[3830] SS SSB WB1GQR(W1SJ) SO Unlimited HP

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                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB

Call: WB1GQR
Operator(s): W1SJ
Station: WB1GQR

Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:   14
   80:  859
   40:  345
   20:  326
   15:   10
   10:     
------------
Total: 1554  Sections = 80  Total Score = 248,640

Club: Radio Amateurs of Northern Vermont

Comments:

Conditions don’t get any worse that this! I thought I had a rough time of it,
but I have heard bellyaching about SS propagation from one of end of the land
to the other.

Going into this, I knew 20 meters would be a short timer, as it has been
deteriorating quickly after 2300. Things started out OK on 20 meters with a
reasonable hour. However, when I arrived on 80 meters, I found that my bread &
butter, those hundred of stations in 1,2, and 3-land were wiped out by a 300
mile skip zone. Fortunately, the skip zone subsided later that evening and I
was able to get some big hours going. West coast stations were quite strong on
80 meters, but noticed that their numbers were down considerably. After a
mediocre first half, I was optimistic that Sunday would bring some big hours
and big scores. It didn’t.

The first hour on 20 meters on Sunday morning was pretty good. But it totally
tanked after that. I had a clear frequency, people said I was strong, but all I
could get were a few stations in bunches and then nothing for 5-7 minutes. I was
positive that there was something wrong with the yagi, but I tried the backup
and found the same results. I tried everything, but the rate continued to stay
in the dumper. The situation was best summed up by someone on the cluster who
commented, “trade beer for QSO’s!”

By mid-afternoon, I gave up and retreated to 40 meters, a band I rarely do well
on. Fortunately, I was able to put up some good numbers and undo the 20 meter
disaster.
By Sunday night, things were so bad that I tried 160 meters for a while, along
with several others.

I used to have no trouble breaking 1600 Q’s on phone and 1000 Q’s on CW in
an off year. I haven’t reached those milestones in several years. I used to
think that the keen competition we have had up here in the last few years has
made Vermont an easy state to log and has cut down some of the pileups. Well,
this year, some of the big scores were missing and Vermont was again semi-rare.
And I still couldn’t break 1600!

Time for a bigger antenna!


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