[3830] ARRLDX SSB VE8EV SO Unlimited HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, SSB

Call: VE8EV
Operator(s): VE8EV
Station: VE8EV

Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: Inuvik, NT
Operating Time (hrs): 40

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    0     0
   80:    0     0
   40:    6     4
   20:  254    58
   15:  374    81
   10:  298    79
-------------------
Total:  932   222  Total Score = 620,712

Club: 

Comments:

The big X-class solar flare earlier in the week sure knocked the heck out of the
bands up here.  On Thursday evening 160-10m was completely dead but 24 hours
later at the beginning of the contest things had at least improved enough to
let the highest bands start to open up.  Even then the absorption was strong
enough all weekend that I was never able to get a decent run going anywhere,
save for a couple of hours on 10m and 15m over the pole in the middle of the
night on Friday.  The low bands were a total washout, nothing heard at all on
80m and 160m, and only a tiny handful of "nearby" mults on 40m after
midnight Saturday.

Highlights:

- Finally being able to prove my theory that the best time for 10m to Europe
from here is in the middle of the night. I sensed a considerable amount of
skepticism from the other side but WFWL happily prevailed.

- On three separate occasions someone in a pileup with me got through to the DX
station and after making their contact told them to "listen up, there's a
VE8 calling you".  I was humbled each time but of course wasn't paying
enough attention to catch their calls.  Thanks for the multipliers!

- Collecting enough entities on 10m to push my DXCC total on that band to well
over a hundred.  Now I can stop worrying about missing out on 10m at the top of
the solar cycle and start working on how I'm going to live long enough to work a
100 on 80m for 5BDXCC...

Other than the stellar/dismal band conditions (depending on your perspective)
the only lowlight was trying to tell guys wanting to pass me down to 20m in the
middle of the afternoon that "Sorry, I've got no propagation on that
band."  Strange days, indeed!

Depending on my travel schedule this might be the last contest operation from
here until CQWW in October.  If so, see you then!

73
John VE8EV


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