[3830] CQ160 CW K3ZM Single Op HP

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                    CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW

Call: K3ZM
Operator(s): K3ZM
Station: K3ZM

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Virginia
Operating Time (hrs): 30

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 1445  State/Prov = 58  Countries = 62  Total Score = 891,600

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

The Disease Spreads

Elke Guttenfunk tried to determine just when it was that she had lost her
husband.  Dieter Guttenfunk, a world-renowned psychiatrist, had become a
different person.  It all started a year ago when they lived in the States. 
Dieter had taken a position as a visiting Fellow at the medical center in
Richmond, Virginia.  He never discussed his patients with Elke, but she knew
that he had treated a very troubled gentleman with some rare affliction.  In an
attempt to gain further understanding of this man's difficulty, Dieter had
traveled with him to Cape Cod to meet with other members of his family.  That
was when it really began to go downhill for Elke.

Dieter had started to exhibit strange behavior.  For example, he did odd things
with the car radio.  They used to enjoy listening to beautiful music on the FM
radio when they went for drives in the countryside outside their home in
Bremen.  Now, he always insisted on listening to the AM radio.  And he never
simply picked a station and stayed with it.  He was always tuning around as he
drove, saying weird things like, "I can’t believe how well Radio North Sea is
coming in today on ground wave!"  It was even worse when they drove in the city.
 He tuned the knob constantly, listening to some kind of buzzing noises.

Then there was their adult life.  The early morning was always a special time
for Dieter and Elke, a time for romance.  But lately, he always sneaked down to
the basement before sunrise.  In fact, he did the same thing in the late
afternoon.  This behavior was especially common during the winter months.

He still stayed in touch with his patient in Virginia.  In fact, he was having
an internet chat with him at this very moment.

K3ZM:  How are the Morse code lessons going, Dieter?

Dr. Guttenfunk:  They are going very well.  My new friends at DARC provided me
with some practice sessions that I downloaded to my iPod.  I am finally
learning to hear entire words.

K3ZM:  Excellent!  You will have much more fun once you master CW.  Have you
told Elke about the tower yet?

Dr. Guttenfunk:  Heavens, no.  I am treading lightly.  In the meantime, I was
thinking about requesting a vanity callsign.

K3ZM:  Do you have anything in particular in mind?

Dr. Guttenfunk:  I thought I might go for my initials, the way some of you
Americans do.

K3ZM:  But you are in the first call district.

Dr. Guttenfunk:  Yes, that is true.

K3ZM:  That means you would be DL1DG.

Dr. Guttenfunk:  Yes, exactly.  It has an elegant sound to it, don't you
think?

K3ZM:  That callsign is just not going to work, Dieter.  Pick another one.

Dr. Guttenfunk:  What is the problem?

K3ZM:  It's a long story.

Dr. Guttenfunk:  Is this about your girlfriend again?

K3ZM:  I am afraid so. . .




Special thanks to Don, N4DJ, who provided wonderful help to me with my new
listening array.  Thanks also for advice on the same from K7TJR, W4ZV and
AD4J.

I have been having lots of fun with various equipment that is commercially
available to help with listening.  I am impressed by the clever circuitry and
especially the flexibility available within each unit simply from moving one or
two jumper wires.  I am waiting for the day when they say that I can convert my
Ameritron remote antenna switch to an FM transceiver by repositioning JMP1 and
JMP3.


Snow began to fall steadily at the start of the contest, creating some mild
static.  This was quite livable, but the sunset opening was completely
unproductive with virtually no EU's worked.  Only the well-equipped big guns in
EU had good signal levels.  So, I cast my gaze across the fruited plain and
tried to gather points from NA stations.

At 0330Z to 0400Z, the band cracked wide open to EU.  There was a furious
collection of DX callers.  It was almost like the 2009 Contest for the Ages,
but with slightly lower signal levels and more QSB.  And not a single UA9 or
UA0, despite dozens of UA and UR stations.  At one point, the meter gave a rate
of 110 for the last 100 worked, and practically all were EU's.

At bedtime Saturday morning, I had worked 293 EU's (includes a few dupes), 50
countries and 57 States with a total of 973 contacts and 482,998 points.

Best DX was two ZL's on Friday night.  Some nice DX was 5N7M, 7Z1SJ, and 4Z8SM.
 No A6, A7, A9, D4, CN8.  Missed EY8MM.  Did not hear ZS.

Never heard a VK or JA.  I might have worked only one VE7.  Did not get VE5 or
VO2.  I have never worked the VE8 stuff.

Total EU's worked was 544, which includes many dupes.  I don't mind this,
because it helps to keep my frequency clear in EU.

My Alpha 91B failed two hours into the contest and I had to swap in the
AL-1200.  Gosh, those things are heavy.  Only lost 20 minutes, and it was not
during a EU opening.

So, another big CQ 160 contest is in the books.  Time to get back to the XYL. 
Speaking of which, it says right here in the manual provided by Stepford &
Company that I can transform her into a feisty blond by moving JMP2 from pin 3
to pin 1. . .

73,

Peter   K3ZM

P.S.  Way to go, Jon, AA1K.  Great score!


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