[UK-CONTEST] CQ WPX SSB G3ZQH SOAB LP

[G3ZQH]

CQWW WPX Contest, SSB
 
Call: G3ZQH
Class: SOAB(TS) LP
QTH: Nottingham, UK
Operating Time (hrs): 28.5

 

Band       QSOs     Pts  WPX

   1.8      11      22    4

   3.5      117     263   69

     7      218     535  124

    14      329     535  199

    21      8       24    6

 Total      683     1379  402

Score: 554,358

 

This is a nice contest for low power/wires since DX mults count the same as
local mults. Last year I just went for max QSOs but this year I decided to
spend more time on 80/40 and work on maximising points. Putting up an inv L
for 80m helped and I used a couple of wire doublets for 40/20/15 + FT1000MP.
My raw score nearly doubled compared with last year in the same operating
time, so I was pleased with the outcome. 

 

A major help was realising that N1MM logger has a very useful offline
bandmap spotting feature that picks up typed-in calls which then appear as
spots when the cluster is switched off.  This allows a nice band map of
calls, including missed mults etc, to be accumulated on the usual S&P sweeps
up and down the bands. Probably those familiar with N1MM are well aware of
this feature, but it was new to me.

 

I managed only a handful of runs on the rare occasions when a small gap
opened up between the mega stations on 20m, and more than 90% QSOs were by
S&P. My best hour was 67 QSOs, but more typically it was 20-30 per hour- not
sure what I can do to improve on this without buying a linear and/or a beam!
It was strange to have 7.1-7.2 almost clear of broadcast stations in the
evening on Sunday- usually it is impossible for my 100W to make much of an
impression on 40m but this time I managed to more than double the QSOs
compared with last year's effort. For me, 40m was transformed as a night
time band and this bodes well for future contests.

 

An oddity of the contest was being thanked by several stations for being a
'new multiplier', not often applied to a common or garden G3! Clearly, this
contest does not attract G3s or possibly they were all behind the mics of
special contest stations?  

 

73 Dave

G3ZQH