[NCC] 7J1AAI (W1NN) WPX CW

[Hal Offutt]

I don't recall working any MRRC or NCC members, but the midwest/eastern US 
is not the easiest place to work from JA on 40.


                    CQWW WPX Contest, CW

Call: 7J1AAI
Operator(s): W1NN
Station: JH1GTV

Class: SOSB40 HP
QTH: Tokyo
Operating Time (hrs): 14

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:
   80:
   40:  610
   20:
   15:
   10:
------------
Total:  610  Prefixes = 372  Total Score = 1,045,320

Club: North Coast Contesters

Comments:

Operated for 13 hours straight beginning at 5 PM local Saturday night (0800
zulu) and ending before 7 AM Sunday morning when Europe could no longer be
worked.  I do not operate WPX very often and am not so familiar with 
conditions
at this time of the year but conditions were a lot better than I expected, 
both
to North America and to Europe, and were just as good as in ARRL CW in
February.

Japan is roughly the same distance from the US and Europe and on 40 the band 
is
open for about the same number of hours to each area.  Shortly after the 
last
West Coast station is worked (around midnight Japan time), European Russia
starts coming in, so you keep pretty busy throughout the night.  I think I 
had
a similar number of EU 6-pointers as I did NA 6-pointers, possibly more. 
Not
as many 1-pointers as I expected.  Happily this should result in fewer QSLs,
but it may not be such a good sign about the level of interest in contesting
here in Japan.

The first couple of hours were a little frustrating as I was both learning 
how
to use the N1MM software and learning how to use the new K3.  The K3 is
wonderful.  N1MM is amazing but anything that needs a 375 page manual could 
be
considered to be a little overly complex, at least to this simple-minded 
sole.
I think I still prefer NA.

Thanks again to Shige Ohsawa JH1GTV for the use of his fine station.

73,

Hal W1NN