I should have looked at the Oceania SOAB record before taking four hours off. I essentially tied the record, although my score will drop some after log checking. Oh well, there is always next year!
CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
Call: NH2T
Operator(s): N2NL
Station: N2NL
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: Guam
Operating Time (hrs): 44
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
——————————
160: 179 19 31
80: 664 27 57
40: 977 34 90
20: 1234 35 84
15: 1387 31 79
10: 486 18 25
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Total: 4927 164 366 Total Score = 7,634,650
Club: Florida Contest Group
Comments:
Spiderbeam @ 34ft
40m dipole @ 50ft
40/20/15m vertical (for SO2R)
80/160m inv-L/TEE (52ft vertical)
1000ft Beverages NE (NA) and NW (EU/JA)
What a contest! Tons of fun – it was great to work many friends around the world. Multipliers are always difficult from the Pacific, so my goal was to run, run, and run some more. This was a new personal QSO best for me in a CW contest.
Conditions were good, however the low bands were a challenge being so far from Europe. I really feel for the gentleman in Hawaii and Phil FO8RZ – where the challenge must be exponentially greater. Great stateside runs on all but 10m, where no one on Guam even heard a single station in NA all weekend.
Europe continues to be difficult to work, with short windows of peak conditions. For many hours on the low bands I sat and listened to loud EU stations working each other, yet got a CQ in the face when called. I took 17-19z off both days, the middle of the night here and a good chance to take a shower and get horizontal for a few minutes. Europe was loud on 160 through 40 at this time but were completely unworkable since it was early evening there and they were busy working each other. Low band EU run from Guam: Find a hole, CQ until spotted, quick burst of QSOs, frequency gets taken by someone in EU working other EU, find a new frequency and repeat. There were a bunch of would-be multipliers, at least 10, that I called on 80 who simply did not hear me. The Beverages are a pleasure to have – but at times I feel I hear too well, if that is possible.
In 1998-2000 when I was last on Guam, I made 36,000 QSOs. Since my return in June of this year, I have already made 25,000. I’m having a blast, and it’s great to get on the air from the Western Pacific.
Great job to the single ops in Oceania – FO8RZ, KH6ZN(N6AA), KH7X(KH6ND?), and those in New Zealand and Australia. I heard you guys making QSOs everywhere all weekend – what fun!
I’ll be poking around in the ARRL 160 and 10m contests as KH2/N2NL, trying to wrap up 9BWAS from Guam. See you on the bands, and Happy Holidays!
73, Dave N2NL