CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW - 2023
Call: OX7AM
Operator(s): OZ7AM
Station: OX7AM
Class: SO(A)AB HP
QTH: Kangerlussuaq
Operating Time (hrs): 48
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 29 6 10
80: 137 14 35
40: 988 25 77
20: 1028 29 93
15: 1017 25 99
10: 958 24 94
------------------------------
Total: 4157 123 408 Total Score = 5,498,505
Club: Bavarian Contest Club
Comments:
What a weekend!
I usually say there's three things to do up here on the mountain in
Kangerlussuaq:
1. Work the radio (duh, that's why we go)
2. Do Aurora photography when the radio is dead.
3. Get drunk (when 2. is in effect but it's overcast)
This was my 7th contest from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Over the years I've
learned a lot about what can and can't be done up here.
A G2 class magnetic storm hit us Saturday morning, rendering all bands quiet for
at least and hour. People don't believe me when I tell them this, but it is
true.
In the Arctic, even very minor radio blackouts mean the death of your QSO rate.
Some CQWWs have been pure agony. Fighting for every single QSO. This time it was
different.
I had a reasonable start on 20 and then mo. Being in OX is great fun, but the
first night of the contest is always painful. Up here I'm limited to fairly
simple antennas. A Hexbeam for 20-15-10 which sits here permanently. Then comes
my own 2 element array for 40 that I put up and take down when I go here, and
finally a shunted tower for 160 and 80. All this is great -- I have absolutely
zero man-made noise to go with it. The biggest issue is that the slightest
disturbance to the geomagnetic field can wipe everything out and leave me with a
completely dead receiver until it blows over. Sometimes it takes an hour --
sometimes a week for condx to recover.
This time it happened 8 hours into the contest. The K-index climbed to 4, 5 and
finally 6. It looked like I was gonna spend the weekend taking pictures of the
aurora rather than break any records. I was in a cranky mood and the other guys
did their best to cheer me up but to no avail. Eventually all the bands died and
I spent an hour just sitting there watching the entirely empty band scope. I
said to myself "that's it! I'm never doing this sh1t again!". But lo
and behold...
Despite the high K, the bands came alive. Even 80 and topband delievered a tiny
bit. But therein lies my greatest weakness. It will require a small miracle for
the sun to stay quiet enough for good results on the low bands, while active
enough for the high bands to be good. There's always a tradeoff and this time
was no exception. I got great rates on 20, 15 and 10. Somewhat on 40 but 80 and
160 were never really good -- which the summary refelcts.
I was surprised to see the bands come alive again. I think the high SFI helped
me through the storm. I enjoyed being able to hunt mults for the first time
ever. Usually no one can here me up here. I hear absolutely everything because
of the low noise. On the low bands: A rule of thumb is that stations have to be
S9 or stronger if I'm to expect them to come back to my call in the contest.
This time this figure had changed to S5. Amazing!
I had some massive and never ending pileups on 10 and 15. Rates between 150-200
Qs/hr is nothing for seasoned contesters in prime locations, but for me it's
great fun! And that's what this is about. I will never win anything by going to
OX for contesting. But, I will have fun in the cold and dark, and perhaps make a
few thousand people happy with a double mult. So there we have it -- that's why
I'll keep doing it. Someone has to!
CU in 2024! (And ARRL DX CW in a few months)
/Alex, O(/X)7AM
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|