CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
Call: WN4AFP
Operator(s): WN4AFP
Station: WN4AFP
Class: SOSB/40Classic LP
QTH: SC
Operating Time (hrs): 13
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160:
80:
40: 178
20:
15:
10:
------------------------------
Total: 178 19 66 Total Score = 41,310
Club: Swamp Fox Contest Group
Comments:
WOW! Nothing like the CQWW CW contest! Especially on 40m!
My focus this year was 40m LP...
So with that in mind, I set some personal goals for a 40m effort. Shooting for
300 Qs and 100 multipliers. The Q goal was a bit steep, but the mult was
realistic.. Regarding possible operating hours... I knew that I could run some
late night especially on CW "stealth mode" and limited hours during
the day, so 40m was going to work fine.
I'm running my old trusty IC-751 at about 80w and my 40m dipole with one end at
25 feet and the other at 8' pointing NE/SW. Using my Vibroplex Brass Racer
paddle with an old AEA MM1 memory keyer. Logged with N3FJP software. No CW
filters.
I actually started around 0015z or so and worked solid until 0800z. On
Saturday, I made contacts on other bands as time permitted and then returned to
40m in the evening and worked it as long as I could. Came back to 40m on Sunday
evening for the last hour or so of the game.
Friday and Sunday evening/night on 40m was amazing. Saturday evening/night 40m
rates were not good...It was difficult finding new stations to work... Band
conditions Saturday night were poor compared with Friday and Sunday.
Results / Contest Data
All band score: 140,140
17 operating hours (all bands)
Total contacts: 290
40m 178
20m 54
15m 54
10m 4
Total Mults: 182
QSO Points: 770
40m only score 41,310 (13 hours)
178 Qs
85 Multipliers
486 QSO Points
Thoughts/Comments
My best rate was on the high bands at 54 Qs/hr. My overall rate was 17 per
hour, but all S&P. I knew that I wouldn't max out the hours, so I didn't
really care about rates... I just did my best to be on 40m as much as possible.
I did stay in touch with Kevan during the graveyard shift via email. I didn't
work all of the 'rare' dx that I heard, but I did manage to work Senegal,
Ghana, New Zealand and a few other nice ones on 40m. I even took a 2 hour break
on Saturday to watch the big football game.. I left the game early and got on
40m late on Saturday night.
CW speeds were in the 30+ range for most contacts in this race. There were some
in the 40-45 range too. i found that the best speed on 40m was about 30 wpm..
Anything faster 30 wpm can get lost in the noise so when conditions are tough,
slowing down a bit is a pretty good idea. When sigs were louder, then the
higher speed works.
One thing that helped my overall score was having all of those 40m mults early
in the contest. When I went to the high bands for a few hours, just about
everything I worked was a new zone/country and the QPoints began to climb.
I thought my overall score was pretty good for the station and hours and
working the 40m jungle only was decent too.
Glad to hear many of my stateside and DX friends on the air and i hope everyone
enjoyed the contest.. I did... I needed the stress-buster.
73s Dave WN4AFP
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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