[3830] CQWW CW W3EF SOAB LP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: W3EF
Operator(s): W3EF
Station: W3EF

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: MD
Operating Time (hrs): 41.5
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:   46    10       24
   80:  135    19       65
   40:  326    24       84
   20:  470    29      102
   15:  135    21       67
   10:    3     2        2
------------------------------
Total: 1115   105      344  Total Score = 1,351,041

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Station Description: 

IC-7800 and IC-765
Writelog
TopTen DX Dxoubler and Band Decoders
WX0B Six Pak and Bandpass Filters
Various homebrew switching panels, pedals, coffee, etc.

Antenna(s): 

160M: Twin inverted L's in phase (more or less -- optimal direction for EU
seemed to be the one marked "SW").

80M: Wire 4-"square" (hung from 125' tower -- odd sloping things for which the
optimal direction for EU was the one marked "NW").

40M: Crippled and unrotatable KLM 40M4 at 125'; tied off pointing vaguely at
EU; GP in hickory tree.

20M: Crippled, unrotatable and disconnected Telrex 20M646 at 105'.  Whoops,
guess that means A3S at 52' on top of house.

15M: Telrex 15M845 at 96' (working --yay!  Too bad the band never really opened
to EU.); A3S.

10M: A3S & ESP.

Beverages: 760' NNE, 280' NW, 270' W

Operators: same old me.

Remarks: 

This was a kind of "welcome home; now it's time to fix your station" contest
for me.  We had been living in HB9 for the past three years.  (In fact I
managed to set the record for this contest in SOAB HP for HB9 in 2005 from club
station HB9MM, and had fun last year as part of the crew at GJ2A.)  Now our
tenants are gone and we have the house back (though I still commute to HB9,
where I have an apartment).  But as you can see from the antenna description
above, I have my work cut out for me!  

Still, I have no complaints about my performance under the circumstances.  I am
particularly happy about the zone and mult totals on most of the bands,
especially 20 without my monobander.  I would have liked to take less sleep but
I have been travelling a lot lately and had a cold by Friday so I knew I would
need at least a few hours both nights this time.  Best moments include getting
an invitation for a return visit from Vidi, ZS1EL, which I will probably take
up this spring, and bagging some really fine DX such as 8Q (zone 22), J2, 5H,
and 6V.  Never heard a thing but D4C and some locals (mostly W3LPL) on 10m,
despite frequent checking.  Heard but not worked included JW, 7X, KH0, 9M, and
missed in particular were several of the usual double mults such as VK2 and JA
on 15 and 40 and ZL on 15 and 20.

My biggest thanks go to my helper Paulo who not only built the towers with me
four years ago but continues to work on them (including pulling out the stops
to get the 40 reconnected and tied down, and to repair three of the wire
antennas, on Friday).  I had to call him in on Sunday when the rain lowered a
tere branch just enough to block the rotation of the A3S (my one useable 20M
antenna).  With a bow and arrow and some rope he cleared the problem in
minutes.  (Of course I would have done this myself :-) but I was glued to the
chair; also I would not have trusted my aim by that point!)

Congratulations to the current dominant force in USA LP contesting, N1UR, and
to my favorite nemesis, N5AW, for their posted scores, and to the others who
will doubtless cause me to miss this bid for the top ten box.  I'll be back!

73 es gud dx,

Maury W3EF


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