[3830] CQ160 CW W2GD Multi-Op HP
webform at b4h.net
webform at b4h.net
Mon Jan 27 22:39:22 EST 2020
CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW - 2020
Call: W2GD
Operator(s): K2TW KU2C KZ2I N2HM N2OO NS3F W2CG W2GD W2NO W2RQ
Station: W2GD
Class: Multi-Op HP
QTH: NJ
Operating Time (hrs): 31
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 1814 State/Prov = 58 Countries = 89 Total Score = 1,426,194
Club: Frankford Radio Club
Comments:
Elecraft K3S x 3 - Diversity Enabled
OM2000HF 1250 watts
Win-Test Logging Software Ver4.28
2 element vertical wire Yagi @ 240' with NE, West and Omni options
Beverage antennas N, NE, E, S, SW, W, NW, plus HI-Z Four
What a terrific weekend to be on 160 CW! Congratulations to everyone who
participated in the most competitive event of all in radiosport. Undoubtedly
many long standing records were broken by those playing completely within the
rules. Engineering and building a 160 station that works better than a
competitors is one of the biggest challenges in MW amateur radio - clearly there
are many of us who enjoy taking on this challenge and work that much harder to
be successful. Totally addictive and consuming.
With the benefit of 37 years of CQ160 hindsight, I rate this year's CQ160 CW as
the third best of all time. Many have noted in 3830 comments similarities with
the 2009 event which for many was the all time best. But an earlier CQ160 CW in
the late 1990's offered by far the best contest weekend propagation ever - a
magical weekend when the band really did sound like 20 meters. Although very
good much of the time this weekend's conditions did not approach what we
experienced both eleven or twenty two years ago. Nonetheless this one will
without a doubt be remembered as one of many great years.
Little things often make a tangible difference. Stations with multiple BIG
antennas inherently have more failure points to police and maintain. This year
we implemented a new RX antenna testing procedure which immediately identified
two faults that would have been score effecting if not repaired. Two work
parties after the BIG STEW eliminated outdoor physical activities on contest
weekend. As we've aged (our average operator is now over 65 years) more
attention is being paid to managing fatigue which has become a real operational
issue.
So what about the contest? A few observations and comments.
Night One - we began hearing EU stations 90 minutes before local sunset.
Atmospheric noise level was very low. When the contest started the bandmap was
packed from 1805 to 1860. We found breaking through the EU chaos very
difficult. Only one in four attempts calling ten point contacts that first 30
minutes were successful. We quickly moved up the band searching for a
productive run frequency. We settled on 1871 and stayed for 7+ hours. After the
first hour rate skyrocketed into the 130+/hour range. The first eight hours
averaged 118/hour. The EU sunrise enhancement was not pronounced. During the
first night 45 percent of our contacts were ten pointers from EU/AS/SA, with 441
ten pointers the first night. Clearly conditions were pretty good but not
spectacular. We had all continental US states and only needed PEI, NF, VE5, and
VE8 for an SP sweep. Big surprise ... GM3POI called us at 1054Z - easily 3
hours after his sunrise! No VK, ZL, KL7 or JA at our sunrise. Seeing ourselves
in first place position on the scoreboards was fun to see when we began a
scheduled off time during daylight hours. Half Time Totals: 1251q 57s 84c
Night Two: We found conditions the second night better than the first. A heavy
rain storm had passed to our Northeast during the day but the band remained
quiet. Our first EU contact was ED1R at 2155Z. It seemed EU was somewhat slower
to open on night two but from 0100 onward and for the next six hours over 50% of
our contacts were ten pointers from EU. Signals sounded louder to us and there
was little QSB. The hoped for EU sunrise enhancement was notable 0500 to 0800
following a dreadful EU dead period during the 0400 hour. We caught KL7SB at
0159Z, VE5SF at 0334, JA3YBK at 0904 and KH6LC at 0918 for our last ten pointer.
We never heard JT5DX nor any of the VK and ZL stations spotted. PEI and VO1
maintained their radio silence. Second night totals: +563q +1s +5c
Worked all 50 states.
Missed two VE Provinces: PEI, NF, VE8/NWT
Countries heard but not worked: None
First Night: 481 Ten Pointers 73 Five Pointers
Second Night: 245 Ten Pointers 19 Five Pointers
Overall: 726 Ten Pointers 92 Five Pointers
2020 Team Milestones:
Highest QSO Total - finally breaking the 1800 contact total barrier
Most Countries Worked in any 160 meter event
Most Total Multipliers Worked in any 160 meter event
Highest Average Points per contact
Broke our W2 Multi-op Record set in 2009
Broke the K1LZ USA Multi-op Record set in 2010 (pending log checking)
It was great to see so many of our fellow Multi-op teams and many SOA entrants
who we use as a basis of comparison posting one or both of the live scoreboards.
We hope even more will decide to post on the scoreboards in the future. Over
the course of the event it was fascinating to watch the horse races develop and
leads pass back and forth.
Thanks to all the stations who called us. We hope you had as much fun as our
team did.
Please look for the SJDXA entry N2CW during CQ160 PH from this station.
Thanks to CQ Magazine for continuing to sponsor our favorite 160 meter contest
and also the owners of WYRS-FM for allowing us to use and enjoy their facilities
for so many years.
73,
John, W2GD
For the Entire 160 CW Contest Team
-------------- Q S O R a t e S u m m a r y ---------------------
Hour 160 80 40 20 15 10 Rate Total Pct
--------------------------------------------------------------------
2200 105 0 0 0 0 0 105 105 5.8
2300 139 0 0 0 0 0 139 244 13.5
0000 134 0 0 0 0 0 134 378 20.8
0100 138 0 0 0 0 0 138 516 28.4
0200 123 0 0 0 0 0 123 639 35.2
0300 131 0 0 0 0 0 131 770 42.4
0400 94 0 0 0 0 0 94 864 47.6
0500 78 0 0 0 0 0 78 942 51.9
0600 55 0 0 0 0 0 55 997 55.0
0700 53 0 0 0 0 0 53 1050 57.9
0800 31 0 0 0 0 0 31 1081 59.6
0900 29 0 0 0 0 0 29 1110 61.2
1000 35 0 0 0 0 0 35 1145 63.1
1100 34 0 0 0 0 0 34 1179 65.0
1200 47 0 0 0 0 0 47 1226 67.6
1300 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 1238 68.2
1400 11 0 0 0 0 0 11 1249 68.9
1500 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1250 68.9
1600 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1251 69.0
1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1251 69.0
1800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1251 69.0
1900 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 1257 69.3
2000 11 0 0 0 0 0 11 1268 69.9
2100 17 0 0 0 0 0 17 1285 70.8
2200 23 0 0 0 0 0 23 1308 72.1
2300 58 0 0 0 0 0 58 1366 75.3
0000 57 0 0 0 0 0 57 1423 78.4
0100 78 0 0 0 0 0 78 1501 82.7
0200 61 0 0 0 0 0 61 1562 86.1
0300 31 0 0 0 0 0 31 1593 87.8
0400 27 0 0 0 0 0 27 1620 89.3
0500 54 0 0 0 0 0 54 1674 92.3
0600 50 0 0 0 0 0 50 1724 95.0
0700 27 0 0 0 0 0 27 1751 96.5
0800 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 1763 97.2
0900 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 1778 98.0
1000 14 0 0 0 0 0 14 1792 98.8
1100 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 1807 99.6
1200 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 1814 100.0
1300 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
1400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
1500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
1600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
1800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
1900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
2000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
2100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1814 100.0
------------------------------------------------------
Total 1814 0 0 0 0 0 1814
Gross QSOs=1883 Dupes=69 Net QSOs=1814
The best 60 minute rate was 150/hour from 0043 to 0142
The best 30 minute rate was 164/hour from 0119 to 0148
The best 10 minute rate was 198/hour from 2320 to 2329
----------------- C o n t i n e n t S u m m a r y -----------------
160 80 40 20 15 10 Total Pct
---------------------------------------------------------------------
North America 1088 0 0 0 0 0 1088 60.0
South America 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0.9
Europe 680 0 0 0 0 0 680 37.4
Asia 18 0 0 0 0 0 18 1.0
Africa 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0.6
Oceania 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.1
--------------------------------------------------------------
Total 1814 0 0 0 0 0 1814
A Few Final Comments about Unethical Contest Behavior:
Unfortunately there are a small number of competitors among us who deliberately
act unethically and cheat. It is our view these rule breakers deserve full
exposure and disqualification. In the CQ 160 and other Top Band events this
season it has become blatantly obvious some stations are using remote receiving
systems on different continents to complete contacts. The offenders must be
identified and disqualified. Our 160 Contest Team strongly supports those event
sponsors who take rule enforcement actions against these cheaters, sending a
crystal clear message to everyone that bad behavior will not be tolerated. If
you are reading this comment and are one of those cheating be very aware your
peers are watching carefully for future abuses.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
More information about the 3830
mailing list