ARRL DX Contest, CW - 2021
Call: P44W
Operator(s): W2GD
Station: P40L/P49Y
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: Aruba
Operating Time (hrs): 39
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 419 50
80: 870 59
40: 1328 60
20: 1644 60
15: 1753 58
10: 739 49
-------------------
Total: 6753 336 Total Score = 6,798,960
Club: Frankford Radio Club
Comments:
Station - I first thank John P40L/W6LD and Andy P49Y/AE6Y for giving me an
opportunity to pilot their wonderfully rebuilt station this week. I hope the
world situation improves over the month's ahead so they'll again be able to
enjoy this gem on Aruba.
Note: All of the P40L/P49Y towers are on a small 100 x 100 foot lot:
Rohn 45 tower (66’): Single boom 2-element shortened 40m interlaced with
4-element 20m (68’) (JK2040, long-boom version); 80m Inverted-V (65’); 160m
Double-L center-fed vertical dipole (65’)
North Rohn 25 tower (56’): Single boom 5-element 15 interlaced with 6-element
10 (58’) (JK1015 configured for dual feed)
South Rohn 25 tower (45.5’): Tri -bander (JK Mid-tri) - Backup not used.
Beverages: 4 controlled by K9AY switchbox: West-US (800’), East US (500’),
EU (800’)and East-West (AF and OC) (350’)
Rig: Elecraft K3/P3 + Alpha 91B 900 to 1000 watts
Logging software: Win-test 4.28
SOME COMMENTS:
This has been a most enjoyable week. I had the pleasure of piloting a well
engineered station that was fully renovated just one year ago - all new towers
and antennas. After years of struggling to make things work on most of my visits
this was really a treat. It released me from enduring the typical two days of
physical exertion that it takes to make my own station functional. The absence
of the subsequent fatigue played a role in how this one played out.
Arrived a week before the contest. Had to call in a favor from my oncologist to
get the required Covid19 PCR test done within 72 hours of departure for Aruba.
Left for Newark Airport with 18 inches of snow still on the ground and a minor
ice storm in progress. Fortunately the weather took a turn for the better just
hours before takeoff and the trip down went smoothly. I felt very safe on a
flight where every passenger had just tested negative for the virus ... probably
a better place to be than the weekly trip to the local food store.
Initial station setup and testing went as hoped. All of the antennas looked
visually great on their rust free towers and the SWR curves looked perfect. The
only antenna that didn't sound quite right was the NW beverage. On Thursday I
did battle out in the cactus patch - ultimately discovering the NW beverage wire
was on the ground in two places, covered by some nasty needled brush and bushes.
After two hours of work with a branch trimmer the wire was in the air and
normal operation was restored. The NW and North beverage antennas were
exclusively used for receiving on 160/80/40 the entire contest. All of the
beverages are located ~500 feet or more from the power grid so they are very
quiet and directional - one of the special features that make this station so
effective. If you can't hear them you can't work them.
Conditions leading up to the contest weekend were nothing special since there
were no sunspots, and the prediction of a solar wind event loomed large.
Unfortunately that prediction was accurate and things started downhill just as
the contest started. Sigh.
My free time offered an opportunity to do a few maintenance projects at the real
P40W. Repairing a broken beverage and then scraping and painting one of the two
towers filled some of those hours but it was on a very relaxed basis. Getting
ahead of things is a luxury down here ... the salt and wind never stop doing
nasty things to steel and copper.
K2LE and W1VE had to cancel their plans to do a LP M/S at P49V. This left me as
the sole P4 operation as happened during CQWW CW. Figuring out a set of goals
ended up being a blend of the 2020 P44W ARRL CW operation and factoring in the
rates seen during last fall's CQWW CW when there were no other stations active.
I thought a stretch goal would be about 6500 contacts (compared to the 5000
logged last year) - was very happy to be proven wrong.
My rate sheet is at the bottom of this report. The first hour was really
amazing (I'd almost decided to start on 20 but fortunately reconsidered).
Twelve hours over 200 and another 12 between 150 and 200 kept me hopping all
weekend. Conditions on 40, 80 and 160 were exceptional with no QRN. But there
was a touch of absorption creeping in on 160 as the hours passed ... signals
sounded 'dull'.
About two hours after local sunrise Saturday, 15m went almost completely dead.
Some form of solar event had occurred, I could hear the sun literally 'talking'
to me. I've experienced this many times down here and just hoped it would not
last too long (it didn't - 15 minutes). Ran off nearly 1000 contacts over the
next four hours. That's what I call a run.
At 1800 I saw blips on the P3 scope revealed life on ten meters. The highest
rate of the weekend would be enjoyed over the next 2.5 hours as 571 contacts
were logged, with the rate peaking out at 273 an hour. No meters like ten
meters came true once again. It was a somewhat unusual opening since it started
favoring the west coast and then worked itself east (normally it's the other way
around).
Before the contest started I aimed the station's monobanders at 317 degrees,
which slightly favored the central and western USA. Never touched the rotor
controllers again the rest of the way. With the Yagi tips now pointing toward
EU, there was a deep null which prevented hearing much from EU over the entire
weekend - sort of like having tunnel vision toward the States and Canada. JK
antennas rock!
Twenty meters Saturday afternoon sounded completely normal down here although I
could see the WWV numbers said conditions were still on the way down. High 200+
rates were enjoyed for several hours before the big fad out around 0100.
Cycled through the lower bands for the next six hours till bed time - trying to
be on 160 at the top of each hour per tradition. Rates were about 20% better
than normal overall.
At the end of January, 2021 the US governement implemented Covid testing rules
that require a negative test within 72 hours of boarding any return flight to
the States. Earlier in the week I was fortunate to schedule my test for Sunday
morning at 1215 UTC. This is normally a slow time from past experience so
losing an hour seemed a small problem. The entire drive through testing process
at the island's hospital was very efficient - I lost just one hour door to door.
By the end of the contest a negative test result needed for my planned Tuesday
departure was in my in-box.
Conditions were noticeably subdued as Sunday progressed. Ten meters opened for
about one hour again at 1800 but it wasn't as deep an opening as the previous
afternoon. But overall it was great fun putting over 700 ten meter contacts in
the log ... something not experienced for many years.
Finished out the contest moving from 15 to 20 to 40 and eventually on to 160
during the final five minutes. The hoped for sked with a DC station didn't
quite work out but I made three other competitors very happy with a new
multiplier in the last few minutes on Topband.
During the weekend, over 80% of all contacts were made sending by hand. I just
enjoy it.
A huge THANK YOU to the 179 operators who worked P44W on SIX BANDS and another
205 of you that made it into the log on FIVE BANKS. I had as much fun working
you as you did chasing me down. BRAVO!
I also want to thank those of you who were willing to move to another band with
for a new multiplier - it was greatly appreciated!
Congrats to Dan, N6MJ, for his masterful remote operation of ZF1A and the well
earned new Single Op Unassisted World Record. Great effort OM!
Hoping to return once again to this One Happy Island for the WPX CW in May.
73,
John, W2GD aka P44W P40W
-------------- Q S O R a t e S u m m a r y ---------------------
Hour 160 80 40 20 15 10 Rate Total Pct
--------------------------------------------------------------------
0000 0 0 246 0 0 0 246 246 3.6
0100 0 0 235 0 0 0 235 481 7.1
0200 42 177 3 0 0 0 222 703 10.4
0300 98 71 4 0 0 0 173 876 13.0
0400 19 35 151 0 0 0 205 1081 16.0
0500 55 122 0 0 0 0 177 1258 18.6
0600 25 35 33 0 0 0 93 1351 20.0
0700 27 24 20 0 0 0 71 1422 21.1
0800 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1423 21.1
0900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1423 21.1
1000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1423 21.1
1100 0 1 83 0 0 0 84 1507 22.3
1200 0 0 38 166 0 0 204 1711 25.3
1300 0 0 0 179 17 0 196 1907 28.2
1400 0 0 0 0 190 0 190 2097 31.1
1500 0 0 0 0 231 0 231 2328 34.5
1600 0 0 0 0 236 0 236 2564 38.0
1700 0 0 0 0 234 0 234 2798 41.4
1800 0 0 0 0 5 207 212 3010 44.6
1900 0 0 0 2 0 219 221 3231 47.8
2000 0 0 0 61 0 145 206 3437 50.9
2100 0 0 0 237 0 0 237 3674 54.4
2200 0 0 0 186 0 0 186 3860 57.2
2300 0 1 1 191 0 0 193 4053 60.0
0000 0 0 0 139 0 0 139 4192 62.1
0100 0 0 147 0 0 0 147 4339 64.3
0200 13 85 40 0 0 0 138 4477 66.3
0300 3 159 0 0 0 0 162 4639 68.7
0400 67 42 31 0 0 0 140 4779 70.8
0500 3 0 136 0 0 0 139 4918 72.8
0600 39 38 3 0 0 0 80 4998 74.0
0700 18 4 0 0 0 0 22 5020 74.3
0800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5020 74.3
0900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5020 74.3
1000 7 56 0 0 0 0 63 5083 75.3
1100 0 19 74 1 0 0 94 5177 76.7
1200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5177 76.7
1300 0 0 31 0 53 0 84 5261 77.9
1400 0 0 0 45 83 0 128 5389 79.8
1500 0 0 0 114 58 0 172 5561 82.3
1600 0 0 0 0 130 11 141 5702 84.4
1700 0 0 0 0 146 7 153 5855 86.7
1800 0 0 0 0 2 147 149 6004 88.9
1900 0 0 0 0 169 3 172 6176 91.5
2000 0 0 0 0 121 0 121 6297 93.2
2100 0 0 0 93 78 0 171 6468 95.8
2200 0 0 0 177 0 0 177 6645 98.4
2300 3 0 52 53 0 0 108 6753 100.0
------------------------------------------------------
Total 419 870 1328 1644 1753 739 6753
The best 60 minute rate was 273/hour from 1820 to 1919
The best 30 minute rate was 280/hour from 1854 to 1923
The best 10 minute rate was 306/hour from 1358 to 1407
Multi-band QSOs
---------------
1 bands 1351
2 bands 552
3 bands 385
4 bands 261
5 bands 205
6 bands 179
The following stations were worked on 6 bands:
K3SW N4RV WX4G N2HMM K0ZR N8AA
K1TTT N9GB N2AA K2AX K1GQ K5NA
N3NR K8MFO K4XL K3WJV K9NW NJ3K
NE3F K5TIA K3PH W3MF VE3RZ W3LL
N2NL W1GD W1AN W1FJ WX1S NX3A
WE9V N4PD N1DG W3KB K8CX VE3IC
W1TC N4WW WT9U K1RX AA3B AD4EB
W4IZT K1AR NW3Y W1NT WW3S W3IP
AB3CV K3MD K9IMM WC0W VA3DF N9CO
K1IR N4ZZ KB1W WD6T K3IE KF2O
KU2C N7TY K3TS W9VW KE0L K4RUM
K9OM N4YDU K5EK W2FU K3OO K4RO
KB1EFS W3LPL K5GN WO1N K9MMS N2BA
KR4F N2RC K3AJ K9CT W3FV VE3EJ
N2WK W3FIZ N3RS N0AV W6YI N4RA
W2OIB WO2T K3ZU W8FJ NT5V NF3R
W8MJ K3JO N9RV N4QS AA5JF NS3T
NJ3I NN7CW AB3AH K3WW N4TZ N3QE
N2LBR AB2E VE3DZ K2QMF K3TEJ K9RS
K4ZW VA2WA K0RF N6AR WA2CP K4AB
N3AD W4NF N6JV WQ5L N8VW AA9A
W1QK K5ZD VE3JM N3RD K3ZO WB8JUI
N4OX K0EJ K1DG KI1G N1RR N2SR
KA1IS N1UR N2NT N7DX W6YX W9XT
N4AF KZ5D N3MK K0TT N0AX WY3A
K5LY W9RE K3RL W2IRT K9MA K1KI
K3EL NY3A W0YK N2CG K8GL AA1K
KY7M N4SS NX6T K9PG K9UIY XL3A
W3UL K1TR KT9L N5OT K5UR K1RU
KU1CW K4UEE K5PI KA9FOX W5AJ
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