[3830] RTTY WPX VA7ST SOAB LP

Sun Feb 14 19:56:24 PST 2010

                    CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest

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

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Pts
-----------------
   80:  139   540
   40:  144   598
   20:  512  1155
   15:  126   269
   10:           
-----------------
Total:  921  2562  Prefixes = 388  Total Score = 994,056

Club: British Columbia DX Club

Comments:

* N1MM Logger + MMTTY
* FT2000 |  FT920 second radio
* 3-ele. Steppir @ 47'
* 40M Steppir dipole 47'
* 80M twin elevated verticals (E or W)

2010 -- SFI = 94 |  A = 3           | K = 2
2009 -- SFI = 70 |  A = 4 > 18 > 10 | K = 1 > 4 > 2

Figured things would be better than they were, thanks to some elevated flux and
sunspots burbling away. Still, sure am pleased to shatter all previous low-power
results. 

I decided to run low power this year after three years of high power entries.
Figured it's time to do a comparison with previous low-power attempts... Beat
2006 (previous best) by 400,000 points and 200 Qs, no less. That feels good and
tells me the station is working better than ever. (I even smashed last year's
high-power entry by a wide margin, and in 3.5 fewer hours!)

Good to see 15M with some life -- even some EA8-like action skirting the lower
edge of the auroral zone from here.

20M was a bottomless well of Qs, though there were some long pauses between
callers. Never dreamed I'd get 400 Qs there, let alone top 500. Great
performance with the Steppir. Europe opened both mornings; not a deep well
there but some big signals, mostly all over by 1800z both days. 

Had a surprise polar opening with the Scandinavian express on 20M mid-afternoon
Sunday as very loud SM and OH8 stations called in off the back quarter of the
beam. Friday's opening hour saw stronger JA activity than Saturday and Sunday
afternoons, but was grateful for the few JAs and other Asian stations that
called Sunday afternoon for very valuable mults. 

Sunday afternoon was exciting as I drove for 1 million points, missing it by a
a couple of mults. Less sleep time would have made the difference. I had
carefully pre-planned my breaks to come up with 30 hours total. The plan went
out the window just an hour into the contest, as 40M wasn't doing too well so I
ended up joining the kids and XYL to watch the Olympic(tm) opening ceremonies
down the highway in Vancouver. After that, I took several 2 hour breaks when I
felt like it or bands were slow, and a couple of longer sleep breaks, and ended
up with just 24 hours in the chair.

Hope the VE7UF lads had a great time. Heard them often, but only very weak this
close (250 miles), which is a sign that the bands are strong.

40M felt weakest of all the bands -- you gotta be there, but that doesn't mean
anybody will hear you. Neither night seemed good, and the early morning JA
openings weren't there. Had 240 Qs with high power last year, but just 144 with
low power this year. (Missing all those 4-pointers hurts, but I made up some of
the difference with much higher Q totals on 20 and 15 than last year).

80M was in good shape across NA, though not much DX heard. Had been hearing
very loud JA signals (CW) before work earlier in the week, but only heard one
lone JA CQing in the low-end RTTY window Sunday morning. Could have been a
great point-getter camping out down there, but just no activity heard. 

Great to see so many new calls in the mix again. Really appreciate the guys
with lower numbers jumping in as the contest rolls along. Was impressed with
the general behavior of the mobs crowding into the accordion-like 20M RTTY
band. 

Had a few guys work me several times -- wish they would settle for one contact
per band. Pretty sure I was just a signal check to them. Got really cranked up
when two idiots wrecked my Q with PJ4R with their incessant callsign QRM. I
never did get an exchange due to these lids who dumped their calls over and
over and over and over ... out of sequence and intentionally QRMing everyone.
If you can't hear him well enough to know when he's working someone, bugger off
and come back later.

Then I watched more Olympics and calmed down again.

Thanks for the contacts everyone. Enjoy our 2010 Winter Games and see you in
ARRL DX next weekend.

-- Bud VA7ST
http://www3.telus.net/va7st

Score history:
Year  Qs    WPX   Score
-------------------------
2010  921   388   994,056  24.0 hrs  
2009  846   335   907,180  27.5 hrs HP
2008  612   258   470,850  21.0 hrs HP
2007  972   420 1,154,160  28.5 hrs HP
2006  702   284   578,792  28.2 hrs 
2005  584   264   422,664
2004  225   114    67,009
2003  344   149   147,212

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