[RTTY] GU0SUP WAEDC SOABLP

[Phil Cooper]

Hi all..................

Well, I started out with great intentions, but it seems that the Gods of
propagation had other ideas!
I had it in my mind that I would strive for 1000 contacts, and 500 QTC's,
although more QTC's would have been welcomed.
I was also thinking how nice it would have been to be able to list the club
entry as "W0ETC" in his memory, but the rules don't allow for this. I also
spent some time thinking about Bob ZL2AMI and his missing wife, and decided
not to complain too loudly about contest conditions.

After a hard week at work, I decided to get a good sleep on Friday evening,
and then get up early on Saturday morning to work some W/VE and other DX on
80 and 40, making use of the grey-line for best effect.
Oooops! Overslept a little and didn't get going till just after 0600, but
then found that 80 was quiet, and 40 was limited to EU. Oh well.
Went to 20 and exchanged QTC's with as many UA9's as possible, as they were
the only DX about apart from ZC4LI.
By lunchtime, it was becoming apparent that the bands weren't as busy as one
would expect. I guess JIDX and the OK/OM contests took away plenty of the
usual crowd, especially judging by the spots on the cluster.
Went off to do a few chores around lunchtime, and then got back in the
chair, but I had great difficulty in getting a run going, and had a few
bogus spots that showed me CQ'ing when I was S&P.
I also suffered at the hands of a few that like to work you and then call CQ
in your place! That is just as bad as those BIG GUNS that work you and then
move 200Hz away. This wrecked several opportunities for QTC exchanging.

During Saturday evening, not long after our sunset, I went to 40m to see
what EU mults I could pick up, only to find myself working W1/2/3/4 !! What
gives? According to my little grey-line map, this part of the world was
still in daylight.
This also happened on Sunday evening.
By around 2200UTC on Saturday, 20m had closed, 40 was all broadcast noise,
and 80 was hard work, so I called it a night.
Overslept on Sunday as well, but with 341 contacts in the log on the first
day, I decided 1000 wasn't practical, and set my sights on 500.
There was a noticeable upsurge of interest after 1200UTC on Sunday, with
many having finished the OK/OM test, and joining in WAEDC. This meant there
was some "fresh meat" to coerce into exchanging QTC's. Had only a few that
said NO QTC, which is a great improvement over previous years.
Most of my QTC's were Rx'd, as I felt this may be easier for some, and also
I think propagation dictated such.

Highlights/Lowlights:
Lows were definitely the frequency grabbers. I had my nice little run spoilt
on 3 or 4 occasions when one of those noisy big guns just called CQ after
logging me.
Also got a little annoyed with a couple of stations that kept calling me
when I was trying to exchange serial numbers. One or two also took the
report intended for another as one for them. Their hard luck!
And what gives with a few stations sending GU0SUP GU0SUP TU UR 599 031 031
031 QSL? DE XX1XX and then disappearing?

I did have to chuckle when I called one W station. I got GU? GU? AGN, and
after several attempts he got the call. Then I had to repeat the serial
number for him many times. When I got the final QSL QSL, he asked QTC FOR
ME?? Yeah, right!

Highlights were working TU5JM for an all time new one on RTTY! I also
managed a few new band-slots on 40 and 80, which is very pleasing.

Band  QSOs  Pts  QTCs  Mults
------------------------------
   80:   69   69     0   128
   40:   98   98    29   132
   20:  311  311   230   124
   15:  104  104   130    88
   10:   18   18     0    16
------------------------------
Total:  600  600   389   488  Total Score = 482,632

Thanks to all for the fun, contacts and QTC's.
My log is now on LoTW, and I already have one new band-slot confirmed!
Thanks HZ1IK on 40m.!!!

Very best 73,
Phil GU0SUP




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