[3830] ARRLDX CW W1NN SOAB LP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW - 2023

Call: W1NN
Operator(s): W1NN
Station: W1NN

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: OH
Operating Time (hrs): 25
Remote Operation

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    7     7
   80:  108    48
   40:  152    58
   20:  227    68
   15:  187    62
   10:  229    54
-------------------
Total:  910   297  Total Score = 810,810

Club: North Coast Contesters

Comments:

I operated my station in Ohio remote from Tokyo.  Japan is 14 hours ahead of
Ohio, so when it's 7 PM in Ohio, it is 9 AM in Tokyo.

It was a very strange contest for me this year.  

My station in Ohio consists of four dipoles.  My 40M dipole has not worked at
all since I arrived here in December and a few weeks ago my 20 and 160 dipoles
started acting funny, so I was left with only an 80M dipole.  So my plan was to
operate 80SB. This would make it an easy contest for me.  I wouldn't have to
lose any sleep since the 80M action would be taking place during the day my
time.  

But a lot of the stations on 80 couldn't hear me at the start of the contest, so
I took a listen to 40 and called a few stations using my 80M dipole.  Most of
them could hear me.  Then I checked 20 which was still open and found the same
situation.  So I gave up the 80M only plan and started working everyone who
could hear me.  I continued on and off like this until 10 PM my time, logging a
modest 350 contacts.  During the last hour I worked a few stations on 10 and 15
with my 80M dipole but I stuck to my plan to sleep normally and went to bed. I
wish I hadn't done that because I missed almost all of the great openings on 10
and 15 the first day. 

7 hours later I was back on the radio.  It was late afternoon in Ohio and the
high bands were still hot.  JAs were blasting in on 10 and 15 and many of them
could hear me on my 80 dipole.  So I worked what I could and after 10 and 15
died, I spent the day (night in Ohio) hopping around the bands.   

Sometime on Sunday I decided to check my 20 dipole and surprisingly I found that
it was usable again! And it worked well on 10.  I still lacked good antennas for
40 and 15 but I was much better off than at the start of the contest.  When dawn
came around in Ohio on Sunday, I had a couple of really good hours and my Q
total started jumping up.  I stayed up until midnight my time and went to bed. 
But I was too excited to sleep and I got up again at 2:30 AM and put another 100
contacts in the log.   

As everyone knows, conditions were spectacular on all bands.  I worked more JAs
this weekend (49) than I've worked during the past five years, including 5 on 80
(two on the first call)!  Unfortunately very few of those QSOs were on 40
because they just couldn't hear me on the 80M dipole.

I am very grateful to have the remote capability, but it can be very frustrating
not knowing what's going on with my antennas at my US QTH.  Hopefully one of
these days I'll be able to operate this contest with a full compliment of
antennas.  But operating a half station is a lot better than operating no
station and I had a really good time this year.  

See you in the next one!

73, Hal W1NN  Remote in Tokyo


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