[3830] ARRLDX SSB W7IV M/2 HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, SSB

Call: W7IV
Operator(s): W7IV KW7XX VE7YBH VA7DXC KL7IWC
Station: W7IV

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: WWA
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    5     2
   80:  104    37
   40:  548    81
   20:  930   103
   15:  750    75
   10:  273    47
-------------------
Total: 2610   345  Total Score = 2,699,280

Club: Orca DX and Contest Club

Comments:

"To correct a natural indifference I was placed half-way between misery and the
sun..."      Albert Camus

Well...having read some of the other comments, I don't know where to start. 
Shortly before the contest I reviewed last year's scores and my 3830 post.  I
remembered that we had a very slow start in 2011 but we were relieved to see
the rates come up a bit as the weekend wore on.

This year, contrary to many others' reports, we set off on a furious (for us)
pace.  At the 24 hour mark we surpassed last year's entire Q count.  We're more
experienced now, but the station is the same and the solar number certainly were
nothing to write home about (and that was BEFORE the flare.)  It'll be
interesting to see if the totals show higher participation this year.  

When 20 wasn't washed out the 20m operator enjoyed a couple of great mornings
running Europeans while the 15m operator was ready to slit his wrists.  We
could hear the W6's working EU at a great pace, but we could barely get a
whiff.  We could copy some of the bigger stations on long path, but they
couldn't hear us...believe me...we called and called.  Finally we got a little
action on 15, but our mult total fell just shy of last year's total.

This was a bittersweet contest for me as I'm tearing down the shack this week
and moving down to W6 in the hope of better weather, better propagation, and
better land for antennas.  I hope to be on next Spring with a better station
and some new contesting partners.  We've had a lot of fun and this station
would still be fed into a wire in a tree if it weren't for all the help and
support of N7RO and N7BT.  KW7XX, VE7YBH, VA7DXC, KC7GX, and W7GLC were great
contest partners, and I think we've created a monster in W7SSO with his
newfound interest and talent in contesting.  I hope you guys can come down to
sunny SLO and run from there!

As always, thanks to all the casual contesters who came out and gave us
contacts...it'd be pretty boring if we all called CQ and no one answered!


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