WAE DX Contest, CW
Call: K1TO
Operator(s):
Station:
Class: SOAB HP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 4+
Summary:
Band QSOs QTCs Mults
-------------------------------
80:
40: 57 54 22
20: 136 136 32
15: 144 144 28
10: 6 6 5
-------------------------------
Total: 343 340 196 = 133,868
Club/Team:
Comments:
At the urging of several EU types, I turned on the rig mid Sunday afternoon.
10 was just barely open and CQing produced only a few pw QSOs. Judging from
K5KG's number on 10 and N2NC's comments about KC1XX, maybe us Floridians did
get a slightly better 10M opening at some point, though. Sunset here in this
part of Florida is 0005Z or so, so 40 was productive in the last hour, but
listening to a noisy 80 was fruitless. S56A was my only 4-bander.
This was my first WAE entry of any type since the 80's and I did not bother to
take the 2 minutes required to figure out how CT sent QTCs, so I sent them all
by hand. "Enjoyed" plugging them in afterward.
This contest must really suck for the Europeans. To run up any kind of score,
they must beg any competent non-EU station for QTCs. That is annoying to both
sides. Then, the QSO volume is just not there for them. I worked a number of
stations on multiple bands and noted how little their QSO number incremented
each time. Most were working less than 20 per hour. Just seems backwards to
me. The US folks should be out en masse supporting the Europeans, since they
do so for us in the ARRL DX Tests!
I join the masses who avoid a serious effort in this, partly due to the rule of
packet being allowed for all SOs. It was obvious when I had been spotted for
the first time on each band as a dozen or so stations suddenly called in. Most
would ask for QTCs, drowning out the next station in line, even though they
knew that others were waiting for the QSO. What a mess.
Another rule that I abhor is forced off time. Whenever that rule is in place,
it automatically dilutes the available QSO base, because there are always
stations who are not on the air, even if they wanted to be. Seems
counter-productive to me. Isn't the point to work as many stations as
possible?? Look at a Sunday afternoon for WAE, a Sunday afternoon for SS, or
the last few hours of an NAQP and you will see the potential for lots more QSOs
thwarted by forced off time.
Noticed an almost total lack of Scandinavians (no doubt due to condx), in
addition to a low southwestern EU turnout that someone else noted previously.
OK, I'm done rambling. See you in the next contest...
73, Dan
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