ARRL DX Contest, SSB - 2021
Call: W6QU
Operator(s): W8QZA
Station: W8QZA
Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: San Diego, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 14.2
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 0 0
80: 9 6
40: 24 9
20: 48 23
15: 43 21
10: 5 3
-------------------
Total: 129 62 Total Score = 23,994
Club: Southern California Contest Club
Comments:
STATION W8QZA:
Radio: Elecraft K-2, 5 Watts.
Antennas:
10-15-20 Meters: 3 el Stepp-IR up 32 feet
40 Meters: 1/4 wave vertical with 3 radials
40 & 160 Meters: DX-LB trap dipole up 30 feet
80 Meters: Inverted L with 2 radials
-----------------------------------------------
Conditions were pretty lousy out here on the West Coast! Going back the last 13
years of my all-band QRP contesting, this is the worst I have ever done in both
score and in DX stats, though last year was pretty close!
My DXCC was only 31 and my WAZ was only 14. This is also the lowest I have ever
had over the last 13 years.
My best Q in this contest was working D4Z on 40 Meters, which shows that even
with lousy conditions there can still be some very exciting moments! After 30
years of QRP contesting and DXing it still astounds me to get that kind of a Q
on 40 with 5 watts and a home made 40 meter quarter wave vertical, ...especially
on SSB!
10 Meters had a short opening on Saturday and I worked a couple So America and
KH6s. But that was it and I never heard a signal on 10 Meters on Sunday.
15 Meters was decent to South America and Oceania. but I never heard Europe.
20 Meters was poor on Saturday and I only heard a few very weak Europeans that I
could not work. But Sunday things were much better and I was able to work ten
Europeans over 1 1/2 hours. Without these, my DX stats would have been much
worse!
40 Meters gave me the D4 Q, but other than that it was the usual North and
Central America and Oceania.
80 Meters gave me one JA Q with that famous contest station JH4UYB. Other then
that it was KL7, KH6, and XE!
I again failed to squeeze a Q out of 160 Meters with my lousy antenna. I'm only
about 25 miles from the Mexican border, but still no luck.
The ARRL Phone is by far the most challenging of the 8 major DX contests I enter
each year. After all, we can't work any continental USA or VE. In addition, the
pandemic cut down on all the expeditions that usually take place during these
contests.
So it was harder to make Qs and my rate dropped. As an example, during the last
five hours of the contest, despite my best efforts, I only made seven Qs! The
14.2 hours of op time calculated by N1MM+ is a joke. I spent a lot of time
tuning with no Qs that was counted by N1MM+ as off time.
But that makes it more challenging and more fun. I love this contest!
See you in the WPX SSB. ...Bill W8QZA - W6QU
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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