[3830] AA4LR SOAB TS LP CQWPX CW

[Bill Coleman AA4LR]

CQ World Wide WPX Contest  1997

Call: AA4LR    Mode: CW    Class: SOAB TS (with no T) LP

   Band     QSO   QSO PTS  PTS/QSO   Prefixes
    20       32       48     1.5        31
    15       10       18     1.8        10
  ===============================================
Totals       42       66     1.6        41   =>  2,706

All reports sent 599. Total Operating Time: 4.8 hours

Equipment Description:
Venerable TS430S running 80 watts.
R7000 at 8 feet

Club Affiliation: South East Contest Club

Story:

Had little time to operate except some in the afternoons Saturday and 
Sunday. My CW skill (if you can call it that) has improved somewhat. 
Started out using paper and pencil, then later copied in my head. Still, 
rates lower than 10q/hr are pretty abysmal. Cut numbers sometimes 
confused me, sometimes not.

Propagation seemed a bit weird. Signals on 15m were weak both days, and 
not much stronger on 20m. Worked several EAs, OHs and OKs, two S5s with 
relative ease, but had hard time working Italian and German stations. 
Never heard France or UK. 

With signals on 20m so weak, I checked 40m, but found NOTHING. I'm sure 
it was alive in the evenings. 10m was also completely quiet. All I can 
say is "Come on, spots!"

Used my standard WPX policy for US stations: If I heard someone call CQ 
with no answers, I'd go ahead and call, if they were running, I'd spin 
the dial. No complaints from anyone about zero point QSOs.





Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at radio.org
Quote: "Not in a thousand years will man ever fly!"
            -- Wilbur Wright, 1901


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