[3830] WPX SSB KQ2M SOAB HP

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                    CQWW WPX Contest, SSB

Call: KQ2M
Operator(s): KQ2M
Station: KQ2M

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: CT
Operating Time (hrs): 24.6

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:     
   80:     
   40:     
   20:  836
   15: 1819
   10:     
------------
Total: 2655  Prefixes = 1065  Total Score = 7,320,810

Club: Frankford Radio Club

Comments:

I had missed ARRLDXCW and most of ARRLDXSSB with a nasty virus so I was very
"pumped" to put in a serious effort in my favorite contest, WPXSSB.  Without
low-band antennas and the ability to work those great 6-pointers, my goal was
modest:  to see how close to the top I could get while using one radio and and
only a few of the high band antennas.  (Five were not working)

Since WPXSSB occurs right near the vernal equinox, this contest is often
blessed with some of the best propagation of the year, so my expectations were
high and I was psyched.

But that all changed on Thursday when the solar flares began spiking and what I
thought was a bad hayfever episode turned into a raging cold with a high fever. 
I tried all the usual methods to fight the cold with no success.  ARRGH!

I downsized my goals from a serious high-band effort (no such category) to
"hope for the best and operate as long as I can."  :-(  

I started on 20 since 15 was suffering the flaring with the best signals being
the spurs.  Even 20 was poor at first but then the MUF dropped and the UA9/UA0
stations got loud - not many of them to work though.  Since it was the start of
the contest, everyone was "new" so that was fun.  5Z4EE and a variety of
Southern EU and West Coast atations called in wirh an occasional JA.  HS0ZCW
had a good signal @ 0032x and 3X5AL got my attention at 0045z followed by JU1DX
@ 0059z.  The first hour ended with 122 q's and lots of prefixes.  The UA0's
stayed loud but the JA's got weaker and I turned one antenna West to get the US
prefixes.  It was a battle to work the US West Coast through the QSB.  But V55V
called in at 0141 and ZM3T @ 0059z.  My rate was poor and I was having trouble
hearing with all the congestion in my head; it was like I was using a 12 DB
attenuator.  By 02z I had only 226 q's but I had filled 1/3 of a garbage can
with tissues.  :-)  02Z started a bit better with a few JA's and UA0's followed
by VU3DJQ @ 0221z, but cndx were on the wane and my head was pounding.

I took a break @ 03z, had some hot soup and coffee and got back on at 0430z to
see if I could work VK/ZL and western US.  I had visions of 20 staying open and
then EU sunrise allowing me to run EU.  After working all the US West Coast
stations as a slow rate and being teased by hearing an occasional weak skewpath
Russian, I realized that the lower latitude stations W4's, W5's and W6/W7, were
having a good EU sunrise run and I couldn't hear any of them.
I packed it in at 0530z determined to wake up early and start fresh.

1020z and 20 was "punk".  Signals were poor and the EU short-skip was
clobbering me.  I bounced around on several differene frequencies and @ 1055z
finally got a run going.  VK7RA, ZL2MO, VK3AVV called in but I was struggling ,
so I went to 15 after only about 120 q's in 80 min - a terrible start on 20.

I found a good spot on 15 but it was immediately buried in qrm and splatter and
then the loud EU stations began to harass me with CQ's.  Seemed like the
strategy was to find a station and call CQ endlessly on their freq. and expect

them to move away.  Between the line noise, attenuated cndx from the solar
flares and my head attentuation, this was painful.  My voice was deteriorating
fast and I used my DVK as much as possible, slowing down the rate.  Just before
the 12z hour 5C5W and 5D5A called 2 min apart,  At 12z I was expecting cndx to
improve and really open to Russia but then the flaring took hold, the auroral
ovcal spiked up to 7 and the K index was at 4.  The effect on the rate was like
pouring water on a fire.  Since I was new on the band there were still enough
fairly loud multis to work, but the combination of the splatter, line noise and
constant freq. interlopers was punishing.  It really was not fun to operate. 
After a 153 hour @ 12z, the next 3 hours were really disappointing with 119,
121 and 105 from 13z - 15z on 15.  Almost every qso was a battle of some sort
and I physically just wasn't up to to the challenge.
The hoped-for Russian run did not materialize and YB1AQD @ 1415z and 4U1GSC and
1B1B, were the only real surprises.  I stopped at 1555z, had some more hot soup
and coffee, and emptied the completely filled up (with tissues) garbage can.  I
tried again @ 1708z but the cndx got worse and I turned off the radio @ 1718z.

At 02z I got back on 20 and turned my top antenna West.  I had a decent run of
US West Coast with some VE's and a LOUD JT5DX thrown in @ 0218z.  4Z5PJ and
ZL1T called in with VY1NM, but that was about it.  A total of 115 q's and then
the band promptly died.  No VK/ZL run and no EU sunrise opening,  I qrt'd @
0311z and went to sleep. 

At 1010z I got on 20 and the band sounded better than the Saturday.  I was
feeling a bit better with the extra sleep I had gotten during the contest, and
the promise of beting "Fresh Meat" on Sunday morning in Europe was something to
look forward to.  At 1028z the "walk" became a run and the rate picked up. 
Signals got louder at Sunrise (1029z) like someone flipping a switch and I
began to hear Russia and Northern Europe.  At 1116/1118 BY5CD and VK6LW called
in along with a few JA's and UA0's, then at 1144z BG4FRZ called followed by
JH1AJT (Zorro-san) and a VERY LOUD B7P at 1154z.  Now the band was really
starting to open and this was confirmed by the drop in the K index and the
auroral oval.  I was feeling better, sneezing less and my voice was holding up.
 It was starting to become fun.  YB9WZJ called @ 1207z but then YL5W moved in
and called cq endlessly.  He wasn't hearing anyone through the Eu stations
calling me, but that didn't stop him.  He just kept cqing and cqing and cqing. 
At 1211z, I qsy'd to 15.  The band was open and line noise was GONE!  WOW!  A73A
called in @ 1249z followed by Hamid 9K2HN @ 1258z.
12z was a 144 hour and things were looking up.

13z continued the good run with UP6P at 1315z and a loud UP0L @ 1333z and now
the band was opening to Russia!  Signals got better and the rate rate soared in
the last 10 minute 270-300 range.  E21YDP called in @ 1352z and YB1AQD @ 1354z. 
13z finished in a blur with a 170 hour!  NOW I was having fun!  Until the
Spanish band-edge crowd moved in.  Wasting no time with pleasantries they began
to call each other with the S9+20 signals right on top of me.  They would not
move.  Apparently I had stumbled onto their frequency 1 hour before and I was
just "holding it for them" - at least that is how they were acting.
The next two hours were a huge struggle with the Spasnish ragchewers, F3CH who
also wanted the same frequency despite the Spanish ragchewers, and two other US
stations who were oblivious to all the qrm and contest q's and kept pressing
their cq machines.  What a mess! Through all the qrm, splatter and intentional
interference, I was able to have successvive 159, 123 and 150 hours from 14z -
16z, but it was TOUGH operating!  In one lull, WX3B stopped by and said that he
was envious of my run freq.  I laughed and told him that "It wasn't worth it!" 
The best propagation seemed to come in the late morning when I worked the
following stations H22H @ 1455z, UN0L @ 1458z, OD5PY @ 1516z and 9V1YC @ 1526z.
 I rarely hear James, 9V1YC, in a contest, so his S7 signal was a real treat! 
9M2TO followed @ 1541z and then 3V8BB @ 1557z.  I was working lots of EU
stations with EU prefixes and was surprised to see how fast the prefix total
was adding up despite the lack of US, JA and SA qso's.

At 1610z, YB1LZ called in followed by YB6EN @ 1629z and VU2ABS @ 1636 and then
YB1C @ 1651Z.  The YB's were loud but were very difficult to copy as they had
an unusual flutter and sounded like they were coming in multi-path.

15 was much better than Saturday so the arrival angle of the signals was lower.
 Unfortunately with 109' and 90' antennas on 15, they were much too high and
low-angle, and my rates suffered due to the large drop in signals strength with
having the wrong antenna angles.  The rate kept dropping into the 17z hour  -
only 106, followed by 86 at 18z.  I knew that I should be going to 20, but at
this point I was physically wiped out, my head still hurt and I did not relish
the though of battling for a run freq. on 20 and fighting the qrm and splatter.
 I decided to stay on the quieter 15 meters even though I knew that my rates and
score would seriously suffer for it.

I thought that it might be interesting to do some "propagation research" by
staying on 15 to see what called in.  20 was rocking but I had had enough.  I
turned one antenna West and 6V7Z called in @ 1857z followed by ZL3IO @ 1902z
and a lot of US West Coast/Mid-West.  There would occasionally be "bursts" of
EU stations and then VU3NXI and 5X1D called in at 1944/1945z.  Gradually EU and
the US faded out and the next two hours were 73/98 in the 19z/20z time window. 


I kept cqing (no S & P) to see if I could get a JA run started, and sure
enough, VK4NM called in at 2102z and then JA1ERB was the first JA @ 2135z. 
About 100 JA's called in (great JA run for me in CT) with ~ 40 prefixes.  some
JA's were actually up to S9+10, but very few.  What was most surprising was the
lack of volume of JA (maybe because it was Monday AM in Japan?) and NO BY/HL/DU
stations!  Normally someone calls in from those countries during the run, but
not this time.  Only JA - nothing else from Asia except two Asiatic  Russian
stations.  The rate continued to drop as other bands became much more
productive.  The final three hours were 58/73/32 - 21-23z.  VK8AS called in @
2334 and then the band died shortly after that.

I finished with 2655 x 1065 in 24.6 hours of operating, which I was quite
pleased with.  Had I done the usual S & P and gone to 20 on Sunday afternoon,
my numbers would have been much higher.  It was nice to know that with one day
of decent proagation with one radio, a bad cold, and a few high band antennas
and no low band antennas, had I been able to make a full effort, I could have
been very competitive. Hopefully things will work out better for me next year.

I did have a lot of fun on Sunday and I thank everyone for all the q's!

73

Bob KQ2M
kq2m at kq2m.com

www.rlsfinancialgroup.com
www.kq2m.com


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