[3830] ARRLDX SSB PJ2T M/2 HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, SSB

Call: PJ2T
Operator(s): KA9FOX, K9NW, WE9V, W0CG
Station: PJ2T

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: Netherlands Antilles
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs   Mults
--------------------
  160:   486    58
   80:  1300    59
   40:  2133    59
   20:  3261    60
   15:  3743    59
   10:   292    31
--------------------
Total: 11215   326  Total Score = 10,968,270

Club: SMC/CCC

Comments:

Wisconsin invaded Curacao, as we were fortunate to have a visit from Scott
(KA9FOX), Mike (K9NW), and Chad (WE9V). Our usual CCC team couldn't make it
this year. WB9Z is buried in work, AE9B's daughter has started studies at
Harvard (That's the good news AND the bad news.), and NW0L is in the midst of a
job change. Thus Chad, who was with us for ARRL SSB last year, was able to
return and drag his world class friends along. Lucky for PJ2T. It was a
privilege to make new friends. 

The bottom of the cycle is a good time for Caribbean stations. When conditions
to Europe are poor, beams turn south and we benefit. Low band conditions were a
particularly nice surprise, with low noise and lots of guys to work both nights.
We had been curious to see how the new subband allocations on 75 might change
the architecture of who is where in the band, but at least from our QTH things
seemed about the same as always. The 10 meter story was nearly a carbon copy of
ARRL CW. An almost complete wash on Saturday (2 Qs) and a thin and squirrelly
but very welcome opening on Sunday. We never were able to make it into the
north or northwest (no WA, OR, ID, not a single VE, etc.), but made up for it
with good rates and QSO volume into Texas, working a lot of stations who had no
idea what contest this (or any) was or what to say. We trained them on the fly
and harvested welcome points. The biggest surprise of the weekend was a call on
20 from a VY0, but understandably he wouldn't move and never reappeared for us
on any other bands.

As with the CW contest, we were fortunate to have absolutely no equipment or
software glitches. Writelog and the Ethernet were perfect, and the Titan III at
Station #1 and AL-1200 at Station #2 played flawlessly. 

Special congrats to KY1V on the first big outing of their Jamaica superstation
6Y1V. Dave's been working hard and doing a lot of research for a long time to
get to this point of finally doing a major operation. Nobody knows better than
the PJ2T gang what an incredible logistical and technical challenge it is do do
these things in this part of the world. So we welcome 6Y1V to the "neighborhood"
and look forward to lots of friendly competition in the future. 

We were as shocked as the rest of the contesting community at the outrageously
untimely passing of N6ZZ. Phil was at PJ2T for CQWW SSB last fall and then
spent a couple of days with us in November on the way down to and back from PZ
for the CW contest. We quickly became good friends. He was bright, warm,
caring, funny, fabulously quick on the radio, and a delight to spend time with.
He was also in absolutely incredible physical condition, so it seems all the
more cruel that he's gone. We thought of him often dorung this contest and
operated much of it with his picture up on one of the monitors. PJ2T also
participated in the moment of silence on the air at 0000Z on Saturday night.
We'll never forget Phil Goetz. 

Thanks again to all of our CCC members who put us on and keep us on the air. 

    73 from Paradise,

          - Geoff, W0CG, PJ2DX


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