[3830] CQWW SSB N1UR SOAB LP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB

Call: N1UR
Operator(s): N1UR
Station: N1UR

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: VT
Operating Time (hrs): 43
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:   20     5        7
   80:  103    12       53
   40:  164    22       78
   20:  453    28      100
   15:  517    25       93
   10:   60     9       29
------------------------------
Total: 1317   101      360  Total Score = 1,723,679

Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club

Comments:

This was a tough contest for us low power ops. It felt way more like a struggle
than last year.  Wasn’t able to run nearly as long.  It got very frustrating on
Sunday for a while.  Everyone was wedged in from wall to wall on 15M and 20M. 
The signal level variances were just amazing.  Did work a CT on 10M for zone 14
but other than that, 10M was all NA/SA.

15 was great to EU and Africa/SA.  There was a brief JA opening Sunday at 2230Z
but I was unable to work JA on 15M (heard 3 JAs on 15M).   Only worked JA on 20M
(about 12 Qs), where I also worked Zone 24 and 28 (heard 23 but didn’t work it).
 Those are tough from here with Low Power.  Very little Pacific all weekend. 
Nice to work VK6 on 40M (a first for me on 40M band).

I felt like I had a harder time running on this contest more than any I can
remember.  The distractions of holding a frequency and finding a frequency vs.
the uninterrupted S & P rate on Sunday kept having me go back to single radio S
& P way more than I wanted to.  Had much less of that problem on Saturday for
some reason.

Conditions, here in Vermont at 44+ deg Latitude seemed more depressed at times
than others were fairing, even in southern New England.  But hey, it is the
bottom of the Sunspot cycle so when you work BY and 9M6 on 20M and your first EU
is worked on 15M at 1150Z you really can’t complain.

I noticed for the first time on 15M that as the band opened up to EU, it was
already wall to wall CQing by EU.  Even past the wall as someone was on 21451
??.  I have never seen this before.  Normally, you can establish a beach head
between 21375 and 21447 and the growing band kind of surrounds you over the next
hour.  Not this time.  

I also noticed that the 20M CQing was closer and more multiple layer on top of
each other than I have ever seen especially above 14275.  Finding a clear
frequency was not possible.  The question was “whose QRM is going to do the
least harm to you”.  Made SO2R harder when the CQ was such a slugfest.

Looking at 2005 vs. 2004 for me:

160 - 1Q less for a double mult

80 - 10 more Qs, 3 more countries, same zones

40 – 3 less Qs, 1 more country, 4 more zones.  This was strange, I felt really 

     loud on 40M but had only 5 people come back to CQing at both EU sunrises
     with about 30 mins invested each one.  Quite a few EU rarely listened up
     or didn’t at all.  It makes sense when they are running EU but on Sunday
     morning when they CQ and CQ with no answers, it is crazy.

20 – 35 less Qs, 5 less countries, and 3 less zones.  The countries/zones were
     all Asia/Pacific.  The less Qs is a real disappointment to me and suggest
     that my crowded band CQing needs improvement.  Antennas were LOUD.  Can’t
     blame that.

15 – 40 less Qs, 12 less countries, 5 less zones.  Pacific?? Hello.  Luckily
     worked VK and KH6 with a couple hours to go and neither were easily
     hearing me.  Again, the crowded band CQing was hurting me.

10 – 398 less Qs.  Pretty much all EU.  The 398 was in about 3.5 hours of
     running last year.  The countries were down 56 and the zones down 16.
     Last year was the surprise, not this year.

I had fun, despite the frustrating conditions.  My only disappointment was in
not converting the 3.5 hours of 10M run to EU from 2004 into increased Q totals
on 15 and 20.  

See you on CW.

Ed  N1UR


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