[3830] CQWW SSB W6YX M/2 HP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB - 2021

Call: W6YX
Operator(s): K5AN K6TJ KN6DOC W6LD N7MH
Station: W6YX

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: Stanford
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:   12     8        8
   80:  122    18       29
   40:  611    28       65
   20:  526    34       96
   15:  706    32       96
   10:  474    23       52
------------------------------
Total: 2451   143      346  Total Score = 3,197,571

Club: Northern California Contest Club

Comments:

Jacob, K5AN, a recent Purdue graduate and W9YB participant in School Club
Roundup, and Zac, KN6DOC, a university librarian, joined John, W6LD/P40L, Pete,
K6TJ and me  in operating CQWW SSB this year. We also had some W6YX student
members listening as we operated but none chose to operate.

We had our share of visits from Murphy in this one. We lost our internet for
several hours at a time, thus losing packet spots during a couple of crucial
periods. For the last 7 or 8 hours of the contest we used a cell phone as a
wireless hotspot to get spots.

I'd tested recording and playing back messages with the K3 DVR and both worked
fine but didn't think to try live voice until the contest started. One K3 wasn't
getting a PTT signal from the YCCC SO2R Box. This prevented using the second
radio for dual-CQing when I was a lone operator late at night but I did make a
few S&P Qs by sending recorded messages.

It was great to have the younger guys operating. Jacob had the SCR experience so
he was good to go but it was Zac's first time on HF SSB.

I had worked a couple of JAs on 10 and thought there might be a few more that
Zac could run slowly after observing and listening on a second headset for a
while. It took Zac a few Qs before he could coordinate deciphering phonetics,
typing, and then giving the report. Just as he was beginning to get comfortable,
though, the band opening got much better and I helped pick out callsigns when
Zac didn't copy one.

Zac and Jacob both came back on Sunday which enabled me to go home for a short
nap as I had little sleep either night. When we figured out the internet was
kaput on Sunday Jacob quickly rewired our LAN and set up the hotspot so we had
packet spots again. Zac is now motivated to upgrade from his Technician
license.

We had a hard time working Europeans on 40 the first evening and our first
internet outage occurred during the European opening the second evening so we
had no spotting and picked up what we could by tuning the band but this really
hurt our mults there and on 80 and 160. I tried calling several EU mults on 40
in the last few minutes of the contest but they didn't hear me calling and
continued CQing.

We had a great time despite the Murphy moments, enjoying the fantastic
conditions on 15 and the unexpectedly good openings on 10.

73,
-Mike, N7MH


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