[3830] CQWW CW KQ2M SOAB HP

[webform at b41h.net]

                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: KQ2M
Operator(s): KQ2M
Station: KQ2M

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: CT
Operating Time (hrs): 17.3

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:                    
   80:                    
   40:  200    10       42
   20:  803    37      109
   15:  522    28      105
   10:   21     8       13
------------------------------
Total: 1546    83      269  Total Score = 1,575,200

Club: Frankford Radio Club

Comments:

What a great contest!  I had planned another SOSB20 Unassisted operation but had
only extremely limited time due to extensive and exhaustive work on the creation
and development of a website for my Investment Advisory firm, RLS Financial
Group, Inc.  I have created a lot of helpful and useful information and and
articles on the site with a lot more to come in the future. Have a look and let
me know what you think.    

www.rlsfinancialgroup.com 

With limited time fo rhte contest, I set up one radio and was rather unfocused.
 I picked times to operate when I felt like it and when it was available -
generally corresponding to rather mediocre times on 20.  I concentrated mainly
on DXing, trying to find some hitherto obscure but useful greyline and longpath
openings that might be useful for multipliers in this and future contests.  With
a broken wire antenna on 40 and nothing on 80/160, I was rather unmotivated.

20 was ok at the start to JA, but it was a brief typical bottom of the cycle
opening for 0 sunspots and by 0015z, JA could only be heard weak skewpath
beaming about 150 degrees.   At 02z the band briefly reopened to weak JA
shortpath but the real news was being able to work TWO BY's skewpath at 0230z. 
Normally I can hear them but they can't hear me.  I caught the brief but
productive opening at 0415z to Africa and Pacific with 5R8ZO, TX1B, VK6AA,
A25NW, 9J3A, C91LZ, 9G5XA and a fw ZL's and VK's.  Things definitely sounded a
bit better than 2008!  Not operating seriously, I went to sleep and didn't get
up until 1130z and then ran on 20.  At 12:30z I went to 15 to listen and heard
all of the African zones!  Quickly worked A25NW, 9L5A, C91LW, D44AC, EF8M,
6W1RW, ST2AR, heard a LOT of EU stations skewpath at about 120 degrees (over
South Africa) and then was SHOCKED to hear and work a LOUD 3W1M through the
East at 90 degrees!

Feeling bold, I cq'ed and began a run of absolutely ESP EU stations, mostly
DL's.  Most stations were so weak that even with the top two 5L stack,  0 noise
and 0 QRN, they were barely audible.  Fortunately almost no one else was able to
hear or run them, so I did not have the usual qrm issues.  It was really cool to
have a 180+ hour on 15 cw with 0 sunspots!  In 36 years of contesting, I have
never had that experience before!  I worked a bunch more mults and then went to
20 for a 2 hour run of EU and then back to 15 for some SA/Carib. mults.  Then
back to the computer and the website.  At 21z I couldn't stand it anymore and
went back to the radio and was rewarded with a brief but fun 20 meter JA run
with T88CI and then took a listen to 15 and found the band open to Pacific with
qso's with TX3A, TX1B, A35KL and a few ZL's.  WOW!  It was interesting to hear
the roar of the TX3A pileup (obviously spotted) and then tuning up the band a
bit to find TX1B cqing with absolutely NO ONE calling him!  Thank goodness for
the internet - if there wasn't any internet, more guys would actually tune
their radios and TX1B would have been buried under a pileup instead of being
ignored, resulting in a multiplier for me  :-)  

At 0020z I tuned LP on 20 (it was dead SP) and worked a LOUD 9M6LSC, again,
with no one calling!  Back to work on the website and then to sleep.

At 1140z I was back on 20 running with another 160+ hour and then off to 15 for
another hour of 15 ESP Europe.  On Sunday they were so.... weak that most of the
US wasn't even bothering to CQ on 15!  I was getting only two or three
letters/numbers at a time.  A "clean" full call was a rarity.  It was
challenging but fun.  Even worked a few Russian q's - LY's, EW's, UA3's, ER's,
UR's.  Then off for a camp event for my daughter and then back at 1745z for
some post-flare activity.  Lot's of TF's - good to hear Iceland so active!

Back to the website and then some Pacific on 15 and a few JA's on 20 in the 22z
hour.  Since I did not have a decent 40 meter antenna, I contemplated shutting
off the radio but I decided to give it a try.  The elevated 40 meter 4-square
was almost at ground level thanks to some ice-storm broken trees, but even with
the elevated radials at 3 - 5' above ground, I was able to get a few answers in
the 21-22z hourz.  I had two find a completely clear spot and hope that no one
came near me.  What an ending!  119 in the final hour on 40!  Earlier during
21z - 23z on 40, I heard XV1X at S6 skewpath, a louder skewpath YB0, a loud
skewpath 9M6 and a few other juicy mults (that I couldn't work).  40 was on
fire! Conditions were so good on 40, it was even fun to listen to! 

Post-contest, I was absolutely blown away by the fact that with ZERO sunspots,
I was able to work 522 q's and 105 countries in only 5 hours on 15!  I recall
past CQWWCW contests where I was not able to work that much on 15 at the TOP OF
THE CYCLE IN A FULL WEEKEND!  INCREDIBLE!  I can only imagine what I might have
been able to do operating with 2 radios!

I had a lot of fun experimenting with some new operating strategies and
techniques that worked well.  I try to do a few new things in every contest and
am pleased to say that I am still learning and improving after 36 years of
contesting!

After the contest I had the fund of reading many of the write-ups and seeing
those absolutely astounding EU single band 40 and 80 meter scores.  It boggles
my mind that top EU stations are now making 2500+ q's with 130+ countries on 80
with upwards of 3300+q's and 150+ countries on 40!  I laughed when I read a
write-up from an OK5 station that complained about the "poor conditions" after
he had worked 2800+ q's and only 135 countries on 40!  

Next year I hope to be have a few more antennas up and working.  CQWWCW
continues to grow and the activity from DXpeditions this year was truly
amazing.

Thanks for all the q's and the mults.  CU on the bands.

73
Bob KQ2M

kq2m at earthlink.net

www.rlsfinancialgroup.com

rshohet at rlsfinancialgroup.com


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