[3830] VX7SZ (VE7NTT op) CQP 97

[Gary Caldwell]

1997 California QSO Party

VX7SZ  (VE7NTT op)
Single op, High Power Category

         CW     SSB
160      17       9
 80      60     117
 40     114     260
 20     117     504
 15      38      10

Total   346     900    1,246 QSOs x 58 Counties = 164,604
                        (Claimed score breaks out-of-state record)       
 
    Many thanks to my host Allan, VE7SZ, for the use of his multi-
element aluminum farm and state-of-the-art station.
    Twenty meters was much better than last year, when, except for 
short periods, the band did not open to the populous San Francisco
Bay Area. This time around, SF was in for much of Sunday, and a good
deal of Saturday, resulting in 179 more SSB QSOs than in 1996.
     NCCC did another good job of activating the California stations.
I noticed a lot more CW activity than in past years, and my CW numbers
are up about 20 percent over 1996.
     The Vancouver area of British Columbia, at this point in the sun-
spot cycle, is too close to W6 to have meaningful propagation on 15
meters.  All of my 15M QSOs were on backscatter.
     Even though 15 was pretty good for those further away from CA, 
the conditions still kept a lot of the activity on 20 both days the 
test.  I'd suspect that, as propagation gets better in the next few
years, and 15 and 10 become the "money" bands, my score potential may
decrease!  We're just too close in distance to CA to be competitive
into W6 on 10 and 15, even at sunspot max.
     Got the sweep, Colusa County, at 1359Z, then worked about eight
more before the end of the test.  The rarest county for me was Mendo-
cino--only logged one the entire weekend.

73,
Gary Caldwell   VE7NTT

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