[3830] SAC CW NW6P(OH6KZP) SOAB(A) HP

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                    Scandinavian Activity Contest, CW

Call: NW6P
Operator(s): OH6KZP
Station: NW6P

Class: SOAB(A) HP
QTH: Cupertino
Operating Time (hrs): 15

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   80:           
   40:   66    29
   20:   86    33
   15:   24    18
   10:           
-------------------
Total:  176    80  Total Score = 24,640

Club: Contest Club Finland

Comments:

This year's SAC CW was definitely a very different experience than usual. I am
in Sunnyvale, California, on a 10-week business trip for my employer Nokia,
coinciding with the fall contest season. For us Finns, it is SAC CW that marks
the beginning of that season, not CQWW! :)

I had the pleasure of operating from the fine station of Tom, NW6P, in
Cupertino. The contest started at 5 a.m. local time on Saturday, at which time
I was met by a completely dead 20m band. What a contrast to the usual craziness
that ensues at 12z back home. I went back to bed for a little while and came
back just after 13z, when OH0V was the first Scandinavian station that I could
hear in the noise on 20m. The first QSO was made at 13:39z with OH6MW. In
general, the OH big gun stations clearly opened the band as far as
Scandinavians go, followed by our SM brothers.

Early in the contest, the tough part was getting through the heavy European
pileups. And as noted on the NCCC reflector, conditions in W6 were rather
"shitty" on Saturday morning, which didn't help. By the time the
pileups had thinned, 20m conditions had unfortunately plummeted and signals
were way down, so making QSOs was tough. However, 15m showed some signs of
life, and I worked OZ3SM as the first QSO at 15:45z. The band was dominated by
Western Scandinavia during this main opening, although OH0R was heard in the
noise some 10 minutes later, and still later I managed to work some OH
stations. 

During the later polar path opening, the roles were reversed on both 15m and
20m, with the expected strong signals especially from northern OH and SM.
Around 21:00z, there were solid 599 signals on 15m from OH6CT and OH8A, and at
23:00z, OH8L, OH8X, and SJ2W were 599 on 20m. Indeed, according to my notes
they were still 599 at 04:00z. It was also fun to hear how Scandinavian signals
really were just as fluttery here in W6 as are W6 signals in OH! Unfortunately
the number of hams is not equally proportioned, so the band was mostly marked
by these stable beacons, with little in between.

The real surprise was 40m, which was open already 1.5hrs before the W6 sunset.
LJ1GB was logged at 00:36z (17:36 local) with a 559 signal. Interestingly
enough, the end time of the opening was also extended when OH1WZ was logged at
05:03z, 1 hour after OH sunrise! In all, 40m was rather pleasant and brought
much more QSOs than I had thought. The number could have been much higher if
almost everybody had not been in bed at the other end :) I ended the contest
after one more QSO, as Scandinavians had moved to the high bands and there
appeared to be no long path opening available.

It was clear from the beginning that there was no winning the North American
title from the West Coast, so I settled for trying to win the West, and for
chasing the sponsored plaque for best accuracy, requiring at least 200 QSOs. I
didn't make the latter target, but with a bit better morning 20m condx on
Saturday it might have been possible. My QSOs were 99% S/P, but special thanks
go to OH7CW and OH8MBN for answering my CQs while I was reading an online
newspaper from back home.

The equipment at Tom's station consisted of a K3, an automatic Alpha 87a with
1.5kW, interlaced yagis for 10m-20m, a 2 el yagi for 40m, and a dipole for 80m.
The antennas are aided by a good takeoff, and the station worked great without
any hiccups. I'm greatly indebted to Tom for hosting me, and especially for his
hospitality and splendid cooking. Thanks, it was great fun! 

After the contest on Sunday, Tom and I visited Rusty W6OAT in nearby Redwood
City. We spent quality time chatting, and also made QSOs on 12m-20m for the
ARRL Centennial activity. I think I may now have doubled the number of RTTY
QSOs I've made during my life...! It was also fun to hear stations from the
U.S. as locals with stable signals; so unlike working from home in Finland, but
more like what the bands have sounded on visits to CR2X/CQ8X, halfway to the
U.S. Thanks Rusty!

73
Kim W6/OH6KZP


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