[3830] CQWW CW P40Q(K0DQ) SOAB LP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: P40Q
Operator(s): K0DQ
Station: P40A

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: Aruba
Operating Time (hrs): 43.5
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:   79    12       30
   80:  492    20       82
   40: 1873    28       93
   20: 2121    29       98
   15: 1072    31       68
   10:   10     3        6
------------------------------
Total: 5647   123      377  Total Score = 8,359,500

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

What a blast!   

My last CQWW (and overseas op) was in 2004.  That, plus a last minute decision
to go, made for an interesting weekend of re-learning old lessons.

This operation was my first from the P40A (John, KK9A) station in North Aruba,
about a third of a mile east of the beach.  Surprisingly, there are hills to
the NE and NW but they don't seem to be an issue.  John has an extremely well-
engineered antenna farm on a small lot with existing antennas for 10-80 and
they were connected and running in minutes with only minor issues.  The biggest
outside challenge was to put up the 160 meter antenna (sort of an inverted L
built on an existing 56 foot vertical and 13 radials) and a pennant for receive
(which can charitably be described as 'slightly better than nothing').  It was
the rainy season so some sort of low noise receiving antenna was highly
desirable.

Equipment wise, I brought or borrowed everything.  The P4 ham community is
extremely gracious.  Special thanks to Jacky, P43P, and to Andy, P49Y, for
rounding out the SO2R station.  We arrived Monday evening and was still working
minor details up to the starting bell, but - providentially - everything held
together through the contest.  As an aside, Donna and I also had a very
enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner with Andy, P49Y, JP, P43A (& Christina) and - as
a special treat - Carl, P49V, and Sue who are newly back in Aruba, putting up a
new three tower station. 

My strategy, such as it was, was driven by (1) the competition (which I
understood to be John, P40W, and Bud, V26K, in this hemisphere) and (2) the
station's capabilities.  I knew I was at a significant disadvantage to both
John and Bud on 160 and wasn't sure about 80.  I also knew from past experience
that John was the past master at multiplier production and rarely missed an
opening.  Finally, while I understood intellectually that it was the bottom of
the sunspot cycle, I really didn't process the implications of more mults on 80
than 15 or NO/NO USA on 10.  Period.  My potential advantages were 
3 points per W vs 2 for Bud and SO2R to John's SO1R.  The resultant plan was
simple: run like a bandit and pick up what mults I could on the second radio. 
Even though that was probably a blinding flash of the obvious, it was important
to have it firmly implanted in my subconcious to avoid the natural DXer tendency
to go on multiplier hunts.  In general, I stayed with that plan, even in the
face of hearing Bud and John both wildly running Europeans on 160.

The learning curve was steep, ranging from hardware ("where's the narrow filter
switch on this rig and what's this VRF dealie") to software ("how come TO5X
doesn't register as a mult"), not to mention "when is Europe workable on 160?"
I was also concerned about my stamina, having not attempted 40+ hours in a long
time (ended up taking 4 hours off the second night and feeling pretty good at
the checkered flag).

In the end, I felt good but had no real sense of how I'd done vs. the
competition.  The only benchmarks I had were Bud's winning score last year,
John's all-time SOABLP record from sunnier days, and my own previous #2 and #3
HP efforts, also during higher sunspot periods.  I knew I'd blown it by
deciding to wait until the second night to focus on 160 (conditions were
noticeably poorer Saturday night) and, particularly, by not moving ultipliers.
I think I only moved 3 or 4 and, incredibly, worked V26K on only one band (160)
and missed 8P5A on 3 bands.

All that said, it was one of the most enjoyable contests in memory.  I was
astounded at the ability to run on 40 meters and, in spite of having
multipliers repeatedly "CQ in my face" on the low bands (and high bands on
backscatter), I found the Low Power experience a treat, especially with two
radios. 

The traditional after-contest dinner had the potential for an "Oscar envelope
moment" right up to the point that John 'fessed up' he'd gone High Power after
all.  Then it was waiting to see how Bud did.  At this moment, it appears the 3
point advantage did the trick in spite of his superb effort.

If it does turn into a #1 finish, it will cap a personal quest to win all six
of the major contests (both modes CQ WW, CQ WPX, and ARRL DX).  I suppose
there'll be a personal "asterik" since the others were all in the heavyweight
(SOABHP) division, but a welterweight belt is better than none at all,
especially at my age.

In any event, for me this is still a magical hobby. . . even at 64.

Blessings and thanks for the Q's


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