[3830] ARRL 160 K9YC M/S HP

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                    ARRL 160-Meter Contest

Call: K9YC
Operator(s): K9YC
Station: K9YC

Class: M/S HP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 28

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 785  Sections = 77  Countries = 10  Total Score = 142,854

Club: Northern California Contest Club

Comments:

I wasn't really multi-op, but I did use the cluster a lot. 

One of the most important things to know about 160M is that band 
conditions are always changing. Paths that are loud one night (or one 
hour) are lousy a half hour later, and/or the next night. It's real 
common for a given path to be enhanced for a half hour or so, then 
disappear. Indeed, when we can work EU here on the West Coast, stations 
further to the east can't hear them at all.  

This weekend was no exception. Friday night was terrible to the east 
coast, a path that I can do fairly well with when it's open. Saturday 
was better, and I managed 176 QSOs that N1MM thinks are in Zone 5, as 
compared to 155 last year.

Band conditions were tough for me. I made four more QSOs than last year, 
but I had to work very hard for them. I worked only 12 JAs, compared to 
21 last year. DX was P4, PJ2, XE, KL, KP2, KP4 (a first in ARRL 160), 
VP2M, ZF, UA0, FO, KH2/N2NL,and ZL8. As usual, I worked all states, but missed
WCF, NWT, and NNY. I've NEVER worked NWT on 160M, and haven't even heard NNY
since 2004 from Chicago, but I think this is the first time I've missed WCF.  

QSOs by Zone -- Zone 3 265 this year, 279 last year; Zone 4 308 this 
year, 301 last year. Zone 5 176 this year, 155 last year. That suggests 
that west coast participation was down -- not surprising for a contest 
where the west coast is severely penalized by the scoring rules. I heard 
at least a half dozen east coast stations calling CQ EU! It is SHAMEFUL that we
can't work out scoring rules that make a far more level playing field, but just
like in our national politics, those in power (the east coast contesting
establishment) likes the 5:1 advantage they have in most contests. 

Let's all show our disdain for this by participating in the Stew Perry 
two weeks from now -- its scoring rules are FAR more fair to stations 
not near the Atlantic basin. The Stew is a great contest, whose only 
shortcoming is not enough activity.

73, Jim K9YC


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