[3830] RTTY WPX W6QU(W8QZA) SOAB QRP

[webform at b4h.net]

                    CQ WPX RTTY Contest

Call: W6QU
Operator(s): W8QZA
Station: W8QZA

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: San Diego, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 20.9

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
   80:   24
   40:   52
   20:  133
   15:   38
   10:    0
------------
Total:  247  Prefixes = 146  Total Score = 66,722

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

STATION W8QZA:

Radio: Yaesu FT-817, 5 Watts

Antennas:
  10-15-20 Meters: 3 el Stepp-IR up 32 feet
  40 Meters: DX-LB trap dipole up 30 feet
  40-80 Meters: Butternut HF-2V Vertical with 3 radials
-------------------------------------------------------

We have our middle daughter and her husband and 2 yr old and 5 yr old boys
living with us for a few months while their home is having work done. As if that
weren't enough, my daughter is an Emergency Room nurse and pulled both 12 hour
weekend shifts during the contest! But my 78 yr old wife stepped up along with
my son-in-law and did a pretty good job of keeping them out of Grandpa's radio
room while I operated! So I still managed to get in 21 hours of op time,
...bless them both!

I had to start the contest 1 hr 45 min late because I allowed one hour to set up
and it wound up taking almost 3!  I had to solve several glitches in the logging
program to radio interface.  I will never wait until the last minute to set up
again!!

Conditions were decent for this time of the cycle. But I did MUCH better Sunday
AM than on Sat AM.  Almost all DX was worked on 20 M, and that can be rough for
QRP.

Only 18.6% of my Qs (46 Qs) were off continent. While I managed only 2 Qs into
Europe on Sat AM, I was delighted to get 12 on Sunday AM, all on 20 M. I only
heard one Euro station on 15: CR6T.  But he never could hear me.

DXCC was only 27 and WAZ was only 14. Best QSOs...  There were no best Qs in
this contest, all Qs were the normal stuff we all work in contests.  As I look
at the list, I am only struck by the fact that I managed to work 10 different
Euro countries. 

All my obsession with Euro Qs must sound funny to east coast ops, but if I can't
get into Europe, I can't score. I operated an ARRL DX CW contest from W1IPL's
station in Maine a few years back. I worked Euros one after the other on 80 M
with QRP and a inverted V!! But it ain't that way out here.

I love RTTY contests. Even at this part of the cycle. And the logging program
makes it all so convenient. 

See you in a couple weeks in the ARRL DX CW!

Bill  W8QZA - W6QU


Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/