[3830] ARRLDX CW N2IC SOAB HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: N2IC
Operator(s): N2IC
Station: N2IC

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: New Mexico
Operating Time (hrs): 45
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   73    35
   80:  225    70
   40: 1077    91
   20:  746    91
   15: 1186   102
   10:  477    81
-------------------
Total: 3784   470  Total Score = 5,335,440

Club: 

Comments:

A pretty amazing weekend. Low bands were outstanding on Friday night. 40 and 15
were great all weekend. Even 10 kinda played. How often does all of that come
together for a major contest ? 

So much happening at once on Friday night, but I'll be darned if I going to
give up rate to play DXer on 80 and 160. Didn't even check 80 for the first
time until 0427Z. For the next 3 hours, it was as good as I have ever heard it
from here. Plenty of S9+ Europeans. I was even regularly beating out random
east coast stations in pileups. Probably should have tried running and letting
the big guns find me for the semi-rare NM mult. 

A fine after-EU-sunrise opening on 40 until almost 10Z.  Good JA on 80 a little
later.

Saturday daytime was essentially as expected. 20 was absorptive. 15 was super.
10 was scatter or worse to EU.

20 stayed open real late Saturday night. The JA's were super loud, but no big
rate. Some interesting DX called in during that opening - 5 VU's, 2 UK8's,
A52.

Low bands were poor to EU. Waited for something to happen to EU on 80 until
05Z, before finally deciding to sleep for 2 hours. If 80 was anything like it
was Friday night I would have happily gone 48 hours. The rest of Saturday night
is a blur. I remember waking up after my nap and it took every bit of mental
energy to run 1 radio on 40 for that first hour.

20 was poor at sunrise (a recurring theme ?), and 15 was late opening. However,
it was fine once it did open. Surprise ! 10 open direct path to G, F and EA. Had
to play DXer for a while on 10 to pick off mults. Wasn't easy - everyone east of
me was trouncing me. Decided then to CQ and let the skimmer-equipped guys find
me, since I bet most had not worked NM on 10. A very successful strategy. In 2
hours I doubled the number of 10 meter QSO's and more than doubled the number
of 10 meter mults. Did a few hours of dueling CQ's late in the opening - first
10/15, later 15/20. I really don't like doing this in a DX contest. Always
afraid to be missing mults by not doing S&P, but in ARRL there aren't as many
mults and they have all been worked by 18Z Sunday it seems.

Thanks for all the QSO's !

73,
Steve, N2IC


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