[3830] CQWW CW ZF2SA SOAB LP

[k3sa at ari.net]

                     CQ Worldwide DX Contest - CW
                    
Call: ZF2SA
Operator(s): K3SA
Station: ZF2SA

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: GRAND CAYMAN
Operating Time (hrs): 34
 

Summary:
 Band     QSOs  Zones  Countries
-------------------------------
  160:     19      6      9
   80:     77      7     10
   40:    451     15     48
   20:    624     24     64
   15:    669     24     61
   10:    865     22     64
-------------------------------
Total:   2705     98    256  =  2,136,390

Club/Team: PVRC

Comments:

Station Description: Kenwood TS440, Micron Laptop, Writelog Software, 
Antenna(s): One 20/15/10 dipole, One 160/80/40 Dipole, All about 30 feet up One
Spider 40/20/15/10 mobile on
balcony
Operators: Steve Affens K3SA - ZF2SA
Remarks (Biggest thrill in Contest, funniest story, comments, etc.): 

The last radio contest trip for me was 20 years ago as K3SA/PJ3.  It was paper
logs with dupe papers for each band
strewn about the floor.  Little did I know how popular Aruba would become for
contesters and how computer 
logging would change the experience forever.  

My biggest mistake from 20 years ago was to age.  Take my advice, don't do it
if you can avoid it.  I'm now too
old to stay in the chair 48 hours. (not that I ever could)  I'll take a couple
of good sleep nights thank you.  
Also, I arrived the day before the contest.  I have concluded that it is
cutting it too close considering airline,
antenna, RFI, Rig, software, and computer issues that crop up.  Just hanging 2
dipole systems end to end 
out across a parking lot
was far more arduous and time consuming than expected and required every tool I
brought including the sling shot 
system.  For some reason, Palm trees will not let parachute rope slide through
easily.  The rope binds in the 
top of the tree.  It is also harder to keep those multiband dipole wires from
wrapping over themselves over the top of eachother than one might
think.  When the rope catches, the system jerks and the 15 and 10 dipole wires
inevitably wrap over the top
of the 20 meter wire.. and so the system has to be tweeked again.  I needed the
wire system especially for the low
bands.  Believe it or not, the Spider mobile antenna system was very
competitive with the full size dipoles.
With a ZF call, the action off the 4 story high Spider was 250/hour at times.

It was fun to run into friends, especially because normally I enjoy the packet
connection to the news of the
bands.  I enjoyed working W3LPL on all bands.  Missing packet dropped the
multiplier count significantly..but
the point was to play it like sweepstakes and just run run run and let the
mults come as they choose.  When they did,
it was, in a way, more of a thrill.  When a run consists mostly of US stations,
it knocks you out of the chair
when a 9M8, A61, call through the pile.  VK's/ZL's/JA/s still are awesome when
they role in over the Caribbean.

With only 100 watts and wires, it was hard to run Europe through the W's during
the morning hours.  Starting around
noon local time 1700Z the sequence starts: first the east coast US loses EU and
the band clears out to the point
were a Caribbean station stands out and the runs really pickup.  Then, the same
thing happens to 15 and down to 20
and to 40 etc as the world rotates us all into darkness.  One benefit of aging
is having the experience and knowledge
to follow the band sequence for best run results.  A few more trips and I might
even get good at it.  

The bands were wonderful as a consequence of the peaking sunspot cycle, but we
paid the price on Sunday around
1640Z.
A huge solar flare blew out the bands entirely.  I thought my antennas had been
hit by a truck or bird or something.
But soon signals started to return, first on 10 and there were no contest QSO's
only big contest station sharing 
their observations and lamenting the potential loss of QSO count goals.  In my
case it was the wish that ... if
only I had known it would happen..I might have pulled an all nighter as 40 was
awesome.  It took an hour for 
the bands to recover starting with 10 and the recovery sequenced down in
frequency over that time.  It sure was
scary and initially disappointing.  I got up and went poolside for lunch with
Patty... a no no if the US runs are about
to begin.  This is our 30th Anniversary trip so what's a few hundred QSO's
anyway.

Thanks all for the QSO's and I will QSL Via W3HNK.  73 de ZF2SA (op K3SA)  
Steve   

Club Competition /Minimum 3 logs:PVRC



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