[3830] WPX SSB ZL3IO SOAB(TS) LP

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                    CQWW WPX Contest, SSB

Call: ZL3IO
Operator(s): ZL3IO
Station: ZL3IO

Class: SOAB(TS) LP
QTH: Haumoana
Operating Time (hrs): 36

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:     
   80:    6
   40:  178
   20:  567
   15:  673
   10:  925
------------
Total: 2349  Prefixes = 906  Total Score = 6,525,918

Club: 

Comments:

Have you ever thought of contesting or DXing from New Zealand? Look at an
azimuthal map and draw a circle line at 9000 km. What you will see is a lot of
blue water, a few islands, Antarctica & Australia. Google Earth allows you to
zoom out out into the space and visualises this nicely. There is not a single
major radio population with in this area! There are potentially 200 QSO
partners in the 9000 km radius. 9000km is half the way to the antipodes. Japan
is closer to Europe than it is to ZL. The North American west coast (our entry
point into the continent) is also closer to Europe than to New Zealand.
Australia or Hawaii is distance wise like working Central/South Africa from
Europe. That alone makes contesting hard enough from here. But additionally we
are outside of any of the main beam directions between NA/JA/EU.

This was my first full time contest from this QTH.
When I heard that Dave was going to take part from the ZM1A station as ZL/VO1AU
I was really scared and not sure what category to start.
I know that my hill top location at the Ocean is an advantage but I did not
trust it for a direction competition and went for LP knowing it would mean a
lot of S&P.

15m conds were increadible good compared to the last 2 weeks. The band was open
24 hours! The downside for us in the southern hemisphere is that EU/NA/AS are
busy working each other and they don’t look for the few multis from here. 
It is just disappointing when e.g. KP2MM starts calling CQ with a S9 signal on
top you. No offense, he obviously did not hear me and I tried to get him for a
few minutes. That stuff happened a couple of times. RC9O was 20-40 db over S9
here on most bands and I could not get through until I met him on 10m. 
My strategy had to be different running LP and would highly depend on the high
band opening. The only chance for me to differentiate and get reasonable rates
where on the high bands if I get noticed somehow. Usually for the WPX 40m would
be the band of choice whenever open. 40m gives you double points meaning even at
half of the run rate you make the same result. No run rates with 100W and with
S&P you are done after 20min with the band. The next time it take only 15min
etc. 
I was jumping like twice an hour to 40m trying to get some new stations and
spent the rest of the time on 20/15/10m. I made my last EU's on 10m (SP) around
local midnight before the band finally closed. At around local midnight I was
able to get a bit of a run into Western EU on 15m SP till 2-3 am local time.
Signals were extremely loud. I worked 5 watts stations in DL & G that were S7
on my K3!!! So I must have been loud there as well. When I was done on 15m the
same game happened on 20m. I could not get anywhere on 20m LP in the evening
when Dave and my other ZL mates where busy working EU long path. But I 
got my 20m runs between 3-6 am. This is related to my location which favors
short path skips due to the terrain slope (hill top and it fall steep down
towards USA/EU short path). 
I never got any run into NA on 15m in the local mornings. This is usually 'easy
as' but EU was still open and before the pathe EU-NA closed JA-NA was open. I
guess I made about 50 NA stations only on 15m! I called them without reply. 15m
in my log is about 40% EU, 50% Asia (JA, BY, HL, UA9/0) & 10% VK's. I worked
probably more VK's than USA here.
My secret weapon was 10m. No good opening between EU-NA-JA but the North -South
related paths were well open. That played to my favor and I could run here for
hours towards NA & JA. I only changed in between a few times to 15m checking
the band 10 min for some new multis. Luckily I mostly could get back to the
same frequency on 10m. 

Again I was calling CQ as long as I could keep a frequency and doing S&P with
the second receiver while listening into the empty noise on the left ear. This
way I at least could keep a 40-60 Q's/h rate most of the time and I got heaps
of multis. I never worked so many SA stations in any contest. Same for VK's and
BY's. 

It was hard work but after all I’m positively surprised with what I could
achieve. 

Highlight:
EB8AH was heard all the time on 15 & 10m. 
I worked about 100 stations from South-Western Europe long path on 10m. 
I worked the D44AC on 15m during his NA pile up, 
(Down: I could not get through to V55V and he was so loud here....crazy) 
C6AGB called me and gave me no 1. A lot of nice Central America/Carib. came in.

ZL1T called me on Sunday and I said "thank you" for the ZL1 multiplier. A
second later he returned with his ZM1ANH call.
My mate Gary, ZL2IFB called me an hour before contest end. He was just back
from a trip to VK3. I told him a ZM4 would be good and he came back with his
ZM4G call and no. 1.
When I called DM6DX on 10m he was obviously more than surprised to get a ZL
into the log. DM6 was needed here as well Robby! 

Lowlights:
Not really, Sure I could not get everyone I heard but that is life with LP,
hey?

Thanks for the contacts and hope to see a few of you in Visalia next month.
Otherwise we hear in the WPX CW.
73 HOLGER, ZL3IO


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