[3830] N3BB WPX CW (long)

[Jim George, N3BB]

                  CQ WORLD WIDE PREFIX CONTEST -- 1999


      Call: N3BB                     Country:  United States
      Mode: CW                       Category: Single Operator

      BAND     QSO   QSO PTS  PTS/Q PREFIXES


      160        1        4   4.0        1
       80        5       16   3.2        0
       40      414     1530   3.7      158
       20      875     2302   2.6      238
       15     1295     3231   2.5      362
       10       84      156   1.9       24
     --------------------------------------

     Totals   2674     7239   2.7      783  =   5,668,137


The WPX CW and the IARU HF Championship are timed about three weeks before
and after the summer solstice, so they are similar in propagation, and much
different from the winter contests.  With extensive daylight in the
northern hemisphere, there are great polar openings to the north and the 20
meter band stays open all night.  Unfortunately, the summer QRN and the
shorter nights also create short LF band openings to JA, normally a great
source of 40 meter QSOs from Texas.  The dark period for JA QSOs only was
between 0947 (JA1 and JA7 SST) and 1113Z (N3BB SRT), or 86 minutes.  I
plotted the SRT/SST for all the main European countries, as well as the JA
districts, and drew the light and dark periods on a grid.  Coupling this
data with the W3ASK propagation charts in CQ is helpful to plot strategy,
but the actual conditions are variable, and you have got to be able to make
adjustments as conditions change.

K5NA helped me get ready, and we took down and redid the gamma match on the
low 10 yagi in the 6/6 stack two weeks before the contest , and Richard
also came over one day before the contest and helped me diagnose a problem
with the top 15 rotator, which was intermittent.  We replaced that also.
My gear seems to be struggling as the Alpha 76PA amp went out during the
contest with a bad bandswitch, so I used the Alpha 87A as the only amp, and
any second radio contacts were with 100 watts after the first day.  I also
totally re-cabled the two beverages on Thursday, so a lot of work went into
getting ready.  As usual, I prefer the "true" 2R setup with two keyboards
and monitors and PCs.  That allows me to set up the second radio QSOs and
get in synch with the timing of the S&P contact while running the main
frequency.

Upon reviewing the 1998 results for the CW WPX, it became clear that my
strategy was not good.  So prior to this year's contest, I printed out the
summaries from W4AN, KE2PF, and K3ZO and re-read them carefully, noting
every good idea.  These were summarized and became a check list for me.
Thanks to W4AN for this service at contesting.com.  The key to the summer
contest is to operate all night using the 20 meter opening over the north
pole.  With the 36 hour maximum operating time for single ops, the off time
is best during the midday and later afternoon, when the 10/15 openings to
Europe are dying, 20 is kaput due to the high absorption, and the 10/15 JA
run has not started yet.  Unfortunately, I was not able to stay up all
night the first night as my XYL and I went out Friday and spent the day
together, since I needed to spend some quality time with her.  Due to that,
I did not get the nap so highly recommended by W4AN and others, and I was
so preoccupied with the impending contest start that I was not much company
after all.  But we did catch the new Star Wars movie, and that was good.
Bottom line, I ran out of gas and slept two hours between about 06-08Z.
The 20 meter band was so hot over the pole when I got back on the air that
it was clear that I needed to operate all night Saturday night, and
fortunately I took a great 4 hour sleep Saturday afternoon and was able to
go all night without too much trouble.  But sitting in the operating chair
about 18 hours from 2150Z to 1540Z without nearly any break was a long
stretch.  The 1200+ QSOs during this stretch, or  about  70 per hour
average made it worthwhile.

We had a bad storm pass through Saturday  in the late afternoon, and the
rain static killed the JA run in 15 meters for the 5/5 15 meter stack,
however the lower antenna only was able to hear as the top yagi caught the
electron field and shielded the lower yagi.  That's a good reason for being
able to switch the stack to top/bottom/both.

I was really really careful to get the info right.  Every report was heard
or confirmed.  It was good to hear most operators asking for number or call
repeats, and the new log checking tools are making this sport much better.
There was no guessing at all on this end.

The contest here did not get off to a great start, with a poor JA run on 15
meters at the start.  By 0130 the JAs had gone.  40 to Europe was tough
with QRM and tough conditions until the Euro SRT at  03-04Z.  I screwed up
and slept through two hours of the prime 20 polar opening, and was shocked
when the first fifteen minutes back on 20 at 08Z produced 31 QSOs.  That
kind of rate needs to be operated, not slept through!   After that gaff, I
operated a pretty smart contest.  The morning JA run was tepid, with
40/hour rates, but the 2X pointers compared well with 20 at that time, as
20 gets a little slower as we approach the later period of darkness before
SRT.  15 meters was good to Europe with 100/100/94/85 hours to open the
morning.  The station played well and I had no trouble holding a frequency.
I'll look forward to hearing about 15 meter conditions in the NE USA as
there are times when we, at 30 degrees N latitude, get better openings
early in the sunspot cycle.  Those are the only times we can be competitive
here.  The JA run Saturday night was poor, with two 60/hours at the usual
times.  The band sometimes does open later, and I may have missed a better
JA opening.  That would have been bad as the 2 radio setup allows me to
check the bands all the time.  The highlight of the contest for me was the
great 20 meter opening over the north pole.  N5KO has been quoted as saying
that ham radio contests are the ultimate video game, and when 20 became red
hot, it was spectacular hearing everything from JAs to RAs and UXs and OKs
answer the CQs on the run frequency.  Later, the band swung to the west and
the DL/F/G stations boomed in.  Sitting and watching the geochron  clock on
the wall behind the operating table (yes, it's great to have one to see the
dark/light) showed clearly that all of Asia and Europe was illuminated.
The signals were best when I pointed the 20 stack at the north pole.  The
signal seemed to reflect off that region.  The OKs were consistently the
loudest country all weekend.  It was amazing to hear their great loud clear
signals jump out of the pileups.  After a poor 40 opening to JA at our SRT
Sunday, 15 to Europe was terrific, and there were three hours of about
80-100 per hour.  That is good on the second day, as I worked nearly 1300
stations on 15 and was afraid that it would "work out."

In summary, the WPX came through with a great contest.  The one pointers
for same country QSOs was a terrific addition, and N8BJQ and the contest
committee has made a great contest even better from my perspective.  This
still is a DX contest, and the 3X-6X point adders for other continents make
that strategy clear.  But it is refreshing to count the routine USA "Ws"
and "Ks" as *some* point credit.

One last small note.  At the very end of the contest, I was tuning 15
looking for new mults when I came across JU1T.  It struck me as funny that
a JT would want a "special prefix!"  Oh well.






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