[3830] CQWW SSB W6QU(W8QZA) SOAB QRP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB - 2021

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

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: San Diego, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 25.3

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:    0     0        0
   80:   11     8        7
   40:   12     6        5
   20:   32    12       16
   15:  110    21       43
   10:   84    19       34
------------------------------
Total:  249    66      105  Total Score = 113,373

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
-----------------------------------------------

Conditions are finally and definitely coming off the bottom! This is my highest
score in this contest since 2016. My score was over double last year's score. I
had 36 European QSOs compared to 5 last year.

Special thanks to those extremely patient ops at K1TTT who gave me my Zone 5 Qs
on 80 and 40! It takes a lot of effort to pull my 5 watt SSB sig out of the mud
on 40 and 80 from all the way across the country! And not a single point added
to their score! Also thanks to the ops at KL7RA who heard me on all 5 bands, 80
to 10. They always seem to hear me. Unfortunately, I failed to work anyone on
160 and missed the slam dunk of even one local QSO.

The most amazing QSO for me was CR6K for my first QSO in Europe on 10 Meters in
several years. It was a great feeling to break that barrier for this upcoming
cycle. However, he was my only Euro QSO on 10. At one point I was hearing
stations on 10 M all the way up to 28800!

I actually had a run of four stations (JAs) on 10 M! No one ever answers my QRP
CQs in this contest! 

Rig issues: Unfortunately I simply cannot get my laptop to play my recorded call
letters on the K-2. It starts out the contest fine, and then a distortion
develops in the audio. I have tried everything and nothing works except plugging
the mike directly into the K-2 and getting a hoarse voice calling the stations
"old school". (It can take a lot of calls with QRP!)

I love this contest. I start getting excited days ahead just like I did when I
entered my very first CQ WWDX contest back in 1958 using my DX-100 station in my
parents basement.  See you next month for the CW end.

Bill Parker  W6QU - W8QZA


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