[3830] K4RO WPX CW SOLP

[K4RO Kirk Pickering]

CQ CW WPX SUMMARY SHEET    Contest Dates : 26-May-98, 27-May-98

Callsign Used : K4RO       Operator : K4RO    Default Exchange : 5NN #

Category : Single Op Low Power (100W) Un-assisted  

Team/Club : Tennessee Contest Group


   BAND   Raw QSOs   Valid QSOs   Points   Prefixes     IC-765/IC-761
 _____________________________________________________  TR-Log 6.26

   80CW       17          17         68        4  half sloper
   40CW      191         186        596       96  boom dipole, vertical
   20CW      584         577       1190      326  PRO-57A @ 100'
   15CW      109         109        255       43   "  negative gain :-)
   10CW       21          21         60       12   "
 _____________________________________________________

 Totals      922         910       2169      481 


    Final Score = 1,043,289 points.


After a full-scale visit from Murphy last year, I was ready
for a much better WPX CW contest this year.  Conditions weren't
that great, but I managed to have a pretty good time anyway.

There were a couple of things which stood out for me in this
contest, mostly just attitude changes.  The first thing I noticed
was how relaxed I felt through the whole contest.  This was due 
in part to NOT re-designing and re-assembling the station just
hours before the contest (my usual routine.)  I had a few minor 
things to change around, but basically the station was QRV and 
ready to go when I sat in the chair.  It all worked pretty much
flawlessly throughout the contest.  I plan to prepare as much 
as possible well in advance of future contests.

Another thing I noticed was that I wasted very little energy on
being angry or frustrated.  The same old annoyances were still 
present - lousy condx, QRM, lids, losing my CQ frequency over and 
over again (LP blues...) and so forth.  For some reason, I just
didn't let stuff get to me like it did in the past.  I was still
fired up and intent on making a good score, but just didn't waste
any energy on the lids.  I credit this in part to some revealing
conversations at Dayton regarding single-op tempers and attitudes!

Two-radio contesting is much easier with low power.  I still don't 
have bandpass filters, but with 100W, I had very few problems.
I really only used the 2nd radio effectively for the first few hours
of the contest (CQ on 20m while S&P on 40m.)  As the contest wore on,
I somewhat lost motivation to keep the second radio going much more,
though I did find the occaisional QSO/multiplier throughout the contest.  
For the first time, I did experience actually being comfortable working 
stations on both radios.  It was a powerful feeling, like my brain was 
working at maximum capacity.  I need to spend a LOT more time
practicing listening to CW on 2-radios.  I need to spend a LOT more
time practicing CW period.  That KCDX pileup test is very humbling.

Only had one good JA opening, and it was Saturday AM.  Rate never
exceeded 47 (second hour.)  Typical Low Power S&P grind.  Good DX
included  BY1QH, JY8B and A45XR.  Missed T88X and a few others.
I tried to focus on making QSO points as much as possible, while
still keeping the PFXs coming in.  My not-rare K4 PFX probably
limited the number of 0-pointers, but also the number of PFX 
multipliers who called me as well.  Next year's 1-point rule should
make this contest more exciting for those of us in middle Tennessee.

After last year, I was very glad just to make it all the way through
the contest without any major problems.  :-)  See you next time, and
thanks again for the QSOs!

-Kirk  K4RO

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