[CQ-Contest] 80 in 80

[al_lorona at agilent.com]

I was looking over the results of the 1999 Sweepstakeses in the June and
July 2000 QSTs, and I was completely blown away by something I saw.

I had always heard of people accomplishing a clean sweep in the minimum
number of contacts (recall that in 1999 it was 79). I've tried it myself a
couple of times, only to become totally frustrated after about 40 or 50, but
I wasn't prepared for the popularity of the pursuit until I pored over the
results a little more closely than I usually do.

I think what surprised me the most was how many stations were obviously
attempting this most difficult of SS methods. From the results, a number of
folks got close. Like 75 in 75, or 72 in 76. Scores like that. These are
unsung heroes that put in a monumental effort and nobody will ever know. And
here's another thing: It's one thing to voluntarily place oneself under the
handicap of the Q category, but it's quite another to labor under the
additional burden of "80 in 80". I wonder if anyone was able to do it (as Q)
in 2000?

As you will see, the sheer number of phone stations that reached that magic
score of 12,482 in 1999 attests to that many folks have really perfected the
technique. It has gone beyond "Can I do it?" to "How long will it take me?"

In the 1999 CW SS, K8MFO was the only station to succeed. He did it in 8
hours as Unlimited. Wow, that is darned fast. Unbelieveably fast. I can't
imagine having a clean sweep by bedtime.

But during the phone weekend, I counted ten souls who accomplished what may
be the most challenging goal in all of SS. K1OA, an unlimited, took all 24
hours to do it. Another U, W5ZQ, succeeded in 21 hours. There was even a
multiop effort at W4WS that finished in an astonishing 11 hours. N6RT,
deciding to go it alone, made 79/79 as "A" in 24 hours. I salute "A"
stations VE6BIR/VE7 (13 hours), WA1T (12 hours), W3DA (12 hours), and W8PC
(11 hours). And I don't want to gloss over N2MUN's success as a "B" in only
10 hours.

Then, turning to the Ohio section, I saw something that made me fall off my
chair:

K8BL  12,482  79  79  5  U

Incredible. Five hours and you're done. That's it. "Okay, Honey, I finished
my clean sweep... what's for dinner?" Can this feat possibly be achieved in
any less time than that? Can it be done at the 5 Watt power level? By
someone outside of Ohio? On CW? On just one band? Without computer spotting
assistance? Yes, gentlemen, my guess is that only time will tell.

R,

Al W6LX


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