[3830] ARRLDX CW V31DJ(W0CP) SOAB HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: V31DJ
Operator(s): W0CP
Station: V31DJ

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: BELIZE
Operating Time (hrs): 43

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:  375    52
   80:  628    56
   40: 1036    58
   20: 1183    59
   15: 1105    58
   10: 1024    57
-------------------
Total: 5351   340  Total Score = 5,458,020

Club: Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado

Comments:

My buddy, V31MD/NM2D, says that it's common for visitors to wait to get sick
until they go on vacation. From reading the comments of this year and last, I
can believe it. My cold started the minute the plane door opened on arrival at
the BZE airport. Fortunately, the XYL, K0ZV, brought plenty of remedies. I was
much better by the start of the contest, but ended up taking 4 hours more off
time than last year, ending with about the same score. 

We didn't change any hardware since last year, except for the 160m vertical,
which is a 55 ft top loaded affair set in the lagoon. Last year it was set up in
an inverted L configuration and this year we changed it to two top loading
wires. I didn't notice any difference from last year, but it worked fine. The
rest of the station is an A3 at 30', HF2V, Acom 1000, and TS-850. 

I started the contest of 20m and stayed on that band about an hour longer than
last year. I kept thinking I should move to 40m, but the rates were OK and it
was easier to just stay put. 10m opened late and shut down early, but when it
was open it was exciting cause there wasn't any competition from EU. I set a new
personal best solid hour rate of 254 on Saturday morning on 10m at around 1800Z
(tnx K5KA - cbs.exe).

Each year I experiment with ways to shorten the exchange. Last year it was dit
dahdit dahdit for 599. This year, in the style of the old traffic handlers, I
tried sending dah instead of dah dididah for TU, followed by the call. That
experiment only lasted a few Q's, since several stations busted the call to
TV3DJ. So, I quickly went back to "tu".

During the test, my diet is exclusively Coke, no solid food. I think I drank
about eight of them. My only problem with sleep comes on Saturday night at
around 2AM. This year, I grabbed an hour on Friday night and 3 on Saturday
night. Last year, I got by on one hour Saturday night, but right before I took
the break, my vision flipped upside down. I guess that's a pretty clear message
to grab a few minutes of shut-eye.

All in all, it was a great contest. There was not one equipment problem. My XYL
and host looked after me, and I got to go snorkeling on Monday. 73, Walt.
more info: www.w0cp.com


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