[3830] CQWW CW ES1WST SOSB/40 QRP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: ES1WST
Operator(s): ES1WST
Station: ES1WST

Class: SOSB/40 QRP
QTH: Tallinn
Operating Time (hrs): 9

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:                    
   80:                    
   40:  162    9        57
   20:                    
   15:                    
   10:                    
------------------------------
Total:  162    9        57  Total Score = 12,936

Club: 

Comments:

Just a quick note to thank the many operators who took the time to copy (or try
to copy) my QRP signal. You’re the best!

I would also like to thank the Estonian Radio Amateurs Union (ERAU) and
especially ES2MC and ES5TV for inspiring me to get interested in contesting
again. Estonia (and Eastern Europe in general) is a great place for “radio
sport”!

Rig: Yaesu FT-817
Antenna: 1/4-wave vertical for 40 m with 72 m of copper-wire radials 

I had a go at CQWW (SSB) in October -- my first attempt since I was a teenager
in the 1970s (WB4JKP). It was a lot of fun, despite my antenna: A 3-band Windom
(OCF  dipole) that puts out mostly high-angle radiation due to its low height (9
m on one end, 4 m on the other). I worked OH0 twice, but couldn’t even work
France or England!

I was ready to have a go at CQ WW (CW) contest with the same antenna, but then
on the Tuesday before the contest I realized I had everything I needed to build
a 1/4-wave vertical for 40 m: A 10 m fiberglass mast, plenty of copper wire and
some coax. I threw down 72 m of radials on Friday evening in the dark and
hooked it all up. With my location only 200 m from the sea, I had high hopes,
but I was also wary about noise because we are next to a commercial port here
(loc: KO29IK).

Still, the result was very exciting: CR3L on the first call! At 4265 km
distance, that was already better than my Windom. Things continued the same,
not without frustrations of course, but many of those semi-rare stations who
never heard my SSB signal in October were now picking me up after a try or two.
I even worked one North American station: V47NT for a distance of 8207 km.

Of course, 40 m QRP is not something I would really recommend, but it is
possible to have fun. It’s wonderful to be able to travel with a little
FT-817 and make some contacts. I hope next year to try CQWW again, but with an
Elecraft K3 and 100 W.


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