ARRL DX Contest, SSB - 2019
Call: VP2MMF
Operator(s): K1XX
Station: VP2MMF
Class: SOAB LP
Cabrillo Category: Single-Op All-Band Non-Assisted One-Transmitter LP
QTH: Montserrat
Operating Time (hrs): 41
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 182 39
80: 249 49
40: 866 58
20: 2024 60
15: 636 50
10: 9 3
-------------------
Total: 3966 259 Total Score = 3,078,474
Club: Florida Contest Group
Comments:
Need I say horrible conditions? Definitely not the weekend to go low power!
Friday night was really the pits. On the 3 low bands I only had 700 Qs by
sunrise, compared to twice that amount from my last operation here 2 years ago.
It was really tough, especially on 80 & 160, to find a spot to CQ. All the
kilowatt stations were lined up wall to wall. You find a spot to CQ and then
the big guys start edging closer to elbow you out. The second night produced a
bit better conditions on 40.
Little did I know that the day time bands were going to be just another version
of the night. Twenty never seemed to be solidly open. Most signals (70%) were
weak and down near the noise level. With the QSB fades, it often took 2 or more
exchanges to get a full callsign. Just like at night, I had to slug it out to
make the Qs.
My light at the end of the tunnel was 15. This station plays really well on
that band. Every 15 minutes I'd give in to wishful thinking and call a few CQs
on 15. I'd even get wildly optimistic and try a few CQs on 10. Eventually 15
did open a bit and saved me from the agony on 20. Unfortunately, the opening
only lasted a few hours. Signals on 15 were much stronger than on 20. On one
of those optimistic side trips to 10, a few people actually answered. For me,
this opening was probably measured in milliseconds.
As bad as the weekend was, there were a couple highlights. VY0ERC showed up
late Sunday afternoon and called in with a reasonably strong signal. Also, old
friend VY2ZM/K1ZM called in to let me know how strong the signal was from this
station. Jeff said he'd listened to me during the course of the weekend on
various bands and my puny 100 watt signal stood out.
This operation from Gingerbread Hill guest house is a Field Day type of setup.
Fortunately for me this year, the VP2MSS guys did all of the setup for their CW
operation. After they left, I applied a few strategic tweaks, like putting up
the second 40 meter vertical for the pair of phased verticals(!) as well as
fixing the 80 meter inverted L so that it wasn't laying half on the ground.
But, at the end, a lot comes down to location, location, location; it's a half
mile, all down hill, to the Caribbean.
And last, apologies to another old friend, Jack W1WEF who made the mistake of
duping me after I'd just put up with a long string of dupes. He caught the
brunt of my lack of sleep and Irish temper.
Thanks to everyone for all the Qs. My FCG buddies were there in droves.
Not sure why I'm saying this now, but see you all next year with my 100 watts.
73 charlie, K1XX/VP2MMF
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|