[CQ-Contest] W7RM (KK7GW op) SS CW story (long)
David Jones
kk7gw at yahoo.com
Tue Nov 7 23:57:13 EST 2000
Well, this was certainly an interesting weekend. I had called Rush W7RM about
doing SS CW again and he had said yes, but it would have to be low power
because of a couple amp problems. I was fine with that, it would be a station,
and maybe I could do well.
Anyway, hopped on the train and got to the station Friday evening, set up the
computer, paddle, keying interface, etc.
Worked a few guys on 40, then went to bed for a good night's sleep.
Got up around 1500z and checked the bands, was somewhat disturbed to see a CME
had hit and the K went up to 4, but was hoping for a good Sunday.
Had a good time talking to some of the big guns before the test started, then
with about 20 mins left got my freq and started getting ready.
Off to the races on 10m at 2100z, I just sat and ran for the first hour,
racking up a nice 97 hour LP, which tied my first hour last year HP, and I
thought 'gee, this might be good after all.'
Lost my freq to a HP 6 station soon after, and got on a new one. Rate dropped
off a bit to 79 in the 2nd hour, and lower to 71 in the third hour as I
switched down from 10 early, gambling that I would make it up on Sunday with
better condx.
Went to 15 at 2315z, about 45 mins earlier than last year. 15m had been a
problem to me before the test started, with some wiring problems, which Rush
fixed, but I never did feel good about 15 all weekend.
Lots of mults kept calling in, and I was still feeling fairly good, until
around 0030z when I had no callers for 5 mins and went to S&P. Rate dropped
off a lot, and I finished the hour with 58. Unhappy with that, I made the
switch to 20 much much earlier than usual at 0058z, again, knowing that I would
be loud on 20/40 and hoping I could offset the slow rates on 15.
Got on a real good freq and ran for a couple hours, with 71 and 63 hours in 01
and 02z. Took a 30 min break at 0256z-0326z, and hopped to 40. Rate was ok,
31 for the last 34 mins of 03z, and 43 for the next hour, but I wasn't that
happy with it. Run dropped off around 06z and I went to 80, hoping the
4-square would be loud. I was loud all right, just not where I needed to be,
in retrospect, I should have used the wire bi-square instead of the 4 square.
Bounced back and forth between 40 and 80 the rest of the night until 0904z,
rates bouncing as well. I went to bed at 0904z with 660 q's in the log and 77
sections, missing VE6, VO1, VY1.
Got up at 1513z and S&P'd 20 for a bit, and the bands sounded much better. I
quickly went up to 15 for a quick run, then up to 10 at 1543z. My gamble sort
of paid off, as I was treated to a solid Sunday on 10 with rates averaging
about 40/hour until 2100z. Picked up VE6 and VO1, but still missing VY1JA
despite looking all over both Saturday and Sunday.
Rate died out around 2100z, and the real doldrums began. I hopped between 10
15 and 20, trying to get something going somehow. Then around 0000z this huge
s7 atmospheric noise came up on 20 and 15, and s5 on 10. No antenna switching
helped, and it sure wasn't line noise, it was just static crashes, probably
from the storm that was nearby. This really hurt me, as I just could not pull
out the weak guys at all. Finally ended the test with 1045 q's after dupes,
and still missing VY1.
Overall I felt kind of mixed. It was my first serious contest effort since WPX
SSB, and first CW test in a looooong time. My weak signal work was fairly
good, although digging out weak stations that call you 200 hz off so you have
to tune into the 599+20 QRM CQ'ing next to you is tough.
General thoughts, I ended with 459 q's on 10, far more than anyone I've seen so
far. Did I stay on 10 too long? I'm still not sure. I never felt that 15 was
good for me, I kept trying to get something going and never really getting
anything. I kept getting chased off my freq, and just never felt 'right'
there.
Not bad for a comeback test I guess, hoping to do better in SS SSB here in a
couple weeks, back at W7RM. Dunno if I'll be HP or not, still to be decided.
A big thanks to all who worked me, and great scores all around, HP, LP, QRP,
Unlimited, MO, School, all great scores.
Look for me in SS SSB, and still looking for a station in the Seattle area for
WW CW if anyone's got one :)
Rate sheet and distribution below:
HOUR 80CW 40CW 20CW 15CW 10CW TOTAL ACCUM
---- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ----- -----
21 0 0 0 0 97 97 97
22 0 0 0 0 79 79 176
23 0 0 0 60 11 71 247
0 0 0 1 57 0 58 305
1 0 0 71 0 0 71 376
2 0 0 63 0 0 63 439
3 0 31 1 0 0 32 471
4 0 43 0 0 0 43 514
5 9 32 1 0 0 42 556
6 23 0 0 0 0 23 579
7 26 13 0 0 0 39 618
8 16 16 0 0 0 32 650
9 0 3 0 0 0 3 653
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 653
11 0 0 0 0 0 0 653
12 0 0 0 0 0 0 653
13 0 0 0 0 0 0 653
14 0 0 0 0 0 0 653
15 0 0 11 11 12 34 687
16 0 0 0 0 33 33 720
17 0 0 0 0 45 45 765
18 0 0 0 0 43 43 808
19 0 0 0 0 45 45 853
20 0 0 0 0 38 38 891
21 0 0 0 0 32 32 923
22 0 0 10 2 18 30 953
23 0 0 2 21 6 29 982
0 0 0 23 0 0 23 1005
1 0 12 5 0 0 17 1022
2 0 18 5 0 0 23 1045
TOTAL 74 168 193 151 459
1. Il 48
2. Mdc 47
3. Mi 41
4. Mn 41
5. Oh 37
6. Va 36
7. STx 32
8. In 28
9. NTx 28
10. Scv 28
11. Ep 25
12. NNj 24
13. Wi 24
14. Em 24
15. WNy 23
16. Nc 23
17. Tn 22
18. Co 21
19. WWa 21
20. Az 19
21. Eb 19
22. Nh 17
23. Mo 16
24. Sv 15
25. Org 15
26. Ga 14
27. ENy 14
28. Ok 13
29. Or 13
30. Ut 13
31. Ky 12
32. NFl 12
33. Sdg 12
34. Ks 11
35. SFl 11
36. Ct 11
37. Lax 11
38. La 10
39. NLi 10
40. Al 9
41. SNj 9
42. WcF 9
43. On 9
44. Ia 9
45. Id 9
46. Sf 9
47. Sjv 8
48. WMa 8
49. Ne 8
50. Bc 8
51. Nm 7
52. Me 7
53. Wv 7
54. Vt 6
55. Sb 6
56. Ar 6
57. WPa 6
58. Pac 5
59. Ms 5
60. De 5
61. Ri 5
62. NNy 5
63. Vi 4
64. Sc 4
65. Ew 4
66. Sd 3
67. Sk 3
68. Nv 3
69. Mt 3
70. Ak 2
71. WTx 2
72. Mb 2
73. Mar 2
74. Qc 2
75. Wy 1
76. Nd 1
77. Pr 1
78. Nl 1
79. Ab 1
73
=====
David Jones, KK7GW
kk7gw at yahoo.com
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