
you don't need to be Irish to keep the skin clinics in business...
Thanks for taking a peek at this unsolicited advice and for all the Qs. As
they say in baseball, "There's always next year!"
73,
Dan Murphy, k7ia
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