[3830] ARRLDX CW VE4EAR SOAB HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: VE4EAR
Operator(s): VE4EAR
Station: VE4EAR

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 25

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   15    12
   80:   47    33
   40:  174    66
   20:  290    78
   15:  261    78
   10:   17    12
-------------------
Total:  804   279  Total Score = 672,948

Club: 

Comments:

Well this was supposed to be a part time effort but turned into a bit more
serious outing.

Started 5 hours late due to another meeting I had to attend. 40m didn't seem in
great shape but I was surprised to find some EU on 80m. To put things in
perspective, EU on 80m from my station is almost unheard of, 3 QSO's in 4
years. Despite the very high S8 noise level and a still unresolved broadcast
station intermodulation issue, I was fortunate to work a whole bunch of new
DXCC on 80m.

160m was also reasonable and was able to work at least two EU stations.

Saturday sunrise found me making a number of band changes. 40m was starting to
open to JA just after my sunrise and at the same time, EU was opening on 20 &
15m. Made the decision to grab a few JA stations and then headed to the higher
bands. On 15m, the only stations that showed up on the bandscope were DX. This
made it very easy to move quickly through the band finding stations to work.

A big surprise for me was 40m on Saturday afternoon. 4 hours before sunset, I
decided to look and see if there was any thing happening and was surprised to
find 40m full of European stations. I felt like I was the only NA station on
the band and quickly moved through the band working a bunch of new mults.
Normally I have to battle the east coast wall on 40m but this was amazing.

Right at sunset, 15m opened to JA and I was able to work a seemingly endless
stream of stations all up and down the band.

Since I have been contesting the last 4 years, this is really the first time
15m has been so important. It is also the first time when 3 bands were open
simultaneously. This is nothing new for the veterans out there but for me, the
good old days are the bottom of the sunspot cycle and I am looking forward to
this upturn. Certainly new tactics will be required.

Hopefully conditions will be as good or better for the SSB event in a couple of
weeks.

Thaks for the Q's 

Ed

VE4EAR


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