CQWW WPX - SSB
Call: P40A
Operator(s): KK9A
Station:
Class: SO(TS)AB LP
QTH: Aruba
Operating Time (hrs): 36
Summary:
Band QSOs Prefixes
-------------------------------
160: 0
80: 45
40: 210
20: 1150
15: 700
10: 2145
-------------------------------
Total: 4250 x 940 = 12,596,000
Club: SOCIETY OF MIDWEST CONTESTERS
Comments:
This was my first attempt at operating the CQ WPX contest as DX. I have done
this contest many times from home and I've operated the ARRL DX contest as DX
many times, so I thought I was ready. I chose Aruba because it's a great
vacation spot and also a great contest spot since it takes advantage of the 3
point U.S. contacts. My fiancee and I went to Aruba a week before the
contest. It was very windy so setting up the antenna was no easy task. I used
a lot of rope and tied the tower to everything solid. Four houses away lives
P49MR. He has a beautiful home on the beach and a large crank up tower. I was
concerned about us interfering with each other during the contest, so I walked
over and introduced myself. He turned out to be a very nice gentleman. He
doesn't rent out his place, so please don't even try. (If you're looking for a
place to rent for a vacation, please drop me an e-mail.) He said that he
didn't really intend to spend much time contesting, he just was going to play
around for a few hours on 10M. My fiancee and I spent the rest of the week
enjoying the beaches shopping, dinning out and even a little windsurfing. I
spent many nights listing the wind blow against the house, sometimes going out
the middle of the night just to see if the antenna was still standing. I found
P40V's house, but he wasn't home. We played a little phone tag, but I never
got to meet this famous contester. I decided to operate SOABLP since I could
never beat P40V with my "Field Day" setup and lack of experience from this
location. I started the contest on 15M, since the contest starts at 8:00pm
local time. I only made about 5 contacts in 3 minutes so I switched to 20M. I
later realized that I should have stuck it out, since my 20M rates weren't any
better Apparently my neighbor was listening to me on 15 and when I left he gave
it a try. I guess with his bigger antenna and higher power he started to
making a lot of contacts on that band. P49MR got the contest bug and couldn't
walk away. He stayed on 15M the whole contest. I stayed on 20M most of the
night with an occasional attempt on 40M and 80M. I didn't have much success on
the low bands with my dipoles and low power. During the day I spent most of my
time on 10M which seemed to work pretty well for me. I would occasionally try
15M but the interference from P49MR made coping stations nearly impossible and
I didn't seem to be attracting a big pileup anyway. I was unhappy with my
rates, but I guess this contest doesn't generate the high rates that the ARRL
DX and CQWW do. I should have S & P'ed a little, as I seem to be low on
multipliers. I had a lot of fun doing the contest and also vacationing in
Aruba. Taking down the antennas were easier that putting them up, although
everything had to be washed. There was a heavy coating of salt spray on
everything. I should be back in October for CQ WW! This time a little
stronger, hopefully. QSL via WD9DZV.
73,
John
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/3830
Submissions: 3830@contesting.com
Administrative requests: 3830-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-3830@contesting.com
|