CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW - 2023
Call: P44W
Operator(s): W2GD
Station: P44W
Class: SO(A)AB HP
QTH: Aruba
Operating Time (hrs): 39.5
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 88 11 23
80: 449 17 80
40: 883 32 112
20: 941 36 116
15: 1280 35 120
10: 2009 36 125
------------------------------
Total: 5650 167 576 Total Score = 12,402,899
Club: Frankford Radio Club
Comments:
Station Information:
K3S, MLA2500 Amplifier ~850W
Win-Test 4.49 Software
160m Vertical Dipole
160m Inverted V
80m 3el wire beam (EU)
80m inverted V
40m 4el wire beam (EU)
40m 2el F12 Delta 240
Skyhawk Triband Beam
F12 C3 Triband Beam
Beverage RX antennas NE, N/S, NW, E/W
Comments:
Upon arrival Tuesday afternoon the top priority was to complete refurbishing the
tower which was partially demolished in August by adding a Skyhawk triband at 60
feet. Tuesday afternoon prep tasks were completed, in particular installing the
hoisting rope on the mast and laying out beam parts for assembly the following
day. In the shack the rotator cables were reconnected and preliminary station
setup completed. One rotor controller came up dead and replaced. Antenna tests
indicated all but the 40 meter wire beam were functioning as expected. Beverage
tests were inconclusive.
The assembly of the Skyhawk and it's installation took place over a seven hour
period Wednesday. I was fortunate to have the assistance of Mike, N7MH, who
helped me in assembling the beam piece parts on a brutally hot day with little
or no wind. Late in the afternoon the remainder of P40L M/S Team (W6LD and
WE9V) joined us to raise the antenna, completing the task near sunset. Testing
of the beam was successful, all SWR curves were as predicted, and the rotor was
working properly. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Again special thanks to the P40L TEAM!
Later that evening managed to get in 30 minutes of testing time during the 0300
CWT.
On Thursday made adjustments to the 4 ele 40m and 3 ele 80m wire beams, and
repaired three of the four beverage antennas I'd found damaged upon closer
examination. The driven element on the 40m wire beam was broken at the
feedpoint, an easy fix. Limited on the air tests of the Skyhawk with
comparisons against the backup C3S during rest breaks were encouraging.
Limited all physical activity on Friday - just did some shack cleanup and
arranging, testing the amplifier, and some additional antenna testing. Local
noise sources were identified, particularly toward the US/JA. The continuing
encroachment of new housing and more dirty consumer electronics is complicating
my ability to hear weaker stations. Managed a five hour nap period in the
afternoon after stocking up on 'contest food'.
Given the enhanced conditions I debated on which band to start and 15 meters won
out although perhaps 10 meters would have been an acceptable choice too. At the
beginning of the contest conditions were still very good but this would change
soon enough as the solar storm took hold.
Looking back over the first 12 hours I simply did too much DXing and not enough
aggressive running. Had pre-planned to do regular sweeps for multipliers but I
simply over did it in deference to rate. The biggest disappointment the first
night was 160 meters where signals were very weak and for the most part
unworkable. It was maddening both nights to see the 160 band map full of EU
multipliers that were inaudible at my location. 160 condx improved somewhat on
night two but high absorption plagued all stations relatively near the equator.
80m was just "OK" and in general 40 seemed 'off' compared to 2022.
Didn't feel tired at EU sunrise so opted to take a 45 minute 'nap' and power
through until 0600 the following day. All of the exercise from putting station
building and prep didn't seem to have a huge impact.
Ten meters was the strongest band of all this weekend and hope to enjoy this
trend for the next few years. Always a thrill to be able to readily work the
deep Asian and Oceania zones. Hours and hours of running both mornings but it
seemed Saturday was much deeper than Sunday. 15 meters was the strong band on
Sunday since it had been largely ignored the day before. Daytime 20m was the
weakest daylight band (absorption), but did have a strong evening opening to EU.
Fell somewhat short of my score goals this time but happy the station is back
together and the rebuilt antennas perform as I'd hoped. Should be good to go for
a few more years. Enjoyed pre and post contest dinners with my P40L neighbors -
they're M/S entry was a home run.
Special thanks to the 45 of you who made it into the log on six bands, and
another 98 on five. This doesn't happen by accident. VFB!
Congratulations to those operators who are using advanced 2SBIQ and SO2R/SO2V
techniques to earn amazing scores (in particular this time N6MJ, KL9A, N2NT,
W2SC, EA8RM, AA3B, N5DX, K5GN, CT1ILT, RA3CO, and others). I remain in awe of
what you are doing. The nice thing about contesting and particularly the
contests sponsored by CQ Magazine, there are entry class opportunities to fit
the competitive abilities of all participants, both young and "older",
really something for everyone.
Hope to return to Aruba for this one again next fall. CQWW CW will always be
the BIG ONE for me.
73,
John, W2GD/P40W/P44W
-------------- Q S O R a t e S u m m a r y ---------------------
Hour 160 80 40 20 15 10 Rate Total Pct
--------------------------------------------------------------------
0000 0 0 0 0 198 1 199 199 3.5
0100 0 0 0 130 84 0 214 413 7.3
0200 0 0 0 235 0 0 235 648 11.5
0300 0 93 34 19 0 0 146 794 14.0
0400 22 75 11 0 0 0 108 902 16.0
0500 1 16 137 0 0 0 154 1056 18.7
0600 31 15 80 0 0 0 126 1182 20.9
0700 1 77 29 8 1 0 116 1298 23.0
0800 3 1 34 46 1 0 85 1383 24.5
0900 0 0 38 45 0 0 83 1466 25.9
1000 0 0 5 1 76 1 83 1549 27.4
1100 0 0 0 0 6 157 163 1712 30.3
1200 0 0 0 0 0 172 172 1884 33.3
1300 0 0 0 0 0 150 150 2034 36.0
1400 0 0 0 0 0 176 176 2210 39.1
1500 0 0 0 0 0 180 180 2390 42.3
1600 0 0 0 0 60 68 128 2518 44.5
1700 0 0 0 0 116 6 122 2640 46.7
1800 0 0 0 0 0 196 196 2836 50.2
1900 0 0 0 113 0 13 126 2962 52.4
2000 0 0 0 0 0 217 217 3179 56.2
2100 0 0 0 0 0 172 172 3351 59.3
2200 0 0 6 73 9 3 91 3442 60.9
2300 0 0 2 123 1 1 127 3569 63.1
0000 0 0 143 0 1 0 144 3713 65.7
0100 14 26 24 0 0 0 64 3777 66.8
0200 0 0 153 2 0 0 155 3932 69.5
0300 13 46 78 0 0 0 137 4069 72.0
0400 0 69 35 1 0 0 105 4174 73.8
0500 3 23 46 1 0 0 73 4247 75.1
0600 0 8 10 0 1 0 19 4266 75.5
0700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4266 75.5
0800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4266 75.5
0900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4266 75.5
1000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4266 75.5
1100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4266 75.5
1200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4266 75.5
1300 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 4286 75.8
1400 0 0 0 0 8 95 103 4389 77.6
1500 0 0 0 1 4 96 101 4490 79.4
1600 0 0 0 3 0 134 137 4627 81.8
1700 0 0 0 1 98 53 152 4779 84.5
1800 0 0 0 2 140 0 142 4921 87.0
1900 0 0 0 0 177 0 177 5098 90.2
2000 0 0 0 4 136 3 143 5241 92.7
2100 0 0 0 54 138 0 192 5433 96.1
2200 0 0 1 79 1 48 129 5562 98.4
2300 0 0 17 0 25 50 92 5654 100.0
------------------------------------------------------
Total 88 449 883 941 1281 2012 5654
Unique callsigns worked = 3444
The best 60 minute rate was 251/hour from 0132 to 0231
The best 30 minute rate was 274/hour from 0132 to 0201
The best 10 minute rate was 306/hour from 0148 to 0157
The following stations were worked on 6 bands:
W2CG KC1XX KU2C NF3R WY3A K3PP
K9CT K3NM W3LPL N4RV N2AA K3LR
K3OO NU4E NJ4P P40L K1LZ TI7W
V26K CN3A K5TR N6FS K5UR K1TTT
K2AX HQ9X PJ2T 8P5A TO7A NY3A
K0RF AA9A N4WW D4C WG3J P33W
W2FU CR3W V47T W8FJ NR4M K1ZZ
AB2E/VP9 ED1R
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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