[3830] ARRLDX SSB VE4EAR SOAB HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, SSB

Call: VE4EAR
Operator(s): VE4EAR
Station: VE4EAR

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 30

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    0     0
   80:    3     3
   40:   17    11
   20:   74    39
   15:   41    19
   10:    0     0
-------------------
Total:  135    72  Total Score = 29,160

Club: 

Comments:

Not a very productive weekend. This was my third entry into this contest and my
worst score yet. Condition, or lack of, had a lot to do with that.

I had attended the IWCE show in Las Vegas last week and was flying home late
Friday. Just before touching down in Winnipeg, I noticed a spectacular display
of Northern Lights. While the other passengers were ooohing and aaaahing, I was
thinking this wasn't a good sign for HF propagation. I still figured that I
would start about 7 hours into the contest. Got home, turned the radio on 40m
and nothing but noise, tried 80m and the same thing. Turned it off and went to
sleep.

Saturday morning conditions were not much better, Checked the solar index and
SSN was less than 10 and the A was 30. This was not going to be easy.

15m opened to deep SA, 20m was open to the Caribbean. Worked all the big guns
but no EU or AF, VK, ZL or JA sigs were heard on Saturday. The low bands were
impossible and only signals 10dB over 9 or more were barely copyable.

On Sunday morning 20m opened to EU for about 20 minutes. Weak signals were
heard from 1500Z to about 1520Z. Managed only a handful of contacts before the
band closed. 20m did open to EU again later in the day 1900Z for another 1/2
hour but signals were very weak. 15m did open to SA and the Caribbean on Sunday
again but signals were weak. 15 was so marginal that not a sngle US or Canadian
signal was heard working any of the other signals. Not a peep on 10m.

Contesting from VE4 land at the bottom of the cycle...

Thanks for the Q's!

Ed
VE4EAR


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