[3830] CQWW CW N0HR SOAB(A) HP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: N0HR
Operator(s): N0HR
Station: N0HR

Class: SOAB(A) HP
QTH: IA
Operating Time (hrs): 33

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:    7     4        3
   80:   45    16       31
   40:  280    27       92
   20:  294    34      105
   15:  320    33      111
   10:  382    33      110
------------------------------
Total: 1328   147      452  Total Score = 2,244,453

Club: Iowa DX and Contest Club

Comments:

Great way to spend a weekend - I'm sure many would agree. 

I debated whether to go HP or LP. Last minute decision was HP (use the new
amp). Between the amp and improved propagation, my numbers greatly improved
over last year (more than double). Tougher competition level in HP though,
that's for certain. 

 
Pros
----
* Lots of fun! 
* Personal best score in CQ WW CW. 
* Several new DXCC entities worked on CW/bands. 
* Seemed to break several pileups from my modest QTH in Iowa. 
* I learn something each time and improve. These minor improvements all add up
(better chair, monitor, etc.). 
* Spent more time ahead of the contest prepping the shack - mostly PC
configuration stuff. 

Cons
----
* Noise on 80m is still brutal. I'm sure I could work many more on that band
(and 160m) if I could hear through the S9 noise that is intermittent. This was
my first contest to try to use a MFJ-1026 to try to fight the noise - no joy. 
* Try to run a time or two but my rate was poor. When I had several EU stations
on top of each other I struggled to manage the rx. I need more experience here.
Perhaps I could have done better with a better rx (K3?) or by better managing
the rx gain - but the pileup (?) sounded like a constant tone/mush. 
* Time: Needed much better sleep in the days ahead of the contest. Started to
crash a few hours in. XYL had me run an errand in the middle of the afternoon
Saturday. Too much time off-air. 
* Still haven't mastered all shack layout issues (ie SteppIR to IC-7600 to PC
to SPE 1k-fa via CI-V).
* Overall - need to improve 80m antenna situation and decide if I'm really
going to operate 160. 


Family and friends ask "how did you do in your radio thing?" - I never know how
to respond. 

Pros still far outweigh any cons. Face it - this contest is a blast. Thanks for
the QSOs!

Pat N0HR
http://www.n0hr.com


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