[3830] ARRLDX CW VP2E M/2 HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: VP2E
Operator(s): N5AU KC5EA
Station: VP2E

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: ANGUILLA
Operating Time (hrs): 24

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:  246    50
   80:  425    51
   40:  737    56
   20:  915    59
   15:  909    57
   10:   16     5
-------------------
Total: 3248   278  Total Score = 2,710,500

Club: North Texas Contest Club

Comments:

It was a fun weekend getting the station running on all the bands.   We got
everything working and talking to each other on all 6 tables with about 30
minutes to spare Friday evening.   (VP2E is set up as a multi-mutli station for
those who don't know)    The contest starts at 8PM local time here.

We had a nice run on 160 the first night for an hour or two.    The USA
beverage works extremely well on RX and we don't hear much on it except loud
W's.    Our 40 meter triangle loop worked very well on transmit but lacked
enough rejection to remove the EU signals from the side.    We missed the 3L M2
40.   It's on the ground for maintenance for some time to come.

We lost about 7 feet of the reflector on the 4L 20 (from metal fatigue over the
years plus hurricane OMAR last October) and didn't have time to do tower work to
get it fixed, but it seemed to work OK anyway.   We kept the broken piece on top
of the 20 meter amp in hopes it would help some.    The SWR was a bit high, but
the amp didn't complain at all.   

15 meters had a great opening starting about 1845Z Saturday.   I worked N5TJ
with his indoor antenna and he was S9+, so something had definitely changed
from the earlier lousy conditions.   Sure enough, a huge pile-up from across
the entire US followed.   Most of the 15 meter QSO's were made during that run.
  Sunday was just fair.    Packet pile-ups are bad news on the receiving end.   
Once the spot goes up, get ready.....it's a solid "tone" zero beat.   Even with
the best filters, it's almost impossible to do much with it.   You have to hope
that someone will either be loud enough to completely override the pile, or
someone calls off frequency without 4 others right on top at the same time, or
whatever.    It's very nice to have all the callers, but one at a time would be
much faster.    "Please don't everyone call at once.....QRZ?"   (from an actual
contest comment I heard on the air once a long time ago) 

10 meters was certainly the big loser we expected it would be.   We are too
close to the US to get any type of opening (now) except Es.    The first day we
worked N2NL in FL and he was absolutely booming in.     Surely there must be
other FL stations....but no.   Rafts of unanswered CQ's.    Almost everyone
seems to have given up on 10.    The second day we got a tiny, tiny opening on
double or triple hop Es to the central and western US.    We worked N6RO in CA
by the hardest.   Ken's big station helped us out.    N2IC in NM was somewhat
easier.    All the Texas big guns called in and were all way over S9....all 10
of them.    W5RU in LA made it, but it was pretty close on the very side of the
E cloud.   We called K4TD in AL for a while, but no luck.   He was a whisper in
the background.   We certainly miss the days of 50 over S9 EU and US from the
last cycle.   We had great 10 meters during the 2004 CQ WW SSB M/2 operation.  
 That's the last time 10 has seen much action here.   The SSN was around 30 at
that time.   At the rate it's going, it might be a while before it gets back to
30....and then again, things that stay depressed and held down for a long time
sometimes "blow sky high" when they finally are released.   We just might be in
for a skyrocket one of these days.

Thanks to all who called.   We should be on again for the ARRL SSB weekend.  
Hope to see you then.

73

Gordon N5AU
Ray KC5EA (VP2E station owner)


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