[3830] IARU K7IA SO Mixed HP

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                    IARU HF World Championship

Call: K7IA
Operator(s): K7IA
Station: K7IA

Class: SO Mixed HP
QTH: NM
Operating Time (hrs): 17

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs  Zones  HQ Mults
-------------------------------------
  160:   10      2      4       2
   80:   42      3      8       3
   40:  259     11     22      20
   20:  275     16     22      28
   15:  114     10     15      24
   10:                           
-------------------------------------
Total:  700     42     71      78  Total Score = 323,628

Club: Arizona Outlaws Contest Club

Comments:

With the certainty of Earth-bound CME particles scheduled to impact the upper
atmosphere during the event at ETA plus/minus 7 hours, the prospect was either
for reasonable high band propagation for a while or low band-dominated
activity.  It was indeed a wonderful surprise to check 15m routinely on
Saturday AM and find it loaded with signals!  It then became a matter of how
long it would last--roughly 19-2000Z, just after I started grazing on 20m. 
Unfortunately, 10m was empty both times I checked, but the fodder on 15 and 20
made up for it, in terms of action.

I did better than last year's previous best--a result of a complete revamping
of the antenna farm since then.  Other favorable contributors were a KPA500
(easier on the solar system than the two 3-500's--and easier on shack
temperature comfort too), and a P3, which shows both signals to work (even the
extremely weak ones, of the waterfall is adjusted properly) and frequency
"holes" for potential Run freqs.  Why did I wait so long for it?

It's always a goal to improve previous scores and performance, and this was met
despite space and terrestrial weather considerations.  July is typically New
Mexico's "monsoon" season, but this year, black clouds and lightning threats
have been absent of moisture, and the trees continue to perish.  But unlike my
other Arizona Outlaws mates, I lost no op time due to weather.  My other goal
was to work W1AW/7 on all band-modes.  W1AW/7, the ARRL Hq callsign, was
operated by eleven teams of keen AOCC contesters at as many stations
distributed over Arizona (plus secondary station ops who were ready to jump in,
their local weather permitting, if a primary station were knocked out by storms.
 Ten was dead for me, but I worked all of the remaining CW stations and three of
the five band SSB stations, missing 15 and 20. I'm normally a CW-only op, but I
worked enough SSB for a "college try."  Thanks for adding something special to
the IARU, Mates!

If the only way to make leaps in annual contest performance is to replant the
antenna farm, then I'm in big trouble with Erin!  Let's see where Cycle 24 is
next July...

With the CME particles on their way, each QSO was a real treat, and I enjoyed
some excellent runs to boot.  The DX was generally good (for me), but this
contest was brought to me by ITU Zone 8:

Zn       QSOs
06       127
07        77
08       246  (thanks for listening westward!)

73, dan


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