[3830] RTTY WPX W8QZA SOAB QRP

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                    CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest

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

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: San Diego, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 28.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
   80:   23
   40:   73
   20:   60
   15:  207
   10:   91
------------
Total:  454  Prefixes = 280  Total Score = 257,040

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

Station:  W8QZA

Radio: Yaesu FT-817 (5 Watts)

Antennas:

20-15-10 3 el SteppIR up 32 feet
40-80 Butternut HF-2V Vertical with 3 radials
*********************************************

This was my first decent effort at an RTTY contest. I have been disappointed
for years that none of the major DX RTTY contests have a QRP category. Then, to
my astonishment, I discovered by accident that the CQ WPX RTTY contest
introduced a QRP category two years ago!!

I did this contest as W8QZA because I have 149 for the Triple Play LoTW, and
all I need is DE on RTTY. I was hoping to get a DE. I did get K3WI on a couple
bands. He has given me a DE LoTW credit in the past, but I'm not sure if he was
DE for this contest.

I had a San Diego State University basketball game to go to on Saturday night,
so I was not quite able to give this a full effort. But N1MM said I got 28.5
hours of operating in.  I slept about 4 hours the first night and 6 hours the
second night.

Conditions were decent but not great. On 10 M I only worked 3 European stations
(2 EA & 1 CT), and that was on the second day. In total, only 12.5% (57 Qs) were
in Europe. The JAs showed up pretty well for this contest, and I had 10.8% (49
Qs) with JAs. But as is usual in WPX contests, the majority were USA, and I had
56.8% of my Qs with US stations.

I had no outstanding Qs in this contest. My best Q was FO5QB who I worked long
after 20 M seemed to be closed. I also worked 9A1A at 1 AM on 20 M Saturday
when an unusual "over the pole" opening occured in the middle of the night!

My DXCC in this contest was only 43 different countries and 20 different Zones.
These numbers are more typical for me of a CW or SSB contest at the bottom of
the cycle! Despite this, the Qs and the mults ultimately added up to a decent
score for me.

I did try CQing which is a real challenge for a new comer to RTTY contesting!!
But I got some help before the contest from my long time friend N0KE (Phil). I
still found myself fumbling over which keys to press at what time. And several
times my laptop seemed to lock up and it would continue to CQ even with my very
vigorous punches on the Escape button as I desperately tried to answer a caller!
 In the end, I had a total of about 20 Qs from three episodes of CQing, about 6
or 7 each time.  ....I even got spotted once on 10 M!!!

It was a lot of fun, and I intend to enter this contest every year. It has
occured to me that you could do RTTY contests, even if you lost all your
hearing. 

...Bill  W8QZA - W6QU


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