[3830] ARRLDX SSB W6QU(W8QZA) SOAB QRP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, SSB

Call: W6QU
Operator(s): W8QZA
Station: W8QZA

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: San Diego, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 30.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    1     1
   80:    2     1
   40:   22    13
   20:   81    36
   15:  203    66
   10:  127    38
-------------------
Total:  436   155  Total Score = 202,740

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

Rig: Elecraft K-2, 5 Watts.

Antennas on my small city lot:

3 el SteppIR up 32 feet: 10-15-20 Meters.
Butternut HF-2V Vertical for 40-80 Meters. (2 radials!)
Inverted L for 160 Meters. (1 radial!)
DX-LB trap dipole up 30 feet for 40-160 Meters.

*******************************************************

After reading the other QRP entries, I have to agree it was a weird weekend of
propagation. I had a lot of trouble getting into Europe. But it was really
remarkable to find out that some areas of the central USA seemed have almost no
propagation to Europe at all! Apparently Europe skipped right over the central
USA to give us what we got.

I got about a dozen Qs into Europe on 15 on Saturday which was a huge
disappointment. But on Sunday it improved to about 50 Qs which helped the mult
situation a lot!

I always like to comment on remarkable Qs that I made during the contest, but
this contest had no remarkable Qs! Just grinding away at the "gimmes"! To put
that in perspective, perhaps the most remarkable Q I made was working KH6LC for
my only Q on 160 ...and without setting up a sched! I just called him and he
came right back! Incredible. More incredible when I think that I had NO Qs on
160 in ARRL CW DESPITE setting up a 160 Q that didn't work out.

Band by band:

160 See above

80 Nothing. I got two easy Qs into KH6 and no more. Not even an XE!

40 I discovered after the fact that I got WAC on 40 M SSB in 32 minutes! The
calls that I worked will be familiar to everyone who spent more than 20 minutes
working this contest: CR2X, KH7X, 8P5A, EF8R, JA0JHA, and PW7T. To put that into
perspective, I worked 40 M DX QRP for two years before I got into Europe for the
first time to complete my 40 M WAC. And that was CW.

20 I got brief late night openings over the pole each night that allowed me get
a couple Russians including zone 18 and a UN. After plugging away at Carribeans
and JAs all evening, that was like a miracle.

15 I managed about 70 Europeans in the end. Also a BY, DU and 9M6XRO.

10 Never heard a European. Almost all were Carribean and South America and KH6.
Did get 9M6XRO on one call who was booming in.

**************************************************************

My DXCC total for this contest was 75. 

As with almost all DX contests done from my home station, I was 100% S & P. The
only "DX" contest I can CQ with success from home is the ARRL 10 M contest in
December. 

I slept 4 hours the first night and 4 the second night which became 6 when I
went back to bed when an hour of operating at 2 AM local time resulted in only
3 Qs!

Total time at the rig was 30.5 hours according to the N1MM logging program. 
....but it seemed much more than that to me and to my family!!

After 20+ years of QRP DXing and contesting, I still have not gotten over the
thrill of coming across a strong station in Kazakstan in the middle of the
night, and having him come back to my first 5 watt call!

See you in 2 1/2 weeks from TI5N where I will be doing WPX SSB as SOAB QRP.

73,    Bill   W8QZA / W6QU


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