CQWW WPX Contest, SSB - 2020
Call: KQ2M
Operator(s): KQ2M
Station: KQ2M
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: CT
Operating Time (hrs): 13.4
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 0
80: 0
40: 403
20: 1287
15: 6
10: 0
------------
Total: 1696 Prefixes = 763 Total Score = 3,859,728
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
I had planned a more in depth write-up but I could never find the time to do
it.
First, Congrats to Marty, NN1C on a terrific job from the station of Greg, W1KM
especially with the damage to the antenna farm the week before. They have
formed a great collaboration and I look to seeing many more excellent scores
from them in the future.
The week before the contest I slept an avg of 4 hrs / night - a new adult record
low (worse even than the week my newborn daughter (now 20), xyl and I came home
from the hospital). It’s also a phone contest – which normally shreds my
throat/vocal cords. My immune system being what it is, in the brave new COVID
world I can’t risk getting sick over a contest, even if it’s my favorite
one.
I set up the station Friday, and then it was time to deal with the newly
increased internet COVID caused demands from my daughter live-streaming her
classes from Johns Hopkins, my xyl working from home and my five work-related
computers with 9 LCD's. I went out to Charter ~ 5 PM to swap cable modems, hook
up the new router and make sure that all the computers were working properly and
then spent time with the family Friday night. Got up to run errands in the
early AM Saturday (including getting to Caraluzzis supermarket when they opened
at 6:30 AM, the landfill when they opened at 7 AM and then back home to spend
more time with my family and then took an afternoon nap (not sure what decade I
last did that!).
I rose at 09:30 z on Sunday, made food, etc. and started operating ~ 10:30z and
then operated straight through until 24:00 using just one radio to preserve my
strength and keep it simple.
Some thoughts:
20 was pretty disappointing on Sunday, even for the bottom of the cycle. Also,
Sunday is NOT the time to start operating in a time-limited contest, especially
when cndx are mediocre at best and people have already used up most of their
operating time. DUH ! I also apparently missed the best propagation on 20 and
40 – especially the JA/Asia opening Saturday evening. 15 had a few loud EA/CT
stations but that was all. Nice tease.
I had a few really fun bursts and some good hours including a 201 hour and a few
“7 minutes”. Propagation is usually best around the Equinoxes and the few
YB’s that called were loud. I was surprised to be called by a BY station –
the only one that I heard.
I had a brief JA run, on SSB on 20 even though cndx were mediocre and I
cherished it. Thankfully it will become more frequent and with stronger signals
now that Cycle 25 is sputtering to life.
Really cool was running a pileup on 40 from 20:24 z to 24:00. There was
literally a “roar” of EU stations calling me continuously – the first time
that I ever experienced that! Unfortunately it was nearly impossible to copy
most of them – the splatter and qrm was typical of 40 SSB and there was only
so much I could do juggling an ever-changing combination of RIT, IF Shift, Notch
filter, 1.8 Khz SSB filters, IPO, etc. The strategy was get one letter of a
call, get another letter, get the third one, repeat, etc. Same with the numbers
– one at a time – two if you were lucky. I really earned each QSO. This
was made more difficult by the T-storms cells that were NE of me having come
through from the SW over a two hour period not long before and making it almost
very difficult to copy anyone on 20 especially when combines with the effects of
exceptionally fast and deep qsb worsened by K = 2 and K = 3 which cut the legs
out of any potentially solid opening with strong signals. The coup de grace was
when the pouring rain accompanied the lightning static and rose from minor
arcing to a continuous drum roll at full volume for about 30 minutes,
effectively making 20 useless. At first I was able to transmit on the upper
antenna and then immediately switch to the middle 20 to listen but then that
became useless. All I could do was go to 40.
But then there were some moments that were truly exciting:
Having TWO different HZ AND TWO different A7 stations call me on 40 SSB.
Missing only A9 for the worked all Middle-Eastern “A” prefixes on 40 SSB
(A4, A6 and TWO A7 stations called in!) :-)
~ 12:30 z on 20 when the band opened to ALL of Russia and Asia at the same time
and UA9/UA0 stations were louder than the EU stations – for about 10 minutes.
But what a GREAT 10 minutes !
The thrill when an unusual prefix calls in from exotic DX. This never gets old.
:-)
Bad moments:
Lots of frequency fights primarily from certain VE stations (especially VA2WA )
that know that they are loud and don't seem to care that the frequency is in use
prior to calling cq and qrming me and my callers. And then they refuse to qsy
when repeatedly asked by myself and the EU stations calling me. This is poor
operating and completely unnecessary.
Knowing that there was a great opening to JA/Asia the night before and that you
missed it.
40 meter SSB when it is the only band open. ;-)
Knowing you have to wait an entire year before you can operate WPXSSB again.
Using the score trajectory of my past bottom of cycle years, a full-time 36 hour
effort would likely have put me into the 14 – 16 Meg range with > 4,000
q’s 1,200+ Mults, etc. If I worked more than the typical 20 JA prefixes
then the score could have been even higher.
It seems that this year there were more old friends active than usual and each
time I worked one of them I was immediately transported back in time to the last
place that I saw them in person.
There were so many friends to say hello to and so many who told me “Good to
hear you on the air again Bob”. That alone made it all worthwhile!
Tnx to everyone for all the qso’s and mults. I love this contest!
Stay safe everyone!
73
Bob KQ2M
kq2m@kq2m.com
10 . . . 49/45 . . 49/45 50/46
11 . . . 102/75 . . 102/75 152/121
12 . . . 168/111 . . 168/111 320/232
13 . . . 171/95 . . 171/95 491/327
14 . . . 163/88 . . 163/88 654/415
15 . . . 107/53 1/0 . 108/53 762/468
16 ..... ..... ..... 131/54 5/1 ..... 136/55 898/523
17 . . . 103/37 . . 103/37 1001/560
18 . . . 132/45 . . 132/45 1133/605
19 . . . 131/57 . . 131/57 1264/662
20 . . 72/18 30/7 . . 102/25 1366/687
21 . . 121/30 . . . 121/30 1487/717
22 . . 101/17 . . . 101/17 1588/734
23 . . 109/30 . . . 109/30 1697/764
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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