[3830] RTTY WPX KQ6ES(@N6WIN) M/S HP

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                    CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest

Call: KQ6ES
Operator(s): N6WIN, K6GEP, KQ6ES
Station: N6WIN

Class: M/S HP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
   80:  172
   40:  619
   20:  410
   15:  344
   10:  155
------------
Total: 1700  Prefixes = 547  Total Score = 2,051,250

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

Total DX worked was 71 in 39 zones. Missed zone 2.

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 QSOs:  2-pt 4-pt 6-pt

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   80:   154   21    2      = 404 pts = 11% of the points in 12% of the time

80m was quite disappointing and almost useless the second night. I had hoped
we'd work quite a few JA's there to boost the point total, but we had only ONE
Japanese station on 80m the whole contest, and only TWO 6-pointers.

   40:   423   47    154   = 1956 pts = 52% of the points in 38% of the time

This was by far the biggest point station for us and I think the most fun to
work despite having to listen over the roar of the Chinese Dragon. 98 JA's
logged here and a mere 59 JA's on all the other bands combined. The lack of
JA's on 15 and especially 20 was probably mostly a matter of choice, as we had
our best rates in the late afternoon/early evening when beaming to the US.
We'll analyze that later and see if it could have been more productive to aim
at Japan.

---------------------------------- 

QSOs:  1-pt 2-pt 3-pt

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   20:   300   43    68     = 590 pts = 16% of the points in 21% of the time

We might have had better numbers on 20m if 15m hadn't been so good. Perhaps in
hindsight we should have switched more between 15 and 20 during the DX
openings, but when we did work 20 it seemed curiously unproductive for
prefixes.

   15:   199   32    114   = 605 pts 16% of the points in 17% of the time

15m was very good, but mid morning Sunday with Tim K6GEP in the chair and me
just off to get us some revitalizing pancakes and eggs,  it was clearly in
trouble with not much power out and almost as much reflected, and we decided to
stop working the band except for a few new prefix spots. Apparently the balun is
at fault. I remember this happening once before at another station during
another multi-op, also during wet weather. Did the rain contribute to this?
Fortunately, Tim's antenna has a separate feed for each band, and we were able
to continue without much time lost.
   10:   114   10    32     = 230 pts = 6% of the points in 12% of the time

10m was occasionally productive for US calls but I expected better. No Asia and
only Spain for Europe.
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Comments:

Using my call sign was a treat, although my only new DX was Nepal on 15m very
early in the contest. The K3 and the amp worked well, as did all software. I
confess to not knowing how to work the K3 more than the minimum needed to
operate, but that will change. Aside from the 15m balun, the only other real
problem was the occasional discrepancy between the actual antenna orientation
and the readout, which required occasional visits and recalibration.

Many thanks to Tim N6WIN for the use of his station, all the initial setup he
had ready, and for taking the very early a.m. first night shift before leaving
K6GEP and I to it. And thanks to Tim K6GEP for being a good team player, a
pleasure to operate with, and for making a tasty lunch decision on Sunday.

At least one of us was in the chair for the entire 48 hours. We put out a good
effort, had a great time, learned a lot, and we'll do better next time.
 
John kq6es

Elecraft K3 with Acom 2000A
LM354HD 54' Tower
Force 12 C31XR and Cushcraft XM240

80m inverted-v


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