[3830] IOTA VA7ST SO24CW LP

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                    IOTA Contest

Call: VA7ST
Operator(s): VA7ST
Station: VA7ST

Class: SO24CW LP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  CW Mults  Ph Qs  Ph Mults
----------------------------------------
   80:                              
   40:   37      11                 
   20:  212      26                 
   15:    4       0                 
   10:    1       0                 
----------------------------------------
Total:  254      37       0        0  Total Score = 49,950

Club: 

Comments:

Ran SO1R unassisted (no spots). About 30% S&P and lots of CQs.

Gear: 
FT920 @ 100w
N1MM Logger, worked FB
2el east, 2 el west -- 40M wire inv.-V beams
2 el east -- 80m wire beam

Year    Qs    Mults    Score
=============================
2006:  254      37     49,950
2004:   39      10      2,370
2002:   25      12      2,628 

Had lackluster outings in IOTA in 2002 and 2004 so didn't hold much hope for
2006 and the low solar conditions. Well, 20M turned out to be pretty good for
DX on Saturday, staying wide open over the pole the whole time. 

Even 40M at 1300z (6 a.m. Pacific) Saturday was rather good to Asia, though
wasn't worth much DX or domestic Saturday night. The two 2-element 40m wire
beams seem to work just find for NA after PDT sundown, but no one can hear me
till its dark here and too late out east. The West beam is only 55' high so
doesn't do a good job with DX to Asia. Over the next week or two, will rig up a
pair of 1/4-wave verticals, using simple feedline phasing, and see how they play
broadside and endfire bidirectional.

Didn't hear a thing on 80M Saturday evening, so bounced back and forth between
EU on 20M and domestic on 40M. 

Worked a couple JAs on 20M late Saturday evening, but only two -- wish there
had been more. I CQed to JA for a couple of hours with no takers, though worked
several UA0 UA9 and a DS. Signal hops not hitting Japan, I guess. Was hoping for
a string of 15-pointers to catch up on the NA central/east coast advantage into
G, which I suspect offers a big lift in this test. 

Alas, with the exception of a few stalwart ops, compared to a few years ago
Japanese hams seem to have fallen off the international contesting map. It's
sad to see such a great contesting group fall away so dramatically over the
past three years or so. Wasn't long ago that JA stations would be there in a
seemingly endless stream of courteous, patient callers. It's self-serving to
lament the loss (JA is one of few contest advantages to a W7/VE7 locale), but
it's also a pity all those hams are no longer there. Makes me wonder why and
where they've gone.

I was going to run just 12 hours in this, but I overshot that by a little bit
(having too much fun working into the second tier EU for the first time in a
couple of years), so I'll throw in with the 24-hour group. 

Did lots of hunting for IOTA mults, but could not dig out more than 37. Heard
several NA islands working S&P 40M Saturday night, but couldn't catch up to
them. Was fun the whole day, though, and I'm happy with year-over-year
improvement going against the propagation trend.


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