[3830] ARRLDX CW VA7ST SOAB HP

Mon Feb 18 01:07:15 EST 2008

                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: VA7ST
Operator(s): VA7ST
Station: VA7ST

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 20.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   10     7
   80:   53    25
   40:   72    37
   20:  342    74
   15:   27    13
   10:           
-------------------
Total:  504   156  Total Score = 235,872

Club: 

Comments:

* FT920 + SB221 
* N1MM Logger
* 3 ele. tribander @ 45'
* 40M rotatable dipole @ 55' (used sparsely)
* 40M 2-el. vertical parasitic array for EU
* 40M half-squares E-W, N-S or so
* 80M delta loop
* 160M inverted-L

=================================================

Highlights:

* 20M global opening -- JW, KG6, ZS almost back to back
* 5-watt JAs and EUs with big sigs
* VP6DX on 160-15

Lowlights:

* SFI=71, A=11>8, K=3>1 (no help from Cycle 24 yet)
* Brutally short EU openings on 20M
* 15M dead most of the time
* Decent EU opening on 40M Sunday afternoon

=================================================

Year   QSOs  Mults   Score
----   ----  -----   -------
2003   235   122      86,010
2004   307   132     121,572
2005   444   167     222,444
2006   571   176     301,488
2007   609   157     286,839 HP
2008   504   156     235,872 HP

Worst outing since 2005, when I was 100W. However, I remember being elated in
2005 with 222,000 LP points, so anything better should keep me happy. I did far
better than this in 2006 with 100W as well. 

I'm neither thrilled nor disappointed in the score, given rather lousy
conditions in this part of the world. Went in willing to do 40+ hours, but
there wasn't anything to work for long blocks of time. Ended up with just 20.5
hours in the chair and half a dozen good naps along the way, a movie or two,
and long brisk dog-walkies. Okay, I let the dog out a few times.

Was cursing the 80M delta loop, then realized I actually had better Qs and
mults than last year, when I ran an inverted-V. (28Q for 20 mults vs. 53Q for
25 mults this year). Guess the low-angle aerial is not a total loss. 

Thought 40M was a bit soft most of the weekend, until I found Europe at last.
I'm down 1Q and 3 mults from last year. Finally decided to check the band in
the early afternoon, suspecting that's when the EU openings are (never get a
chance to try it as I usually run 20M at that time of day in domestic tests). 

Sure enough, found some very nice 40M EU signals and worked a dozen mults on
the 2 element parasitic vertical array (which, despite being built to fire at
EU, has never shown much favor over the pole until this afternoon. Wasn't a
fire hose, but it was working).

Definitely have something going on with the 20M traps in the Mosley CL33. I
know they don't like more than 600W RTTY, but they should handle 800-1000W CW.
A few times, often in a nice run, the normally good SWR jumped to 3:1 and had
to cut back power till they cooled off (or something) and things snapped back
to normal -- usually the transition happens almost instantly, so something's
moving up there in the traps.

20M was pretty good in all directions, except I didn't hear as many South
American stations as I had hoped. Plenty of JAs this time out, though again not
in the numbers one might expect. Openings to EU both mornings had peaks of about
an hour, and soft half-hour shoulders on both sides. Sunday, I was able to work
quite a few big gun stations throughout the day. Best hour was 1700z Saturday
with 60 Qs, all EU. (Had three hours over 60 in 2007). Had to ask an HB9 to
confirm twice his 5 watts he was so loud.

At one point Sunday afternoon, I was called by JW8, then ZS, and a few minutes
later KG6 -- all with the beam aimed at 30 degrees (Western EU). Mults on 20M
were equal to last year (74) but Qs were waaaay down by more than 100 (453 >
342). I know. That yagi needs a good look.

15M was very poor. Only Carib. and SA, and darn few of them... courteously
spaced across the low end of the band. CQing got virtually nothing, and those I
called didn't seem to hear me very well at all, even running a KW. Mults down by
7 from last year (20->13). No Asian opening at all, and certainly no Europe.

Figure my lousy performance on 15M must be related to the 20M trap issue -- 15M
SWR is a bit high lately so things are out of kilter. One day, I'll be able to
afford a trapless 3-element tribander for this little tower.

401 total callsigns worked in 84 different DX entities (85 last year). My only
five-banders were KH6LC, KH6NF, KH7X, PJ2T, and VP6DX. 

DX check...
        2008  2007  change
        ----  ----
Japan    115   141  -26
Germany   33    50  -17
Hawaii    24    25  - 1
Italy     23    24  - 1
Brazil    17    13  + 4

Rate check...
3Q/min.    5    14  - 9
2Q/min.   62    99  -37

Gotta get psyched up for the SSB legs of this and WPX next month. Not looking
forward to either of these at solarmin, but you never know what can happen with
the sun.

Thanks for all the Qs and see you in the next one. 

-- Bud, VA7ST
http://www3.telus.net/va7st

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