[3830] WI9WI SO LP SS CW

[James H. Fitzpatrick, Jr.]

WI9WI  SO  LP  851  79  134458  WI  23 Hrs

My goal for this one was to make 1000 QSOs and try to set a WI section LP
record. Boy did I fall short. I started out on 20 because that's where i
have my best antennas. This was a mistake. I didn't go to 15 until about 2.5
hrs into the contest. I could have made better rate there. The rate was OK
until about 4 hrs in, when I noted signals getting weaker and fewer on 40.
My northern Wisconsin station is not as far north as WB0O's, but the aurora
hit me big time. The rate plummeted, and about 0630Z I hung it up after
several hours with rates in the low 20s. Even the big guns were watery and
weak (S5 or so) on 40 and 80. Usually I try to put in 12 hours before my
first break, but all I had were 350 Qs and a big headache. I burned 5.5 hrs
of break time and got back on about 1/2 hr before local sunrise. The bands
were better, but didn't really recover until mid-morning. I managed 500 Qs
on Sunday, not too bad considering. 20 was excellent, but 15 was nowhere
near as good as Saturday. VE4GV called in about 20 minutes before the end of
the contest. I burned another 1.5 hrs of off time - needed a nap in
mid-afternoon. Congratulations to all the winners and big scores. Thanks for
the contacts.

73

Jim
WI9WI


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