Had an unusual interruption in the first hours of the contest.
My dogs discovered a rattlesnake in the front yard and went into
a barking frenzy, so had to take care of that. I made what they
call a "snake stick" and captured the trespasser. Took him way
out in the desert and let him go. Some people kill the creatures,
but I don't have the heart, even if they are deadly. They are
beautiful in their own way. This was a "Mojave Green", supposedly
the deadliest of all the rattlesnakes, about three feet long.
Conditions were a little odd. From here on the west coast,
Europe was open almost the entire day and part of the night,
although sigs were never strong. Unlike recent years where
15 meters has been the dominant band, 20 was the winner this
time. The sunspot cycle is definitely trending down.
Listened on 10 meters from time to time but never heard a thing.
Being summertime, I didn't try 80 though probably should have.
The details:
-+- DL-DX RTTY Contest 2003 -+-
CALL: W7TI
CATEGORY: A - Single Operator All Bands
QSO Pts DX Areas
80m: 0 0 0 0
40m: 23 188 7 11
20m: 188 1900 36 22
15m: 25 175 6 10
10m: 0 0 0 0
Total: 236 2263 49 43
Total multipliers: 92
Score: 208196
Station Description: TS870S, Command HF-2500
Antenna(s): 20/15/10: 4el quad, 40/80: W9INN trap dipole
Software: Writelog
73, Bill W7TI
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