[SCCC] W6PH CQWW SSB SOABHP

[W6ph at aol.com]

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB

Call: W6PH
Operator(s): W6PH
Station: W6PH

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: Lone Pine CA
Operating Time (hrs): 37 hours

Summary:
Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
---------------------------------------------
160:    5     3        3
80:   58    17       29
40:  214    27       78
20:  300    30       89
15:  497    35      105
10:  700    29       96
------------------------------------------
Total: 1774   141      400  Total Score = 2,695,262

Equipment:  IC-781 AL-1200  CT9-DOS  (No voice keyer)

Permanent antenna:  A3S at 45 feet 
Temporary antennas:
AB-577 #1 40-2CD with 10m 3el yagi on single boom, 80m sloper
AB-577 #2 20m 3el yagi, 80m sloper
AB-577 #3 15m 5el yagi (N8SM design)
MA-160V

Band notes:

160m No activity to speak of.  Just grabbed a couple contacts for mults.
80m  Sounded like 160m last year.  Only Caribbean and Pacific worked.
40m  Signals weaker than last year.  A lot of stations crowded into the US
phone segment and fewer split contacts.  Fewer JA stations worked.
20m  Great polar path into central Asia at night with lots of loud signals. 
Less crowded because of the great conditions on 15 and 10.
15m  Just a great band.  Opened early to Europe and stayed open until 02 
UTC.
10m  Stations all the way to 29 MHz.  I didn't hear any zone 16 nor 
LA-SM-OH.
The band conditons were better the week before. I finally got to use a 
monoband
yagi after it had been on the ground for the last 10 years.  

I missed a DXCC on 10m due to the lack of northern Europe propagation.  But 
I
almost got WAS from all the US stations that answered my CQs on 10 meters.

All my monobanders were on the ground after being used at the K6Z CQP 
location.
I put them back together on Monday and raised them on Tuesday which turned 
out
to be a good decision as it was very windy on Wednesday and Thursday, the 
days
that I usually raise them.  The other days were spent putting out the feed
lines and setting up the station.  I couldn't get an outboard voice keyer
working on Friday, so all transmissions were live.  That lowered my 
incentive
to call CQ.  I will lower the antennas after SS CW next weekend.

There is a lot of satisfaction in putting together a station myself and
operating it.  My plan was to have an enjoyable weekend and that was
accomplished.  I am looking forward to the CW weekend.
 
After the contest my wife and I went over to the cabin where N6WIN was 
staying for the weekend and we had dinner with Tim and his wife.  He had done 
some limited operating with his K3 and a 2 element tribander that was a 
modification of an A3S.  It was a nice time with several Pacificos pushed my way.

73, Kurt, W6PH