[3830] CQWW CW YU1WC SOSB(A)/40 QRP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: YU1WC
Operator(s): YU1WC
Station: YU1WC

Class: SOSB(A)/40 QRP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 32:47

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:                    
   80:                    
   40:  566    36      115
   20:                    
   15:                    
   10:                    
------------------------------
Total:  566    36      115  Total Score = 155,530

Club: 

Comments:

This was my first full time CQ WW since I am operating qrp. Last year the
contesting bug missed me in November (I checked in just to work a couple of new
countries), but since then a new and better antenna was built and I resumed
chasing dx big time.

Again, my main goal was to improve my DXCC and WAZ counts on 40 meters qrp (I
was 5 zones short of my monoband qrp WAZ). Therefore I chose to operate in the
new qrp assisted category, keeping an eye on RBN and occasionally manually
tuning to some interesting spots. 

I did also traditional s&p and after all must say the real fun lies there.
Nothing beats the fun when you search up and down the band until you run into a
juicy double mult.  Many were found this way - most memorable of all was my
first contact ever with zone 31. On my sunrise on Saturday morning, I heard a
fluttery station giving out zone 31, but I was already tired and not thinking
clearly, so it took me some moments to realize that was Pacific, not somewhere
in Africa. It was KH7X, not busy, and he got my call easily since I (probably)
run into him just before he was spotted. 

The qso count is low â€" I spent a lot of time hanging around some multipliers,
calling and calling hoping the conditions will improve or the crowd will shrink.
No matter how much I tried, some of them remained elusive: XE1MM in still
missing zone 6, very loud AH0BT, 9M6NA, ZM1A, CO2JD, and some others.

The multiplier count is unexpectedly large â€" I knew already that with good
propagations and good receiving conditions on the other side I could reach
everywhere with 5 watts â€" but still did not expect to work so many
multipliers. Of course, log checking might reduce the count â€" I myself know
of at least 4-5 dubious contacts where I could not make sure if my call was
copied correctly. When you have a strong signal, you can correct with ease if
your call is miscopied, but when you are qrp your attempts to correct it
sometimes go unnoticed or the next stations in line just runs you over. Of
course, you can try work the mult again to be sure you are in the log (and I
did that a couple of times), but most of them were not there the second
evening.

Oceania was most difficult to reach. I will miss NH2T and his beverages (N2NL)
when he leaves Guam in 2013 â€" he heard me with ease again in this contest. It
was great to work YE2S, my first contact with Indonesia, VK6AA on Saturday to
know that I still can reach Australia, ZM4T on a first call, VK4KW with ease
when the conditions improved and the crowds subsided. And of course, KH7X.
Unfortunately, nothing was heard from Zone 1, although I heard a strong WL7E
just a couple of days before the contest.

Many thanks to all who had the patience, ears and big antennas to decipher my
weak signal! 

73 Fric YU1WC


rig: Genesis G40  (homemade SDR kit, 5 W)
antenna: quarterwave vertical with 2 elevated radials, on a rooftop 35 meters
high
software: GSDR, N1MM, RBN


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