[3830] WPX CW WC1M SOAB HP

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CQWW WPX Contest, CW

Call: WC1M
Operator(s): WC1M
Station: WC1M

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: NH
Operating Time (hrs): 34
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:   14
   40:  850
   20: 1371
   15:  507
   10:    0
------------
Total: 2742  Prefixes = 984  Total Score = 8,298,972

Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club

Comments:

8433 QSO Points

Congrats to Krassy and Bud, as well as everyone who gutted it out through
somewhat challenging conditions. I guess we're on the other side of the peak,
huh?

Not a year for records, but I did better than expected given the conditions and
a wrench that got thrown into my off time strategy. Months before the contest a
very close friend invited us to her 60th birthday party on May 28, Saturday
night, and I had to make an appearance. Not only did I miss the best of 40 on
the second day, I had to take break time with no sleep. With my contest stamina
seemingly decreasing with age, I really depend on that sleep time!

Despite an ominous propagation alert just before the contest, the first few
hours were pretty good, only slightly behind last year. Then the geomagnetic
field took a turn for the worse, the K index hit the predicted 4, and rates
plunged. Serial numbers from the top stations were clearly showing the effects
of the event, and I suspected there might have been some thunderstorms down
south that further decreased QSO counts for 3-land ops. We had some rumblings
here the last 40 minutes of the contest, but the storm passed us by without
forcing a shutdown. Dodged yet another summer contesting bullet!

Nothing heard on 10 meters here, though I rarely work that band in WPX CW. 15
never opened on the first day except for S&P work. Luckily, propagation
improved just enough on the second day for 15 to open to EU for a few hours. In
fact, loud EU stations could still be heard on 15 near the end of the contest.
Despite the low flux and high K-index, over-the-pole propagation was pretty
good during a lot of the contest: plenty of UA0, UA9, and JA on 40 and 20, plus
a BY and a 9M. A YE called in on 15. So, all in all, not bad for the down side
of the cycle.

I was surprised that the mults almost hit 1000, despite a relatively low QSO
count. I think that's an indication of more and more exotic prefixes finding
their way into the hands of WPX fans. Also, I worked a somewhat higher
percentage of USA this year because of the rough conditions, and that may have
produced a few more prefixes than usual.

Equipment performed well, especially diversity reception on 40 with the 2-el
beam and 4-square. That really helps when 40 is noisy. 80 was a different
story. My beverage doesn't seem to be working and the 80-meter portion of my
trapped vee isn't usable. Had to use the delta loop, which is pretty
susceptible to noise. I probably would have made up for it on 40, had it not
been for the party.

Lack of sleep caught up to me late on Saturday and into Sunday, and knowing
that I couldn't recover the points I missed on 40 I seriously considered
quitting. But my serial numbers and seemed competitive and I just couldn't see
throwing away the effort so far. So I took the 12 hours of break time, plus an
extra hour for sleep, and then took mini breaks to keep sane. Of course, those
breaks and the extra hour count as operating time. Writelog reports 34 hours,
but it was closer to 32 (Secret for getting high contest scores: Stay In The
Chair!)

Speaking of Writelog, on Sunday afternoon I remembered that W5XD recently sent
an email to the Writelog reflector about a new run module that supports smart
dueling CQs. I thought that would be just the ticket for day 2 of WPX CW, so I
took a few minutes to download the add-in and install it (a dangerous move
during a contest, but I like to live on the edge.) Turned out to be very
worthwhile. At first it's like riding a bucking bronco, and there are still a
few glitches that need to be worked out, but about 90% of the time it does
exactly what it should. I have no doubt that my rates were considerably higher
during what's usually a slow rate period. Even better, the excitement of trying
something new and having to be on my toes to deal with the fast pace and
anticipate what the software would do kept me awake all though Sunday
afternoon. Great to have this in the tool kit.

Once again, a great WPX CW. Thanks for all the Qs and patience. See you next
time!

73, Dick WC1M


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