[3830] ARRL 10 ZL6QH M/S HP

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                    ARRL 10-Meter Contest

Call: ZL6QH
Operator(s): ZL2AOV ZL2BSJ
Station: ZL6QH

Class: M/S HP
QTH: Wellington
Operating Time (hrs): 36

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   CW:  759    75
  SSB:  585    66
-------------------
Total: 1344   141  Total Score = 593,046

Club: WARC

Comments:

Surprisingly good condx across the Pacific into the W and VE; much better than

during the CQWW-CW. 

Quite good signals from most US stations during most times of both days, but 
also drop-outs lasting several hours. Good signals from Asia, but not much 
activity - apart from the loud JA contesters.

Our score is only 1/3rd of last year's raw score, QSO totals were down
by almost 50 %.

----

The first evening provided the hoped-for Eastern Eu short-path; we decided to 
split it between CW and SSB...a good move because that was all we heard from 
Europe. The band then fizzed out with S5/OK/SP and closed an hour after local 
sunset.

The next morning (our first morning) the band was open to the US East Coast on

local sunrise with reasonable runs, but things were slow during the day. Your 
scribe - unemployed CW op -  became bored with reading magazines and 
connected the NorCal20 QRP rigto the 6 el. monoband yagi to work a
couple of Eu's - long path. That was fun.

No Central Asia or Eu that 2nd night; the band died half an hour before local 
sun-set, and that was it.... 

This provided the perfect excuse to duck down to 160 m. To our amazement, loud

signals were heard in between S-9 static crashes. We scrambled to convert the 
station for Top Band use, and within 15 minutes three continents were in a 
hastily opened 160 m log. VE7CC produced at S9+20 dB the loudest 
off-continent signals I have ever heard on 160 m. 

The 2nd morning: a 4:45 AM start. The 10 m band opened half an hour before 
sunrise with excellent signals from the The Far Side (NA East Coast). 

By late morning the band faded, with W0YK (CA) the last station to sink into
the noise floor...so we went QRT half an hour early to pull the 
station to bits.

----

In order to combat fading and QSB, we had diversity reception on a 2nd 
receiver with a vee beam spaced 10 wavelengths or so away from the yagi. This 
gave us the yagi in one ear, and the vee beam in the other.

The diversity reception experiment was interesting at times, particularly on 
CW. We had a similar scheme last year at ZL1V with ZL1CT's SO2R setup, and we 
used it to listen to JA at the same time as W. 

This time however, both antennas were were much wider spaced, and pointed at 
the US. On occasion, the diversity reception helped to copy badly fading 
signals as they seemed to 'move' from left to right and back again. Also, at 
times, the yagi produced level pile-ups when the vee would favour one or two 
signals amongs the callers, making it easier to get a partial.

However, most of the time the yagi outperformed the vee. In fact, SSB op 
ZL2AOV found the diversity a distraction  (which - at times - it was).

Thanks to Doug ZL2AOV for looking after the sideband, and to Brian ZL1AZE for 

stepping into the climbing harness to help with the Eu/JA yagi repairs at 
short notice. Please QSL via ZL2AOH.


Wilbert, ZL2BSJ (for ZL6QH ops ZL2AOV and ZL2BSJ)



CW: 54 State/Prov
PHONE: 53 State/Prov

Worked NAM CW:
CT   MA   ME   NH   RI   NY   NJ   DE   PA   MD   DC   AL   GA   KY   NC   FL  

SC   TN   VA   AR   LA   MS   NM   TX   OK   CA   HI   AZ   ID   MT   OR   UT  

WA   MI   OH   WV   IL   IN   WI   CO   IA   KS   MN   MO   NE   ND   NS   NF  

QC   ON   MB   SK   AB   BC 

Worked NAM PHONE:
CT   MA   ME   NH   RI   VT   NY   NJ   DE   PA   MD   DC   AL   GA   KY   NC  

FL   SC   TN   VA   AR   LA   MS   NM   TX   OK   CA   HI   AK   AZ   ID   MT  

NV   OR   UT   WA   WY   MI   OH   WV   IL   IN   WI   CO   IA   KS   MN   MO  

NE   NS   ON   AB   BC

DX CW:
BV    FO    HL    HP    JA    LY    LZ    OK    OM    PY    S5    TI    UA    
UA9   UN    UR    VK    VR    XE    YU    ZL

DX PHONE:
BY    JA    JD/o  K     KH6   SP    TI    UA    UA9   VE    VK    XE    ZL

<EOF>


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