CQ Worldwide VHF Contest
Call: N0URW
Operator(s): N0URW
Station: N0URW
Class: SOAB HP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 403 167
2: 37 23
-------------------
Total: 440 190 Total Score = 90,630
Club:
Comments:
What can I say about this years test ?
Sometimes it was awesome, sometimes it was not so awesome.
I ran SSB mode only this test. No cw or FT-8
I have been working on a 9 element 6 meter yagi I designed and built a couple
years ago. It worked really good, but I thought I could make it work even
better. So I changed the boom length from 62 feet to 64 feet. Then moved all the
elements to new locations. I mounted it on the tower Friday afternoon before the
test. These vhf contests are a great way for me to test a new antenna design.
At contest start time Saturday, I started out bouncing between both bands. A
whopping 8 Q's in the first 2 hours. This is so not good I thought.
Then at 20:00, 6 meters opened to the East. FN and FM Land.
It wasn't a really big opening, but it was enough to keep me busy.
Around 21:00 EA8BPX in IL18 (the Canary islands) answers my cq.
That was a first for me. 15 minutes later 6 meters went crazy.
Stations in all directions were booming in.
Talk about weird.
I would work two in Arizona, two in Florida, 4 in New York, one or two in Texas
and so on.
Nothing was wide spread in any one area. I never new where the next contact was
coming from. But they just kept coming and it was a blast.
There would be short spurts where multiple stations were heard from different
directions for 15 to 20 minutes, then nothing for 15 to 20 minutes. It kept this
up until 02:15 UTC. Then like a switch was flipped off. It was gone. I worked a
few locals and that was it for Saturday
Sunday started out slow, While on 2 meters I made a contact to Tenn. This lead
to a contact in Alabama. Only a couple more contacts made to the South.
Then around 13:30, 6 meters opened up from Florida to Conn. This was much better
than on Saturday. Strongest signals were coming in from the SE. This lasted
until around 18:30. Then it was a slug fest to the end bouncing between both
bands. Thank goodness for the rovers towards the end that really helped my 2
meter score.
All in all, I had a blast. The 6 meter beam worked great.
I can't comment on FT-8 one way or the other. I didn't use it.
Maybe in a few more years when all the bugs get worked out, and it becomes a
staple in contesting.
Until we meet again, 73, N0URW
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