[3830] TBDC NA8V Single Op LP

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Stew Perry Topband Challenge

Call: NA8V
Operator(s): NA8V
Station: NA8V

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: mi
Operating Time (hrs): 13:41

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 573  Total Score = 3,816

Club: Mad River Radio Club

Comments:

raw points 2544 x 1.5

What a great way to spend a cold winter night.  Tuned the band in the afternoon
and copied G3BJ weak but q5 at 2030z, 1.5hrs before sunset.  Didn't know if that
was a good sign or a bad sign.  Started at 2130z hoping to catch a big sunset
opening.  Didn't happen.  Got a couple CA stns, first Eu was EI2CN an hour after
dark.  Had called him earlier, not even a ?.  Worked a 17pt LZ at 0013, thought
that might be the opening but nope.  The west coast had started dribbling thru
around 0030z, quite early, to provide some excitement. Had a really nice freq
low in the band but things were getting slow and there wasn't any DX to speak of
so started S&Ping up the band at 0330z with 8 Eu in the log. Stumbled across
a couple Eu stations that were relatively easy to work but difficult to copy
with the qrm on top of them.  Things were looking up.  I picked up 10 Eu stns in
the s&p, finally found an open freq up in the 40's and settled in.

Stayed on that freq for 3 hours and 135 qso's, 67 Europeans and a dozen west
coast stations mixed in.  They were all loud, even the west coast off the back
of the beverage.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!  By 07z the show was
mostly over.  S&p'd a few more western Eu - it was remarkable how much
louder and easier to work the eastern/central Eu had been than the more western
(G/F/PA/ON) stations.  Never heard an EA.  Not many Scandinavian/Baltic stations
either.  Ended up with 94 Eu including 9 17/18 pointers.  Farthest was probably
RL4A.  Last year I never worked any z16, this year 11 and was up 37 in Eu.

By 08z conditions had pretty much crashed.  No one was loud and there weren't
many new west coast station for the rest of the contest.  Kudos to XE2S and
KH6LC who both spent extra time to dig me out in sub-par conditions.  Worked
only KH6, 2xKP2, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, TI, V31 and XE outside of Eu.  Heard but
couldn't work two LU stations.  Finished down 10 US and up 25 qso's from last
year.


It was an awesome night in one of the best contests of the year.  

greg/na8v


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