[NLRS] K0AWU Contest report from EN37ed

[cqbilld at q.com]

Well it is June and the 6m Es season was overdue. You all know that 6m is not my band, my call isn't xxSIX, :-) So when one is given a juicy lemon, you make lemon aid. 

My contest ideal, is weak distant signals with rolling tropo enhancement and GOOD activity on 50Hmz - GHZ with perhaps a bit of Es tossed in, briefly. Those conditions make QSOs end with a smile... "cool", "neat", "wow". Those 5-9+20 6m Es QSOs end up with "Holy Crap how many signals this loud this close together can occupy the front end of my K3 anyway?" Of course looking at the SoftRock based panadapter hanging off the K3 I know that answer, LOTS. 

So 6m I worked ..... all the time watching 144.170-144.245 on the SoftRock 2m panadapter hanging off the 2m Gasfet preamp ahead of the TS-2000 and hoping for activity HIGHER 

6m -- 411 QSOs -- 175 grids 
2m -- 38 QSOs -- 17 grids 
222 -- 11 QSOs -- 8 grids 
432 -- 20 QSOs -- 12 grids 
902 -- 2 QSO -- 1 grid 
1296 -- 4 QSOs -- 4 grids 
10Ghz -- 3 QSOs -- 2 grids 

489 QSOs 219grids 118,479points 

The 6m grid count was the highest number I have ever logged during a contest. On the other hand, here the NUMBER of stations worked from these grids was 1/3 less than the 2006 event. I try to keep CQ strings here to a minimum, to reduce the TVI complaints from my one obnoxious neighbor. I did run 3 short strings, one when the band extended into New England instead of the deep south or out west. Very interesting collection of grids, a quick look seems to indicate about 12 unconfirmed 6m grids virtually all to the west. On Saturday 6m allowed QSOs with Bill K0HA, Larry N0LL etc from not that far away, looked like "maybe" ... but the muf fell short here. 

I'm not sure of conditions... never heard any VEs, or stations to the west other than Ray N0UY . Bob K2DRH was worked, but only heard during our sked. WB0YWW was heard often, well and worked on 2m from EN25. He must have a fine station given how he rolls in here, that is a horrid direction for me. 

My thanks to the rovers, K9MU, WA0VPJ, KA0IYT, KC0P and N0HZO. Good signals from each rover. Mel and Carol even bowled me over with a 10Ghz SSB QSO from EN36. This was not a RRV SSB qso... this was looking into high hills across the lake and S1 SSB... the "cool", "wow" type :-) 

Thanks to Jim K0MHC that I caught off 6m backstatter and then he offered to run the bands, which we did, with booming signals. The best I have ever heard from him on 432 for sure. K0W in EN38 was worked on 6,2 and 432 even. (They said a very small antenna, hummmm) Thanks John, Justin and gang for bringing activity north! 

All and all a fun contest .... My 2nd highest ever contest score 

73 Bill K0AWU EN37ed