[3830] ARRLDX CW K8CC M/2 HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: K8CC
Operator(s): DL2HBX, K8CC, K8JM, NU8Z, W8UA, WD8S, WX3M
Station: K8CC

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: MI
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   29    22
   80:  204    68
   40:  641    96
   20:  712   104
   15: 1215   110
   10:  823   101
-------------------
Total: 3624   501  Total Score = 5,446,872

Club: Mad River Radio Club

Comments:

Could not round up enough ops to do multi-multi this time, so dropped back to
two transmitters.  Even then, many of the ops were part-timers due to
Valentine's day and other conflicts.  We also had a new team member this time:
Uli - DL2HBX (one of the BCCers) who just moved to Detroit with his family two
weeks ago for three years with Volkswagen USA.

Although the WWV numbers did not look particularly good, the bands seemed good
early.  80M sounded great, but it was frustrating that many loud EU signals
could not hear us (this is with 1500W and a four-square!).  40M was runnable
slow but steady to EU well into the 09Z hour.  However, 20M was slow and
certainly not runnable for us through most of the night.

Saturday morning seemed very good with the two transmitters on 15M and 10M.  10M
in particular had very strong signals and we had some of our best ever rates for
an all-band CW contest.  When I spelled DL2HBX at the key around 16Z we were on
28003 and I told Uli he was a very bold operator because we were wedged in
between N3RS on one side and K4JA on the other.

At the half-way point we could see we were well off the W8 CW M/2 pace set by
K8LX last year (5100 QSOs) but we felt we were making the right moves so we
pressed on.  On Saturday night the low bands were a lot noisier and more
difficult.  Two surprises Saturday night - around 10Z I was CQing out towards
the Pacific with the antenna at 260 degrees and was answered by BV2A - a nice
mult.  Twenty minutes later a spot announced 9V1YC and I "one-called" him with
the antenna still at 260 degrees.  I tried James on the SA beam (aimed 150
degrees) and he was even louder (S6 on meter).

Humorous moment of the evening involved K8JM CQing away on 40M.  A loud carrier
comes on, and its W1AW starting a code practice session!  First time we've ever
been run of a frequency by W1AW (geez...I asked him to QSY but I guess he's not
listening :-))

Sunday was much the same as Saturday, with decent but lower rates.

Observations:

1) Activity seemed down from the USA end.  Competition for frequencies was not
quite as severe as years past.  Also, a lot of the Caribbean big guns seemed to
be CQing into the ether without results earlier.  Still, activity from EU seemed
excellent.

2) Condx on 160M seemed OK to the south, but very poor to EU.  Just could not
hear any of the spotted stations.

Thanks to the ops who came and filled the seats.  We had a ball in M/2.

73,

Dave/K8CC


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