[3830] ARRL 160 VE8EV M/S HP

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                    ARRL 160-Meter Contest

Call: VE8EV
Operator(s): VE8EV
Station: VE8EV

Class: M/S HP
QTH: Inuvik, NWT
Operating Time (hrs): 18

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 14  Sections = 8  Countries = 2  Total Score = 340

Club: 

Comments:

Warning: Still long even after I stripped out all the whiny parts...

Operating on the low bands from inside the auroral zone is challenging to say
the least.  However, being at the bottom of the cycle I knew there was a chance
for unusual conditions so I marked the ARRL 160 on the calendar.  With the
contest still a couple of weeks away I decided to have a listen and see what
kind of propagation I might expect.  For the three days before CQWW CW and one
day during the contest I had my scanner at work with an 18ft whip monitoring
the 160m DX window with Skimmer logging the high-confidence calls.  In the four
days of monitoring that little slice of 160m I logged 873 stations from 62 DXCC
countries and all continents.  With round-the clock darkness/grey line here and
K=0 the band was open to somewhere 24 hours a day.  I had hoped conditions would
be the same for the 160m contest.  

On Tuesday I checked the high-latitude geomagnetic forecast for the contest:
not good.  Recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream, unsettled/active/minor
storm levels all weekend.  I probably would have pulled the plug on the 160
contest right there but all that juicy DX in my monitoring log got me excited
and the forecast did call for quiet conditions on Sunday so maybe there was a
chance.

The forecast wasn't the only bad omen.  VE8DW was going to work a second radio
but had to cancel due to other obligations.  I had also planned to take Friday
off to work on my amplifier (need to put in more loading C for 160m) and be on
at the starting gun.  Unfortunately an emergency at work came up and I had to
fly out for the day.  As a result, I only had 500 watts from the amp and I
didn't get the mobile shack set up and on the air until 0500z.  

First in the log was W0SD.  He was loud (peaking at S-5) and was a beacon all
weekend.  If the band was open at all he was the loudest.  Other "loud"
stations heard the first night were W8JI and K5NA.  But they couldn't hear me. 
Once or twice on signal peaks I'd get a ? back but never enough to make a
contact.  Noise floor here is only S-2 and together with the auroral absorbtion
"diode propagation" is all too common.  I gave up after a few hours and decided
to try again in the morning.

Saturday morning started off better.  Between 1300 and 1400z I managed to put 5
more in the log, including RW0CWA who called me.  Then, as they say, the bottom
fell out.  From 1430z until 0200z I heard nothing.  Nothing at all, not on any
band.  No WWV, no 40m broadcast stations, zippo.  Because I lost my "prep day"
I also didn't have internet.  So I listened for signals, read books, tidied the
shack, etc, for most of the day.  With JA sunrise approaching I decided to start
CQing.  I called for about four hours and only worked a weak KL7.  Not knowing
what was happening was driving me nuts so I took some time off to round up the
wireless internet gear and get a link established.  When I was done setting
that up at 0300z things had improved considerable.  K was down to 1 and the
band started to open up.  Europe was coming in but with deep QSB.  Signals
would pop up to S-3 for 10 seconds then drop back into the noise. 
Unfortunately, now that I had internet I fired up the cluster link and got
"assistance".  I saw ON4UN spotted and checked the frequency.  Sure enough,
every minute or so he'd be armchair copy.  The signal peaks would usually last
for two or three CQ cycles so I'd start calling as soon as I thought there was
a chance.  Every once in a while I (or someone else?) would get a ? back but
after I'd sent my call another couple of times he'd be back down in the noise. 
I actually spent so much time playing that game that I got spotted on packet on
his frequency.  I spotted ON4UN right back and hoped that maybe he'd see the
spot and have a listen on the north beverage.  I kept at it until Eu sunrise
and then called it quits for the night.  K had jumped back up to 5 and the
forecast was calling for active/minor storm conditions all night.  

I got up Sunday at 1300z hoping for the previously forecasted quiet day but it
never came before the contest ended.  I happened to catch JA3YBK on a QSB peak
and got him in the log as the only JA and then couple of W7's before the time
ran out.  

Lesson learned:  Geomagnetic forecasting is NOT like guessing the weather.  If
the forecast says things will be bad then they probably will.  Find something
else to do!  To that end, unless there is quiet conditions and a double-digit
SSN we're going to skip the 10m contest next weekend.

I haven't given up on 160 though.  We'll wait and see what the forecast says
for Stew Perry after Christmas.  I hear there's a special award for best score
from the auroral zone...

Special thanks to the fourteen that did manage to put me in their log!

73
John - VE8EV


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