[3830] WPX CW NR3X(@N1LN) M/2 HP

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                    CQWW WPX Contest, CW

Call: NR3X
Operator(s): W0UCE KU5B N3ND N4CW WA4PSC N1LN
Station: N1LN

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: NC
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    7
   80:  218
   40:  968
   20: 2067
   15: 1755
   10:  157
------------
Total: 5172  Prefixes = 1348  Total Score = 18,785,728

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Once again we got lucky and dodged the starting gun weather bullet. All day
Friday the local forecast called for thunder and lightning storms to start
around 22:00 UTC Friday and run through 05:00 UTC on Saturday. Fortunately the
storms went well around us and we didn’t even get any of the rain, but we
sure got the QRN and heavy static crashes. The unknown weather when combine
that with an A index of 19 left us with a sense of uncertainty for the first
night.

As always we measure our progress through the contest based on our last year
scores and those of other M2 stations.  The early comparisons gave us reason to
be concerned. After the first 6 hours we were behind in Qs, but starting
decrease the gap ever so slowly, but the multipliers were holding their own and
even slightly ahead. By hour 8 we made up the Q count deficit and got ahead in
both Qs and multipliers. The fact that 20 meters stayed open all night more
than offset the non-existent 80 meters and made up for the lower rates on the
QRN ridden 40 meters. From then the struggle turned into fun as we continued to
pull farther ahead of last year.

For us Saturday morning started later than expected. 20 was still open but 15
meters to Europe didn’t really open up for the solid runs until about 13:00
UTC. But it stayed open to all day and around 20:30 swung to Asia without
dropping Europe. We milked 15 until 01:00 UTC when we moved to 40. The A index
even dropped enough on Saturday night to give us some decent 80 meter EU runs. 
This was the first time the new phased verticals had a contest workout and they
performed well.

The rest of the contest continued with much of the same. 20 meters never
closed. 15 meters continued to deliver around the world with outstanding
openings to Japan, SE Asia and the Pacific, 40 was much quieter on Saturday
night to Sunday morning but the activity was down. 160 meters delivered just a
few Qs but did help out in the multiplier column. The only real no show as you
can see from our band Q count totals was 10 meters. We are not complaining
about our final results, but what would they have been if 10 opened?

Every Soapbox submission from CAMP LN includes a report of the weekends dining
delights and a Chef Archie update. This selections did not disappoint. Friday
night kicked it off with baked Ziti with meat and sausage and LOTS of cheese,
salad, Italian bread and a nice Malbec. Saturday night’s feast centered
around grilled ham steak, crusty bread and a selection of salads that included
potato, cucumber and onions in vinegar sauce and finally a Chef Archie original
combination consisting of warm seasonal greens, hard boiled egg, bacon and
grated cheese topped with the family secret garlic sauce recipe.  It was
accompanied by both a Chardonnay and a Pinot Grigio. For desert we all enjoyed
another seasonal delight of strawberry short cake with whip cream.   

Now we wait for the results. The old W4 call area M2 record of 16,283,745 will
certainly be replaced by one from several outstanding 4 land M2 entries. Our
concern is the higher potential for log checking decreases mostly due to the
heavy QRN on 40. Hopefully we have enough of a cushion to cover the gap.  

Thanks for the Qs. Thanks for the repeats. Thanks for the patience. And, thanks
from me to an outstanding team.  Jack �" W0UCE, Bert �" N4CW, Dan
�" N3ND, Howie �" WA4PSC and Colin �" KU5B who once again got
me motivated to organize the weekend by sending me an email asking if we were
going to play this year. 

73 from CAMP LN

See you in the pile-ups.


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