[3830] CQWW SSB N1UR SOAB LP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB

Call: N1UR
Operator(s): N1UR
Station: N1UR

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: VT
Operating Time (hrs): 43.5
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:   31     7       11
   80:  169    17       67
   40:  191    23       74
   20:  462    29       97
   15:  565    29       98
   10: 1068    30      100
------------------------------
Total: 2486   135      450  Total Score = 4,183,920

Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club

Comments:

Well, that was way cool.  Very fun to see the sun spots stick around for
CQWW SSB weekend.  10M had been opening to JA for a few weeks before
and decided to stay that way for the contest, which was great.  EU
was a virtual wall of signals on 10M from about 1130Z to 1700Z here
and then South America seemed endless with PYs and LUs and CXs on 
10M both days...where are those guys when conditions aren't as good?

I had my goal as beating K1ZM's CQ WW SSB Low Power USA record and felt
that this could be the first year since setting up my station in 2004
that is would be doable.  The last few years, I have been kind of in 
a funk on CQ WW SSB looking to get a rate groove going.  I upgraded 
my software to give me more flexibility, and of course 10M open really
spreads out the table to allow that.  So I rushed in.  You know that
you have been running when there are still EU Multi-Multis that you 
haven't worked on Sunday afternoon on 20M doing a pass.

I knew that the record would be breakable by the halfway mark where
my score was already 1.9 Million.  Using the tried and true formula 
of double it and add 10%, that was 4.2 Million which was exactly what
my score ended up being.  

I crossed my QSO personal best at 1326Z (1745 Qs) aand the number Qs that Jeff
had in 2002 at 1416Z Sunday (1950).  I crossed Jeff's gross total at 1840Z and
the 
rest was to add to the new record.

I was surprised that 80M was as good as it was considering the 
geomagnetic activity.  160M was the worst I have seen it.  One EU
QSO the whole weekend and Carib activity seemed light and the 
stations that were there were mostly very light.  I can think of lost of
usual places that I dod not work this weekend...8P, VP2E, VP2V, J6, FS.
Plus I would normally work J8, J3, V4, V3, J7, 9Y on more than one band or so.
Heck, that could be 30 - 40 mults right there.  Plus no HC8.  Mults were
not as easy as they should have been for the conditions.

I am amazed at how many mults Jeff worked in his record setting 2002.  
That was no where near my showing.  However with essentially 500 more
Qs, I was able to make up the difference.  CQ WW is all about the 
balance between rate and mults anyway.

Some other thoughts:

10M is an interesting situation when the band is wide open during a contest.
Its unique in how stations spread out.  There was activity above 29 Mhz
(haven;t seen that since 2003) which is 700 khz of activity.  And you could
find good mults all over the spectrum.  There was essentially no "prime
real estate like on 15 - 80M.

40M is still a mess.  You have people who could not transmit before
above 7100 that are now transmitting above that but listening up above 7200.
Whats the point of that?  The air is clearer below 7100.  Same on the US
side tranmitting in the 7125 - 7200 window but listening down.  We should 
all get together and just decide that EU will listen above 7200 and USA will
listen below 7125 and everyone in the commom 7125 - 7200 window will go 
simplex.  Is that so hard?

More JA activity than I have ever heard from W1.  Great to see.
But where has Korea gone??  Also excellent BY activity.  ZL and VK seemed
very light here but I am not strong to the pacific so maybe that was from
my QTH only.

We can only hope that the CW portion sticks with this trend.  Lots of fun.

By the way, we only got a couple inches and just a few wind gusts out of that
storm up here in North Central Vermont.  Sorry to hear of all the mauhem just
100 miles to the south of us.

Thanks for the Qs.

Ed N1UR


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