[3830] WPX CW VA7ST SOAB HP

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Mon May 26 01:42:35 EDT 2008


                    CQWW WPX Contest, CW

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

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 32

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:   73
   40:  384
   20:  604
   15:  110
   10:    0
------------
Total: 1171  Prefixes = 492  Total Score = 1,697,892

Club: 

Comments:

* N1MM Logger
* FT-2000 + SB221 (SO1R Unassisted)
* 40M half-square for U.S./JA
* 40M 2-element raised vertical array for EU
* 80M 2-element raised vertical array
* 3 ele. tribander at 45'

        Band    QSOs    Pts  WPX   Pts/Q
         3.5      73     283    5  3.88
           7     384    1560  115  4.06
          14     604    1381  347  2.29
          21     110     227   25  2.06
       Total    1171    3451  492  2.95

Year  QSO   WPX        Score (claimed)
=========================================
2008 1171   492        1,697,892  HP
2007  948   409        1,135,384  HP(Assisted)
2006  941   515        1,445,605  LP
2005  694   378          712,908  LP
2004   --    --               --
2003  412   233          269,348 (VE7ASK)
2002   63    45            9,000 

Opening prop stats: SFI = 68   A = 10   K = 2 

Poor conditions overall, compounded on the high bands by man-made noise. It was
supposed to rain all weekend, and I was looking forward to the absence of power
line noise. It didn't rain until after the end at 0000z Sunday evening (steady
rain since then), so I suffered from severe BC Hydro "we ain't never gonna fix
it" line noise all weekend on 20M.

Opened on 20M for the first 2.5 hours, working mostly U.S. and South America.
The slow first hour was disappointing, but rates in the first nine hours were
consistently better than last year: 

Hour  '07  '08
=====  ==   ==
0000z  83   54
0100z  62   64
0200z  45   60
0300z  51   67 (peak rate all weekend)
0400z  43   56
0500z  46    2
0600z  35   60
0700z  25   38
0800z  10   33

JAs were far better than last year -- Friday night worked 16 JAs from 0730z to
0840z on 20M, then switched to 40M and worked another 24 through 1130z. The 40M
half-square worked well in both U.S. and JA directions.

Was about to quit for Friday night at 2:37 a.m. (0937z) with 308,000 and 451
Qs/226 mults. Then found a bunch of activity from Asia on 40M and didn't stop
until 4:41 a.m. (1141z) with 427,823 and 523 Qs/253 mults.

Passed last year's score at 10:40 p.m. (0540z) Saturday night with 937 Qs and
409 mults (same as last year).

80M was weak and noise on Friday night, but VERY good in North America on
Saturday night -- perhaps the best I've heard it since putting up the
two-element 80M vertical array. No Europe but good signals from everywhere else
-- PY, LU, KH6. Even had ZM2M call me off the back and I almost forgot to switch
the beam to point west. When I did, he came way up. Could have worked high rate
on 80M but not many guys were on after Pacific-coast dark.

Unlike the previous morning, by early Sunday morning 40M and 80M were pretty
dead. Neither band had workable signals on it. Went to bed at 0800z (1 a.m.
local) to burn up the final 3.6 hours' off-time. Intended to be back on at 5
a.m. 1500z for a 40M JA run. Instead, I slept till 8:40 a.m. (still, that's an
hour earlier than I got on Sunday morning last year).

On Sunday, I could not get an answer by CQing to Europe with a KW into the
tribander, though S&P passes were modestly productive. Eu ops were not combing
the band, I guess. Only the usual nuclear-powered or mega-antenna signals were
strong and solid here in British Columbia, so conditions just weren't good. 

Spent most of the final hour trying for a little bit of rate to U.S., but
closing in on 600 Qs on 20M meant new ones were pretty thin. In the final five
minutes, I turned the beam back to Europe and signals were strong and crisp for
the first time all weekend (EI2CN was like he was across the valley from me).
Wish I'd spent all of that 2300z hour pointed over the pole.

Lowlights: 

Fell prey to plenty of frequency hijackings -- hyper-kilowatt stations burning
holes in the aurora with nary a "QRL?" 

Worked Kuwait for the first time. Good signal here, but with QSB he could
hardly hear me. About 10 fills needed, and I think he busted the last digit of
my number anyway and I couldn't get back to him through the pileup. At least
that doesn't hurt DXCC credit, but that mult would have been great on both
ends.

Highlights:

9M6XRO, 3D2A, FO5RH (big sig) and VK6 calling me on 40M. Now I know the
half-square is working. The verticals for Europe only snagged M7A and S56M,
around 0400z on Saturday evening, though stupidly I didn't go to the array very
often to look over the pole because I was finding lots of easy 6-pointers in the
Pacific.

Worked 72 DXCC entities. Mults up nicely (492 vs. 409) over last year, but
still too far down from 515 at low power in 2006.

Made 110 Qs on 15M this year. It was hard work at times, but far better than 56
Qs last year. Saturday I ran most of my 15M total in a handful of decent runs
from 1740z to 2150z. Sunday 15M was open from 1730z to 2000z with great S9+
signals from W1 through W6, but just not many on the band. Could only ever find
five or six stations at a time, and had to go back to the rat-race on 20M.

Posted to livescores.org, and once the board was up (it wasn't at the start)
had fun watching scores grow in the SO HP category. Those boys at the top of
the list sure know how to work a radio.

Did a spot search this evening and saw that I was spotted a couple dozen times
during the weekend. I felt the brief boost many times as I'd call and call with
nothing, then a flurry of action for five minutes or so. Thanks to all who
spotted me! 

Had a laugh when I saw KN3A's spot which included "Go Pens," apparently posted
just before they dropped the puck in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final
Saturday night. Sorry about the loss on Saturday. Maybe Monday is the night for
Sid and the gang. I'm rooting for the amazing young gun Penguins over the
greybeard Wings, but as with old-dog contesters, all that experience will
certainly have an impact on the scoreboard, hi.

Ended with SFI = 68    A = 7    K = 1 (better than it started, but still bottom
of the barrel).

Had a very great time, even in the doldrums of the 40M wee hours and 20M
mid-day. Thanks to everyone, especially the WPX volunteers.


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