[3830] ARRL 160 PJ2T(K8ND) Single Op HP

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                    ARRL 160-Meter Contest

Call: PJ2T
Operator(s): K8ND
Station: PJ2T

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Curacao
Operating Time (hrs): 26

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 1447  Sections = 78  Countries = 0  Total Score = 225,732

Club: Mad River Radio Club

Comments:

My third ARRL 160 Contest operation from the Signal Point station (2003, 2006,
2007), and the best result yet! What a blast!

The first night was ideal: locally quiet, with the entire callsigns of the
weaker USA and VE stations copiable without many repeats. As local sunset
doesn't happen until 2209Z here, and most of the USA is in full light at the
2200Z contest start, I don't expect to get off to a flying start: previous
"first QSO" wasn't until 2220Z or so. This time, my first QSO was at 2200Z and
I had 9 QSOs in the first ten minutes! At 2230Z, I worked a Kansas station, and
he was still almost an hour from his sunset! Rates for the first seven hours
were: 66, 123, 129, 133, 110, 114, and 103. The band almost felt like I was
operating from Ohio!

The second night was not nearly as good, with local rain static and seemingly
more absorption on the band. Some of the Left Coast stations were down in the
noise, and those I worked required multiple fills. Best rates were 48, 48 and
46. Second night is always a slog in this contest, no matter where you are
operating from.

What the deal with dupes in this contest? I had 66 dupes, at least four of them
from one WA2. As I identify after (almost) every QSO, it couldn't be that they
op didn't know who I was! While I work all comers and let the software sort it
out, I *did* start acknowledging the dupe QSOs with "Tnx Again" to suggest to
the guy that he might be more careful!

As last year, good conditions and our loud signal into Europe resulted in
European pileups. I very much enjoy working Europeans on Topband, but **NOT**
during this contest: they are weak signals off the side of the USA Beverage,
and it takes time to identify that the weak "4" signal I'm hearing is just a G4
or UA4 calling, rather than a station worth some points! I consistantly refused
to work any DX station, and promise that outside of ARRL 160 I will work as
many EU stations as possible during my stays on Curacao. I have a couple
hundred EU Topband stations in my PJ2/K8ND log for this trip, and many hundreds
during my previous 9 trips to the island.

I had one case of a "packet scrum", apparently caused by a mis-spot of me as
"GJ2J". A instantaneous pileup of stations I'd worked before, all insisting on
working me again! After five minutes, normal operation resumed.

As always, thanks to my fellow Caribbean Contesting Consortium (CCC) members
(many of whom, although not Topband ops, worked me from their home QTHs), and
to genial hosts Geoff W0CG/PJ2DX and Cindy Howard.  

Station Equipment Used:
   Radio: FT-1000MP
   Amp: Ten Tec Titan III (2 x 4CX800A)
   TX Ant: inv-L (~55-feet up, then sloping up to 95-feet high, ~60 radials)
   RX Ant: 650-foot Beverage
   RX Ant: DX Engineering 4-Square

Standby Station:
   Radio: FT-1000MP
   Amp: Cary LK-800 (2 x 3CPX800A7)


73,  Jeff  PJ2/K8ND


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