CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW - 2019
Call: VP2MDM
Operator(s): K2DM K2PS K2TE N4FP
Station: VP2MDM
Class: M/2 HP
QTH: Montserrat
Operating Time (hrs): 48
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 361 14 37
80: 1212 20 86
40: 2376 34 120
20: 2443 32 116
15: 1771 21 88
10: 11 4 5
------------------------------
Total: 8174 125 452 Total Score = 11,124,560
Club: The Villages Amateur Radio Club
Comments:
I have been trying to get N4FP (Wayne) to come to Montserrat for a contest for a
few years, but he is a CW guy and I normally reserve Gingerbread Hill for CQWW
SSB. This year I was able to get CQWW CW. With Wayne a little on the fence
about coming, his XYL Marty (N4GL) urged him to go. Ed (K2TE) and Pete (K2PS)
quickly rounded out the team. While he is an experienced contester, this would
be Wayne's first time operating in a contest from outside the US, so we were
particularly excited for him. I was also excited to test-drive my new
Montserrat callsign, VP2MDM.
After a LONG day of travel on Wednesday before the contest, we arrived at
Gingerbread Hill after dark. We immediately put up a temporary 40M dipole and
set up one of the stations so that Wayne could participate in the late CWT.
While he operated, the rest of us slept!
Thursday we got to work installing the antennas. First we assembled the
Cushcraft 40-2CD on the crank-up tower and pushed it up the mast as far as it
would go. We spent some time diagnosing an intermittent rotator before deciding
that the weight of the antenna was causing the mast to bind in the sleeve at the
top of the tower. We installed a Hy-Gain TH6 tribander on the other side of the
mast, and the problem went away. We sprayed some WD40 between the mast and the
sleeve, and the problem never happened again. We added the 80M and 160M dipoles
to the tower, but darkness fell before we could tie off the ends. Nonetheless,
we cranked the tower up so that we could play radio that night. Both the 40M
yagi and the tribander loaded very well.
We finished the antenna and station setup in plenty of time, including
installing a Mosley CL-33 tribander about eight feet above the roof. From then
on it was just plain fun. Our operating schedule had Pete and me starting the
contest. After two hours Wayne and Ed took over. And so it went for 48 hours,
with only the number of hours in a shift changing to allow for decent sleep
times overnight. We had our fair share of real-time questions about how to do
this in N1MM+, and how to adjust that on the K3 or the Expert amps, but it was
all good. And we were running very well. There was a little inter-station
interference, but nothing that either the bandpass filters or the ops couldn't
handle. We exalted when juicy multipliers were worked and when significant
milestones were passed, and when all was said and done we had over 8,000 Qs and
11 million points. Phew!
One thing that this contest confirmed for us is that, while our VP2M call can
hold a frequency and generate pretty good runs, we are not the loudest signal on
the bands. Our antennas are relatively low (50 feet tops). So when we take a
break from running to work multipliers from the band map, we have to fight to
get through, and often we don't make it. As a result, our multiplier totals
tend to be lower than one might expect. No matter, we had a great time. Now
the antennas have all been taken down and stowed, and the stations have been
packed up for our trip home. It was quite the journey! Thanks to all for your
contacts and support - especially our fellow contesters in The Villages and our
long-time contest club friends. I will see you next year in CQWW SSB.
73 for the team,
VP2MDM / K2DM
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