[3830] CQWW CW N7GP(N5IA) SOSB/160 HP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: N7GP
Operator(s): N5IA
Station: N7GP

Class: SOSB/160 HP
QTH: AZ - DM52
Operating Time (hrs): 19
Remote Operation

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:  404    20       45
   80:                    
   40:                    
   20:                    
   15:                    
   10:                    
------------------------------
Total:  404    20       45  Total Score = 42,640

Club: Arizona Outlaws Contest Club

Comments:

What a ride!!!  A real roller coaster.  Great highs and some lows, but that is
typical Top Band contesting.

The low of the entire first night of operation was the QRN level coupled with
slow and deep QSB.  I operated the entire night with the Noice Reduction
feature enabled on the K3 to keep the ears from bleeding.

Running in this contest category always requires the handling of Qs for
Band/Zone contact from Zones 3, 4 & 5.  Two hours into the contest I had 40
Qs in the log and only 10 points in the score column.  That is 3 Zones + 2
countries x one 2- pointer from VE was the sum total of scoring for first 2
hours. Early on I just don't watch the score.  Still a bummer.

I made a couple of excursions up/down the band S&Ping mults from the Carib
and northern SA.  Prop was light and a number of the Carib mults could not hear
from the west.  When the gray line cleared EU I had managed to put 4 EU contacts
in the log.  I called a good copy S51V for 10 minutes without any response.  It
was going to be a long night.

EU coast in daylight means ZL and JA sunset at this time of the year.  NO sign
of any signals from those two locations so at 0830 I laid down for a two hour
plus nap.  Up at 1045 and at 1049 JA7NI answers my CQ. 41 minutes later JA1PTJ
calls in.  Both of these Qs were difficult with repeats to get the info
complete and correct.

11 minutes pass before JA0MVW shows up.  One more Zone 5 station gets a 5NN 03
before JI3KDH is in log at 1143.  From then 'til sunrise at 1400 a steady but
weak string of 73 more JA stations go in the log along with a couple of UA9
stations and a single BA station.  That was work, but it was the high of the
night.  

No signal was strong, the QRN was still heavy, and coupled with QSB these two
factors were very effective at taking the same portion of a call sign out each
time I asked for a repeat.  Fortunately there was NO interference all night.  I
ended Night One with 14 Zones, 24 Countries and 14+K score.  Not bad, but the JA
run was the salvation.

Night two was much better in terms of QRN.  The band was so quiet I actually
used the preamp in the K3 for some of the weakest signals.  CR3E was audible
early on but faded and my thoughts were "Oh, no.  Clear band, but no
prop".  CR3E was again readable at 0320 and I made the grade at 0324.  

A sweep of the band yielded two more country mults and I started CQing again at
0435.  EA7PP called at 0458 and E7DX at 0503.  Were these two Qs just teasers or
was something about to happen?  9A1P at 0514 and EI7M at 0524 kept my hopes up. 
The gray line effect took full charge starting at 0559.  

OM2XW started a steady stream of 49 European stations over the next one and a
half hours ending with G4VFG at 0734.  Each contact seemed stronger than the
previous.  Most of the Qs were one call entries.  At times there were 3-4
stations calling.  This is almost unheard of at my end.  Normally I am trying
to get the EU stations to even hear my call to them.  Now that was a HIGH.

I then turned my attention to the Pacific.  I CQed directly to ZL land at their
sunset for about 30 Minutes.  NO JOY.  I found HC1WDT and N8A for back-to-back
double mults.  RA0FF and 4 JA stations answered my CQs and then it was nothing.
 Time for a two hour nap starting at 0900; a rest for me and time for the band
to replenish itself.

Up at 1100 and started CQing.  Until 1240 I had 3 lone JAs call in and found
NH2T on a sweep of the band.  Then the band changed.  All of a sudden JH6QFJ
answered my CQ with a strong signal.  That started a run of 25 JA stations
broken only by one sweep of the band which yielded contacts with VR2KW, BA7IO
and BA4T.  The signals from these stations were strong; way above the noise
floor.  I felt lucky to break the JA wall of callers to VR2KW.

JR1DQK was the final entry at 1355.  Wow, 2 highs in one night.

Among the Top Band contesters in this area we have a saying taken from many
years of Top Band contesting.  It is that we will not have a good EU opening
and a good JA opening on the same night.  I now have to qualify that axiom.

Some stats.  Total K, W & N stations worked for ZERO points.  171; 77 z5,
61 z4 & 33 z3.

Zone 14 yielded 46 Qs.  Zone 15 yielded 11 Qs.  Great job Euros.

And of course, a total of 105 z25 stations.  Thanks JA.  You rock!!!

DX worked with numbers for multiple contacts.

6Y, 8P, 9A, 9Y, BY-4, CN, CT3, D4, DL-9, E7, EA-6, EA6, EA8, EI, F-11, G-10,
GW-3, HC, HK, I-4, IT9, JA-105, KH2, KH6-2, KH8, KL-3, KP2, LU, OE, OM, OZ,
P4-2, PA-4, PJ2, PJ4-2, SP, UA9-5, V2, VE-30, VP2M, VP2V, VP5, VR, XE-4.

Best first night hour:  1200 while working JAs = 45

Best second night hour:  0600 while working EUs = 34

That's all folks.  I hope to have even better conditions in two weeks for the
ARRL 160.  CU all there.

de Milt, N5IA, operator of N7GP


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