[3830] WQ5W CQWW CW SOAB, ASSISTED-APARTMENT

[Alan Benoit]

                               CQ WW SUMMARY SHEET

    Contest Dates : 28-Nov-98, 29-Nov-98

    Callsign Used : WQ5W
         Operator : WQ5W
         Category : SINGLE OPERATOR ALL BAND, ASSISTED
 Default Exchange : 599 4
             Name : ALAN BENOIT
          Country : United States
         Equipment: Alinco DX-77T (50W), MFJ-1796 Loop Antenna (Indoors)
        Team/Club : NORTH TEXAS CONTEST CLUB

   BAND   Raw QSOs   Valid QSOs   Points   Countries   Zones
 ___________________________________________________________
   20CW       49          49        119        34        17
   15CW      113         112        303        55        18
   10CW      135         134        357        67        23
 ___________________________________________________________
 Totals      297         295        779       156        58

    Final Score = 166706 points.

 This is to certify that in the contest I have operated my transmitter
within
 the limitations of my license and have observed fully the rules and
 regulations of the contest.

 Date: 11-30-98   Signed: Alan Benoit  Call: WQ5W


   My goals in this contest were to have fun and increase my band/country
count, especially on 10m, where I was still short of 100 worked.  I had a
blast and worked 35 new countries on 10m to push my worked count to 106.  If
I can get all of these confirmed, that leaves only 81 countries on 80m to go
(when I move into a house) to achieve 5BDXCC.  I think conditions were the
best I have heard since the peak of the last cycle.

Random Musings:

Total DXCC countries worked:  89, (remember this was using 50W and a loop
antenna in the corner of my bedroom-CW Rules!)

To 10 Biggest thrills:
1. Working 5X1Z, 9G1TB and PZ5JR(on all 3 bands) for all-time new ones
2. Catching KH8/N5OLS alone on 10m Saturday morning at 17:31Z before the
masses did.
3. 10m
4. 10m
5. 10m
6. 10m
7. 10m
8. 10m
9. 10m
10.  Did I mention 10m?

This was the first time I had used packet in a contest.  I am not sure
whether this is much of an advantage for a little squirt station.  Since so
many people are using packet, once a spot was posted, unless I was on the
same band and could get to the spot's frequency in a few seconds, the
massive pileup generated by the spot would make it impossible for me to make
it through.  Often I found it easier to come back 15 minutes or so after the
spot had been posted to allow the big guns to all work the mult.  I would
guess that 85% of the mults I worked, I found myself without the use of the
cluster.  In fact, I often found myself hoping that stations I found all
alone would NOT be spotted until after I worked them.

I had the flu all weekend and was running a fever and coughing up a lung.
Still, condx were so good I couldn't leave the radio.  My wife is now
convinced that I am an idiot ("Now let me get this straight, you aren't
doing this for money and you won't even win a certificate for all of this?
This is fun to you?").  Still, she was kind enough to keep me stocked with
orange juice, caffeine and Tylenol Flu medicine.  Magically, the flu went
away after the contest-perhaps it was RF induced.

Looking back at my logs, I missed a lot of easy EU and other country
multipliers on 15 and 20m because I found it hard to leave 10m.  10m was
addictive.  Everytime I would tune the band, I would fine more goodies to
work.

Most of the really good stuff on 10m was between 28.050 and 28.150.

Stations worked on all 3 bands:  5V7A, 6Y2A, EA9EA, J6DX, OH2U, P40W, PZ5JR,
TI1C, ZF2NT

Thanks to everyone who worked my weak sigs.  I hope condx are this good for
the 10m contest in 2 weeks!

73,
Alan, WQ5W







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