[CQ-Contest] Running

[lstoskopf at cox.net]

A note on this from a 76 year old that has been licensed since 1954.  I have a dream station...on a hill...isolated...except for some bad power line noise that popped up during the ARRL Phone.  Simple set up, but I almost always can crack a pile first or second call and this is from Kansas.  I often get a comment on my signal strength and occasionally a question about the band being open to zero land yet.

But when I try to run I get a pile of S3 JA's or Eu stations and I get frustrated that I can't sort them out.  Same happened when I had an hour on Ducie a year or so before the last big DXpedeiton.  My then rig RX just collapsed as did my nerves and I only worked a hundred or so contacts before I had to leave. (Story on that was in World Radio August 2007).

So I'm happy to work the contests on the high bands S&P with some help from DXSummit.  300 hundred or so contacts to far away places and I  usually run out of guys calling CQ.  But each contact is a thrill, especially when I beat out K3LR or such in a pile.

So message is: Each contest has it's own identity and not all of us are trying for first.  These are contests, but to some a great activity weekend.  Not much of a message, but rave on.....

N0UU