[3830] NAQP CW N2IC Single Op LP

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                    North American QSO Party, CW - January

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

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: NM
Operating Time (hrs): 10
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   68    34
   80:  237    47
   40:  297    53
   20:  333    54
   15:  338    55
   10:  166    42
-------------------
Total: 1439   285  Total Score = 410,115

Club: 

Team: Ad Hoc

Comments:

Another great NAQP, despite a few challenges ! 

Thanks for the QSO's !

10 meters was disappointingly long. Open only to Atlantic coast states. For a
minute or two it shortened up just enough to work OH and MI. Everything else
was backscatter. Contrast that to the 10 meter contest, where everything from
WI/IL eastward was loud, as well as a smattering of the Pacific NW. 15 was
fine. 20 closed earlier than expected. I bet that caught some guys by surprise
who lingered too long on 15. 40 went strange, early, with the east coast
becoming weak. First time in many NAQP's that I didn't break 300 Q's there. 80
and 160 were surprisingly good, despite being noisy. The beverage selection
knob got a good workout. One interesting note on 160. I have 2 transmit
antennas - the shunt-fed tower and a sloping dipole to the north. Except for
working W6 (who is loud on any antenna), the sloping dipole is almost always
the hands-down winner. Not last night. The shunt-fed tower was the clear
winner. 

This contest needs an assisted category (IMHO):
1) Every major contest now has an assisted category.
2) With the recent change by the ARRL, every ARRL contest now has an assisted
category beginning this year.
3) To nearly everyone but the insiders, the NAQP is an ARRL contest. It is
actually an NCJ contest, but the NCJ is published by the ARRL.
4) I had many times when 3-4 stations called me, exactly zero-beat to each
other. Had to be assisted guys clicking on spots. So it's happening anyway. No,
not by top-tier guys.
5) Reclassifying assisted guys to M/2 is not good for the health of the
contest.
6) It will hurt no one to add an assisted category.


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