[3830] WPX CW ND2T(@W6YX) M/2 HP

[webform at b41h.net]

                    CQWW WPX Contest, CW

Call: ND2T
Operator(s): K7GK KZ2V N6DE N7MH ND2T W6RK
Station: W6YX

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: SCV
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:   22
   80:  326
   40:  755
   20: 1200
   15:  494
   10:   58
------------
Total: 2855  Prefixes = 826  Total Score = 5,496,204

Club: Northern California Contest Club

Comments:

Although conditions often seemed dire, our claimed score this year is marginally
higher than last year's. We did it with 13% fewer Qs (ouch!) but 12% more mults.
We were pleased to have Denis, K7GK, join us for the first time. 
 
9.5% of our QSOs were with Europe this year compared to only 5% last year.  20
and 15 were both open later for us so we stayed there to work Europe and Asia
for 3-pointers instead of 1-pointers on 40.  We also found fewer JAs on 40.
This may be a combination of their being on higher bands when we'd normally
work them on 40, and possibly lower activity there in the aftermath of the
terrible earthquake/tsunami.
 
After midnight on Saturday morning both N6DE (on 40) and N7MH (on 20) noticed
flutter on signals that normally are clear, such as ZLs and VKs on 20.  They
also heard some BY stations coming in from the southwest on 20 (but not direct
to the northwest) which were also fluttery, but they couldn't work them at that
time.  Many of the European signals were raspy-sounding on 20 early on Saturday
morning.
 
The only decent run into Europe we had was on Saturday evening when ND2T on 20
and had a high-rate but short-lived gray line opening into Russia, Ukraine and
eastern Europe.  Other than that most of the Europeans we worked were S&P or a
few scattered callers during runs on 20 in which mostly US was calling. And US
stations on high bands were uncommonly light.
 
On Saturday evening N7MH kept jumping onto the European packet spots on 40 and
could barely hear any of them because of flutter, QRM and QRN.  When he
switched to the Northeast beverage he was able to copy them much better and
could make QSOs without worrying that he hadn't correctly copied the serial
number.  Most QSOs with these European stations on 40 started with a ?? from
them, followed by us sending our call several times, then several rounds of
repeating of the exchange on both sides.  The QSB would take typically take out
one digit on the first go-around.

A big thanks to W6YX club members who helped reverse entropy in the shack, at
least long enough for the contest. Almost everything was in working order, and
nothing broke in mid-contest. The C31XR, last year our only rotatable antenna
for 20, was this year stuck pointed south. We used it for SA mults. A special
shout out to N6DE for loan of his K3 and to N6DB for loan of his P3 to go with
it (fun, fun). And again to N6DB for providing new computers to replace the
steam-operated computers we had been using. 
 
The continent breakdown is below.

73,
--Tom ND2T


          160M    80M    40M    20M    15M    10M   Total      %
    NA      21    222    421    758    348     26    1796    62.9
    AS       0     79    246    154     38      0     517    18.1
    EU       0      1     17    230     24      0     272     9.5
    SA       0      9     24     33     48     28     142     5.0
    OC       1     15     41     18     29      4     108     3.8
    AF       0      0      6      7      6      0      19     0.7


Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/