[SCCC] WN6K CQWW_CW SOAB LP

[PAUL DOREY]

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW Call: WN6K
Operator(s): WN6K
Station: WN6K Class: SOAB LP
QTH: Vista, CA
Operating Time (hrs): 33 Summary: Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------ 160:    0     0        0 80:   22     8        9 40:  213    19       43 20:  106    19       49 15:  316    27       61 10:  259    23       47
------------------------------
Total:  916    96      209  Total Score = 783,850 Club: Southern California Contest Club Comments: This one was a bit weird - all week prior to the start, 10m had EU stations
popping out and I thought good as this will really help the mult count out -
but then the contest started.  About 4-5 hours in my iPhone APP (3D Sun) beeped
and a quick glance told of TWO CME's bound for earth in the next few hours...
and they were right as I continued to hear the bands get more in a dither. 10m closed way too early as did 15.  Skipping to 40, I found a few workable but
it was a packed house it seemed so I bagged it till the next day. Any long path
attempts were just not there for me or too much echo as to make the outgoing
and incoming hard to copy. Second day and night were better and Sunday was pretty much trying my luck at
the pileups.  Being at 100w, I certainly had to 'clever' at times to be heard.
One thing I continue to notice here is that the 'scourge' of both packet
listing and skimmers bring out the worst in the pileups. Folks would do the
latest 'bad habits' in regular DXing that I have noted - that being just
calling on end so no one could hear the DX and once he actually was heard to
call someone on came another layer of packet spotters. After a while it was
just futile and I would move off and work someone less popular for a while in
the hopes that better fish were in the waters later. Sunday was better than a 'normal contest Sunday I thought as the effects of the
aforementioned CME seemed to have settled a bit and there was plenty of
responders.  While calling CQ to JA area and SA on "BI" on the SteppIR was more
productive and a tap on the 180 would bring up signal if needed. That is a fun
aspect that I am growing to like each contest.  On Sunday afternoon at about
2344 UTC, I heard a 'funny' calling and when I switched to 180 to SA, there was
OL3RDC calling me. He was not a new mult but it was fun to hear someone coming
in from that odd angle.  I took a few seconds to rotate toward EU but nothing
was coming from the direct path...just one of those weird openings that deep SA
had at the moment and he piggy-backed in there. Well that is the last of the Fall Biggies and I was sure hoping for more bigger
hurrah's but that has been the story with Cycle 24.   Thanks to those many fine folk who take their hard earned cash and gear to
travel to places far and near to put on some great efforts so that we back home
can have fun. 73,
PAUL - WN6K DXCC entities worked= 95
Zones = 31
Books Read = 1/8th