[3830] CQWW CW TI5A(K0AV) SOAB LP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: TI5A
Operator(s): K0AV
Station: TI5KD

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: Alejuela, Costa Rica
Operating Time (hrs): 41
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:  183    11       29
   80:  384    20       60
   40: 1000    23       74
   20: 1071    30       81
   15: 1329    25       88
   10: 1038    24       80
------------------------------
Total: 5005   133      412  Total Score = 6,451,165

Club: Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado

Comments:

Had originally intended to operate again in the SOAB QRP category - but the
solar predictions convinced me to turn up the power knobs on the K3 and K2.
What a huge difference I noticed when transmitting with 22 times the power as
last year!! (big surprise, eh?).

Radios and the antennas all worked fine. Sure is nice to have multiple antennas
to choose from on each band. Keko, TI5KD, is a great host. 

This year I planned to initiate moving more multipliers. And, I did.  But a
funny moment came when I asked a mult to move - and he did - and then when we
got to 15 meters - we realized that we were duping each other on that band.
Whoops . . . sorry.

There were plenty of smaller signals that got right though (or around) the pile
ups -- by transmitting a little above or a little below the skimmer spotted
frequency.  Looking at the Elecraft P3 panadapter, it was amazing to see how
many signals were on exactly the same frequency. You might say they were all
"clustered" together. Often a random (slow and weak)KF4xxx or WD5xxx would get
through quickly because his signal accidentally was 400 cycles (or more) off
the the cluster spot. Even though I kept the filters open fairly wide, there
some stations that I couldn't hear initially - but happened to see them on the
scope. At least they weren't all muddled up in the cluster mosh pit of signals.


160 and 80 were much more fun with 110 watts vs last year's QRP.  Maybe life is
too short for QRP after all. 

To track the unfolding of the weekend's coronal event drama, I had VE6WZ's high
latitude geomagnetic page (Graph-3 Zone Review and Forecast) constantly updating
on a second monitor.  Also had VE3NEA's IonoProbe and HamCAP updating. It's
interesting to see how the openings and pile ups match the software. 

73, Alan K0AV


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