[3830] OhQP W8WTS Single Op LP

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                    Ohio QSO Party - 2021

Call: W8WTS
Operator(s): W8WTS
Station: W8WTS

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: Ohio
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
--------------------
   80:  175     90
   40:  224     63
   20:   74      2
   15:            
   10:    8       
--------------------
Total:  481    155  CW Mults = 106  Ph Mults = 67  Total Score = 193,241

Club: Mad River Radio Club

Comments:

Congratulations to all of the category winners for outstanding performances
under challenging band conditions.  Thanks to the Mad River Radio Club for
sponsoring OQP, one of the greatest state QSO parties on the calendar.  Most of
all thanks to everyone who got on the air, made QSOs, and had fun.  

It is hard to compare OQP 2021 with the record breaking results from last year. 
OQP 2020 benefited from great conditions and huge participation from the shelter
in place crowd due to our COVID pandemic.  We lacked both qualities this year. 
All bands were noisy.  The A index for AUG 28 UTC was 14, and the Kp indices for
each three hour period in AUG 28 UTC were 5 3 4 3 2 2 1 1.  By 1600Z the
magnetic field was calming down, but there remained sufficient fluctuations to
create miserable noise.  One of my favorite parts of OQP is running rate on 75 m
SSB in the early to mid evening.  This year, 75 m SSB sounded more like a 160 m
contest.  Too many QSOs were letter mined, digging one letter at a time out of
the roaring noise, needing repeat after repeat.  

I planned for a full 12 hour effort and went the distance.  The first hour was
strong, and the second hour was the worst in the contest.  That is a pattern
followed nearly every year.  Early in the contest, the SFI of 90 encouraged some
stations to use 20 m, further driving my rate down.  The breakdown of QSOs per
hour is as follows.  
Hour	QSOs
16	74
17	33
18	65
19	67
20	52
21	42
22	36
23	67
0	46
1	51
2	55
3	48

My most contacted station was K8MR with 12 QSOs, followed by K8RYU with 6
contacts.  I worked mobile stations only to the extent necessary to get
otherwise unavailable multipliers.  The mobile and rover stations had good
signals on 80 m, marginal at best on 40 m, and non-existent on 20 m.  

Relative to the previous four years (excepting 2020), my QSO total, 636 is
slightly above the average of 606.  879 QSOs in 2020 was an outlier.  These are
my QSO totals for the last four OQPs.  
2018	2019	2020	2021	AVG	AVG not counting 2020
613	568	879	636	674	606

My station setup was nearly unchanged from last year:  SO2R with 2 x FT-1000MPs,
Skyhawk, XM240, dipoles, inverted L for 160 m.  I use an assortment of receive
antennas for 80 m and 160 m.  I hope to have some new antennas to try next year.
 

I appreciated every QSO and am already looking forward to next year.  

73, 

Jim, W8WTS

PS My eight 160 m QSOs are in the 10 m box.  

https://www.w8wts.com/contest_logs/W8WTS20210831.txt


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