[CQ-Contest] K3ZO comments re 1997 CQWW CW Contest

[Fred Laun K3ZO]

This will not be my usual long-winded summary because I am on deadline for
another issue of IARU Region II News which I hope to get out the door this
week.

So just a few highlights and statistics:

Hey! how about those conditions?!  First time I ever made over 3000 QSO's
from K3ZO in any contest.  I would have to go back to my overseas logs but
it may be the first time I ever made over 3000 Q's in any one-weekend
contest including my overseas efforts.  

A week from tomorrow I will turn 60 years of age, and I admit that when 10
opened up wide to Europe on Sunday morning and I was in the middle of a
142-hour there followed by a 99 hour, my body was saying: "Stop the sunspot
cycle, I want to get off!"

I have to say that this may have been the best I can do, that I may have
pushed myself to my body's limits.  There was practically no line noise,
all my gear kept working (though I had to glance at my big tower
occasionally to make sure the beams were pointed where I wanted them to be
-- still haven't got M-Squared's new prop pitch rotor control completely
figured out).  I finally have figured out how to use the FT-1000-MP on CW
-- it took almost a year!  I didn't miss any major openings.  So I have no
excuses for the fact that my best effort ever was still outshone by an
apparent 2.6 M points by the apparent single-operator all-band high-power
USA winner.  At my age I simply cannot go for the full 48; I did do 43 this
year, two hours more than planned because there was no good time to pull
away, but I felt it too!  Note that mults were not appreciably higher this
year than last, probably because I was spending so much time running
people.  I don't recall giving up on a pile-up at all, in fact, except for
5A2A on 80 meters and a few on 160 where I didn't want to waste time trying
to figure out who the guy was answering.    

Highlights:  Well, of course, the long-path opening Saturday morning to
Hong Kong and Japan on 10 was spectacular!  Just one indicator of the wild
ride that contesters and DX'ers alike are in for during the cycle that has
just begun.  There were a couple of times when I wished I could be two or
three places at once.  The first morning when for a couple of hours on 15
around 1200-1300 I could hear my round-the-world echo coming back at me
each time I stood by (it had to be that and not backscatter because I do
not have the FT-1000-MP set for full break-in and so the backscatter time
constant would be too short), part of me wanted to turn the beam around on
long path and see how running things was in that direction.  And the second
morning on a brief stop on 20 during the 1200-hour on my way from 40 to
(eventually) 10, I wanted to stay there because with my 6-el Yagi pointed
into the polar darkness the aurora-screechy Eastern Europeans and Asians
from Moscow all the way to Japan were answering me in droves and all of
them were 10-20 over 9, even the QRP types.  But when 20 sounds like that I
know from experience that 10 is likely to open wide and that's exactly what
happened.  At first I was just looking to pick up mults on 10 and get back
to 15 for a known good rate, but when 10 just loaded up with loud Europeans
I figured I could get a run going and I was right.          

One other comment before going to the statistics:  I know that with packet
and Internet we have better world-wide communications than ever before, but
still nothing beats the ESP between me and Tham, E21CJN.  I have gotten to
know Tham well over the past couple of years during my visits to Thailand,
and a good part of the QSO's I have made as HS0ZAR during that time were
made from his QTH.  I was even there earlier this year when he took a
direct hit by lightning and his rotor control was destroyed. So on Sunday
afternoon when I heard him on 20 as I cruised the band for multipliers with
the beam south, I quickly began to turn the beam around to the north while
listening to the immense pile of W's calling him.  When I rotated on to him
and his fluttery signal emerged over the top of the pile, there he was,
calling me!  So help me, I hadn't said a word yet!  We had no pre-arranged
sked -- in fact I had thought he was going to be on from HS0AC and not his
home station.  So you explain it!  Of course I came right back and happily
gave him a report and went on my merry way.  First time I ever busted a
pile-up without transmitting.  Does this put me in the Assisted category?
Let's see, now, maybe I should get to know somebody from Ulan Bator so I
can finally wrap up 5BWAZ...       

Speaking of Ulan Bator, I worked every zone on one band or another except
Zone 23!  Compared with my results last year, when I was seventh place USA,
I had 678 more QSO's, five more band-zones, and eight more band-countries.
My score increased by 1,351,012 points.  Thank you Germany!  517 of my 3155
QSO's were with Deutchland! England was next, with 212, followed by Japan
with 175.  Per-population leader was probably the Czech Republic with 159
OK/OL's in the log.  You guys are doing something right!  Band-by-band:

(Radio for all bands: FT-1000-MP and Ten-Tec Titan 425 amp.)

160 meters:  antennas: two half-slopers off 140' of Rohn 80 tower.
80-meter half-             sloper on receive.
          1996:  51/11/35
          1997:  34/11/23

Band was relatively quiet but no punch in signals outside the Caribbean
except for
KH6CC who was nice and loud both nights.  Lone European QSO's were GW7J and
SL3ZV. Two Zone 33's worked also.  I probably spent too much time on the
band for meagre results.


80 meters:  3-el KLM Yagi at 140 feet (60-foot boom).
          1996:  399/25/84
          1997:  307/18/68 

Early in the evenings the band was scratchy to Europe but finally came into
its own around European sunrise.  I had back-to-back hours of 71 and 94
during the 0500-0600 hours the first night.  Best QSO A61AJ in the last
hour of the contest.  Band loaded with Scandinavians, no trouble getting
the few JA's I called.


40 meters:  3-el Telrex Yagi at 94 feet (46-foot boom).
          1996:  620/33/100
          1997:  819/32/100

I started off the contest on this band, and decided to S&P rather than run
people for the first hour, with 87 QSO's and 46 mults the result.  Probably
not a good idea.  Never did get a run hour over 100 on this band, but the
band was good.  Highlights were running Europeans and JA's combined at 0700
hours second morning with beam at 30 degrees.  Both VR2WO and 9M6NA were
worked short path rather than the usual gray-line, showing how quiet the
polar area was this weekend.     


20 meters:  6-el Telrex Yagi at 150 feet (46-foot boom).
            4-el W6PU dual-driven quad at 78 feet (33-foot boom).
          1996: 953/35/113
          1997: 883/34/105

The band was excellent but had to share time with 15 and 10 this year.
Over-100 hours: Saturday 1600: 100; 1700: 138; 1800: 114.  Sunday 1700:
123.  All using the lower quad antenna which is a killer to Europe late in
the opening.  Good JA run the Saturday afternoon 2300 hour when 82 of them
went into the log using the high Yagi.  Bothered a bit by line noise in the
direction of JA Saturday.  Other than that no line noise problems on any
band during the contest -- great feeling!


15 meters:  8-el Telrex Yagi at 155 feet (46-foot boom).
            4-el W6PU dual-driven quad at 78 feet (33-foot boom).
          1996: 429/28/95
          1997: 796/29/93

The 8-el Telrex is a new addition and has cured what I felt was my one
major weakness antenna-wise.  I can now open the band mornings with the
rest of the gang.   
The lower quad holds its own later in the day to Europe and is fine for
pile-ups as it has always been.  Now I can have one antenna South and the
other on Europe or Asia or the Pacific, which is nice!  Over 100-hours:
Saturday 1200: 153; 1300: 161; 1500: 122 (The 1400-hour was spent on 10
"just in case" -- I always go to 10 at this hour to get the necessary mults
even though I have to break away from a great run to do it.) Sunday 1600: 105.


10 meters:  4-el W6PU dual-driven quad at 78 feet (33-foot boom).
          1996:  25/8/18
          1997: 316/21/64

Have we started the new cycle?  Yes!  Unlike with 15, I have always felt
that my quad on 10 was all I needed and once again it took right off as
expected.  Over 100 hour: Sunday at 1400: 142 ( the 1500-hour was 99).  Boy
the alternate front end on the FT-1000-MP is hot on 10! I have line noises
I didn't notice on the other bands but it didn't make any difference
because all the signals were over them anyway.  The 10 meter contest should
be a blast this year with this front end and these conditions. Best QSO's:
VR2WO, VR2KF, VR97BG and JA3YKC Saturday morning on long path, beam on the
South Atlantic.  As I said to VR2WO when I came back to give him my number:
WOW!

73, Fred   

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