[3830] CQWW SSB ZD8O(N5ZO) SOAB HP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB

Call: ZD8O
Operator(s): N5ZO
Station: ZD8O

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: Ascension Is
Operating Time (hrs): 46.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:    4     3        4
   80:   93    14       31
   40:  332    27       78
   20: 1296    32      103
   15: 1557    37      116
   10: 2207    35      117
------------------------------
Total: 5489   148      449  Total Score = 9,717,369

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

This was my 2nd trip to the "Rock", this time for SSB contest.  I decided to
skip new zone from my long term goal to operate CQ WW from all 40 zones and
returned to ZD8 as I left lot of gear on the island from last year's CW effort
and as I had lost my 160 m antenna and wanted to make another effort hopefully
without problems.  This was again complete field day set-up in QTH where there
is nothing ready.  Lots of work during the week leading to contest, and it took
the toll especially on Sunday and I was really tired and fatigued most of the
day.
I again had an issue with my 160 m antenna which appeared some hours before the
contest, and when trying to solve it I did not get my scheduled sleep prior to
the start, and then of course problem (high SWR) also dissapeared and I knew
something was not right with 160 m.  I tried to sleep for one hour before the
contest but really couldn't.
Most of the 1st night I stayed on 20 m until it slowed down around 04Z and then
went to low bands where things are always slower due to distance from ZD8 and
modest antennas.  And of course then the high SWR problem presented itself
again on 160 m.  I decided to try to solve it and possibly scrap the all band
plans and just go SB 20 m, as most of my Qs were there until then and I overall
like 20 m and felt quite good of the conditions there so far.  But I found the
160 m problem after about an hour and decided to stick with AB plan.  One of
the 3 coax pieces feeding the antenna had some problem and I swapped out that
100 ft piece and never had an issue after that.  But I had wasted valuable
low-band time and I was also somewhat pissed off of the problem that I had yet
again on 160.  But at least I had an antenna unlike last year when it had
fallen from the tree and I had zero Qs on that band.  Well, it turned out that
conditions on low bands were really bad from ZD8 during whole contest, and the
time effort I put on fixing that 160 m issue during the contest was pretty much
waste as I only had 4 QSOs there during whole contest.  75 m was also tough
going, and I was never able to recover my multipliers after 1st night's lost
time on low bands.  On 40 m fortunately I was able to recover the mults quite
nicely on 2nd night. 

Still regarding 160 m:  On Monday night before leaving the island on Tuesday, I
made 300 CW contacts on 160 m as conditions were great that night.  I wish those
conditions would have happened 2 nights before...  But that is how 160 m seems
to work there, you usually don't get lucky during the contest, and you do need
luck as generally you are just too far from US/EU for that band.  

I had again great experience on QSYing and moving stations, especially between
20-10 m.  It was very effective and I could see the score climbing fast when
QSYing.  I started asking QSYs much earlier than last year on CW, perhaps after
first 15 hrs.  I felt that I could make QSY QSO happen almost any time to
anywhere on 20-10 m bands.  Amazing 6 band QSY with Tonno ES5TV at 4O3A.  I
read he was happy too !

Very strange that I never heard many of the top SOAB stations like EF8R, P40W. 
I worked both of them outside the contest and I'm sure they would have liked z36
+ ZD8 mult.  Curiously I worked z36 on 4 bands 40-10 m, total of 3 different
stations from TL, TR, TT, so there was actually some other activity on my
zone.

I had a goal of 11-12 M on mind and would have needed another 1.5 hrs to get
there, which was about the time I wasted on 160 m problem.  But this was still
personal best score improving from one made from 8R1K in mid-90s when I last
time operated SOAB in comparable location.  In mid-90s this score would have
put me firmly in top-10, but it just isn't enough these days of superstations
and SO2R setups.

But there still isn't anything like CQ WW weekend, it is just a blast every
year, wherever you are ! 

Equipment:
K-3 + Alpha amp, SO1R
2 x A3S tribander on 2 separate 30 ft masts, one antenna rotating
40 m vertical
80 m and 160 m quarter wave wires using common radials with 40 m vertical.  160
m wire does not fit "straight" at the space.
80 m low sloping dipole

Thanks to N6TJ/ZD8Z, W6NV, ZD8S, ZD7JP for valuable help for the operation. 
QSL via Olli, OH0XX.   
 
73 de Marko N5ZO


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