Georgia QSO Party - 2023
Call: AA4LR
Operator(s): AA4LR
Station: AA4LR
Class: Single OpMixed LP
QTH: Warren
Operating Time (hrs): 15
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs
--------------------
160: 0
80: 97 26
40: 204 134
20: 172 221
15: 8 4
10: 0
6:
--------------------
Total: 481 385 CW Mults = 49 Ph Mults = 48 Total Score = 130,659
Club: South East Contest Club
Comments:
Antennas:
80/40/20m trap dipole at 8-12m high
160m inverted U fed against fence rail
Equipment:
Elecraft K3/100 with KAT3 running 100 watts
Comments:
Another personal-best GA QSO Party performance. This one beat last year by just
a few hundred points. Hopefully, it may be enough to secure the Georgia
Low-Power Mixed plaque for the second year.
Being in Warren county this year, I had expected to be more like rare DX. Warren
county only boasts about five ham radio operators, and all of them are
Technician class.
Conditions were good, but not great. I don't think they were quite as good as
last year, although conditions on 20m were short most of the day, not much was
happening on 15m. This contest was pretty much entirely fought out on 20 and
40m.
I managed to operate 15 hours - 10 hours Saturday, and the last 5 hours on
Sunday. Scheduling a contest the same weekend as Easter really limits operating
time on Sunday. I operated continuously with a few short breaks.
The first couple of hours went really quickly, with the last 10 meter hitting
well over 200 on CW, and later 300 on phone. The rest of the contest was just a
search for rate -- choose a band/mode, call CQ until the rate drops, then try
somewhere else.
Saturday ended 671 Qs and 93 mults, just one point shy of 97,000 on the score.
It was a good start, with more multipliers than I had gotten last year (91). I'd
worked 45 of 50 states, missing only HI, AK, MT, UT and WY.
Sunday I was back on right around 3 PM local. It was much harder to make
contacts and this resulted in many more band/mode changes. I tried to be on 20
and 15m more, trying to find some of the western mults. I managed to find four,
which completely surprised me. Still missed HI, AK, UT and WY entirely, plus a
handful of provinces.
All in all, I think I got the mix of CW / Phone about right. CW is worth more,
but Phone brings mults, and the rate can be faster.
Special shout-out to three DX stations who seemed to be everywhere: OM2VL, by
far, was everywhere, and worked me on seven band/mode combinations. DL3DXX
worked me on four bands on CW, and HC5DX worked me on three bands on Phone. I
believe he also worked my brother, operating N4L on 10m Phone, and I briefly
called CQ up there hoping to snag a contact. These guys have a lot of enthusiasm
for the Georgia QSO Party.
There were several special moments. One fellow on 40m told me I was his first HF
contact! I was also so amused to see Jeff, KU8E spotted on 40m phone that I had
to work him. I kidded Jeff that I didn't know he owned a microphone.
Antennas in Warren county were minimal -- just wires strung in the trees. It's
the same dipole I used last year from Fulton county, but not quite as high.
A really good outing in the GA QSO Party. I had hoped to break 1000 Qs, but
conditions weren't quite right. Perhaps next year.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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