[3830] CQWW CW W6QU(W8QZA) SOAB QRP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW - 2020

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

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: San Diego, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 30.0

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:    1     1        1
   80:   29    10       11
   40:   62    13       16
   20:  115    22       39
   15:  109    20       31
   10:   25    11       12
------------------------------
Total:  341    77      110  Total Score = 166,804

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

STATION W8QZA:

Radio: Elecraft K-2, 5 Watts.

Antennas:
  10-15-20 Meters: 3 el Stepp-IR up 32 feet
  40 Meters: 1/4 wave vertical with 3 radials
  40 & 160 Meters: DX-LB trap dipole up 30 feet
  80 Meters: Inverted L with 2 radials
-----------------------------------------------
My CQ WWDX CW experience this year came down to one QSO. On Saturday afternoon,
I heard VK3JA on 20 Meters at about 2 PM local time. I was surprised but rotated
the beam to the south west to work him. To my surprise he disappeared
completely. Then, digging into forgotten old propagation memories, I suddenly
remembered that this is the time for long path. I reversed the SteppIR and he
came right back to 579. After two or three big guns worked him, he came right
back for my first Long Path QSO of this cycle! 16,800 miles on 5 watts!

10 M  Mostly So America with some Oceania. Never heard a JA which was a
disappointment after working two JAs in the SSB weekend. Got CT3KN on Sunday AM.
 I'm afraid Europe on 10 M is still at least a couple years off for me!

15 M  Got 11 Europeans with 10 of them in zone 14.

20 M  First Long Path of the cycle! 

40 M  I was astonished to work 3 BYs! BY is always very hard for me and I
usually don't get even one in a contest. Oddly, my best chance to work BY in a
contest is on 40 Meters. 

80 M  Just the usual Pacific rim stuff.

160 M  Thanks to N6AA for my double mult!  I can barely get out of my back yard
on 160!

Conditions were improved with my contests stats up 5 to 10% from last year. DXCC
was 57 (54 last yr) and WAZ was 26 (25 last yr). Off continent Qs were 225 (vs
194).  

I got into Europe for 40 Qs (16 last yr), and I worked an amazing 97 JA
stations, an amazing 28% of all my Qs. Thank you Japan! JA and VE made up HALF
of my Qs in this contest! But I sure missed all the Caribbean contest stations
due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. 

In closing, it was an interesting break to hear F6HKA call each Q he worked by
name!  Slows you down but it is a nice gesture! 

Thanks to W3LPL for patiently digging me out for a double mult on 80 meters. He
gets nothing for this Q and it took him several rounds to give me my mults.

In closing, I have heard that they will probably eliminate the Assisted category
and let all use spotting nets. I have never used any help like this since it is
not much good to go after a spotted station with a QRP signal. Still, I believe
it is a good idea. There are just too many categories, ...and I may actually
take a peak at a spotting net in the future!

73 and see you in the ARRL contests in 2021!   ...Bill Parker W8QZA - W6QU


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