[UK-CONTEST] CQWW CW GW7X SOSB40 HP

[Clive Whelan]

              CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: GW7X
Operator(s): GW3NJW
Station: GW3NJW

Class: SOSB/40 HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 40

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:                    
   80:                    
   40: 1783    25      101
   20:                    
   15:                    
   10:                    
------------------------------
Total: 1783    25      101  Total Score = 349,004

Club: Contest Cambria


Station:
________
TS870S, Alpha 78, 400 watts
W1CF-Butternut hybrid array,212ft inverted vee doublet at 30 ft.
Writelog 10.37B beta ( which performed flawlesly)

Comments:

When KC1XX is weak, you *know* there's a problem!





Well, what can I tell you? Logistically this was my worst effort 
for some time.

It had seemed that there ought to be periods +/- noon, when 1 pt 
rate would be so low, as not to be worth pursuing, and therefore 
some rest, and reasonable feeding arrangement ought to be 
possible. However my dogs, principally Millie the 5 month junior 
of the trio, had other ideas, having been banged up in their 
quarters overnight, with the rest of the time in the shack. Thus 
, snoozing in the chair- at which I am not spectacularly 
successful anyway- was *not* possible at all, with doggy games 
being the order of the weekend in these periods. The result of 
all this was that by about 01:00 Sunday, with cdx to North 
America being a virtual "noise-out", I kept falling asleep at 
the keyboard. In this scenario, my right middle finger descended 
onto the <enter> key and I sent continuous CQs until I woke with 
a start, and realised what was happening! I thus assumed the 
horizontal position, overslept and lost over 2 hours of 
prime-time operating. Perhaps this was not as serious as might 
have been, since as reported above, the A and K indices, had 
already had their evil way with the ionosphere, and anything les 
than a super station was simply not making it across the pond in 
the Westerly direction; KC1XX weak?, oh yes believe it!

To the contrary of the above, I have to be pleased with the 
performance of my very modest antenna system. There was 
generally not a problem in working anybody I called in S&P mode, 
and mostly this could be achieved first call. The exception to 
this was 3G1X who would have been difficult to work from the top 
of the Andes! Also JA on the SP was less than easy through the 
wall of Eu QRM, but having worked one, there was no great merit 
in chasing the 3 points per se. To the contrary, JA sigs on the 
LP, were very loud and easy to work. With ground rising 400 feet 
in less than a mile in that direction ( I am in a hole in the 
ground at about 60ft a.s.l.), this is difficult to rationalise, 
but the fact is undeniable. However there was nary a peep from 
VK or ZL on that heading. In fact it was not until Sunday 
evening, that a couple of VKs called me on the SP, but 
absoludimenda  nada was ever heard from ZL.

Regrets?, There were a few, but then again not too few to 
mention! 6Y4A sending so fast with his QRP in the Eu QRM, that I 
failed to twig it was not BY4A until he sent his zone. Big guns, 
especially HC8N and D44TD asking me to QSY to 80, when I was 
SB40-; where were the rest of you boyos on 80 then? German 
stations asking for my WAB area ( what?), and then wanting to 
know my county. How do you explain to a DL that we don't have 
counties in some of GW anymore, replaced by the catchily named 
unitary authorities. Various stations wanting to know the QSL 
route for GW7X in the middle of a pile up. Actually as QSL 
manager I try to keep this confidential to minimise the burden; 
only joking missus!. Seriously, can anybody explain why people 
still want bits of paper in confirmation in this technological 
era?
What's that you say, *I* irritate the hell out of some folk? 
I'll take that as a compliment then shall I?; I do try.
              
Questions begged:


Rhetorical sub-category


Why is the contest which demands the least from an operator the 
most popular in the calendar?

In my 61st year on this planet, and in view of the above, 
shouldn't I be doing something more challenging?


*Real* category

Oh yes, and how *does* W3LPL do so incredibly well as an M/M 
from their geographically challenged location? Ah think I have 
the answer to this. Watch my fingers, it's because in virtually 
every contest they come and find me in S&P mode, which other big 
gun M/Ms do not necessarily do. What's that , they have mega 
antennas too, hmm I am surprised.
              
              
              
73


Clive
GW3NJW