[NLRS] CQWW VHF Contest Results for N0AKC

[Charlie Betz]

  BAND   QSO  LOC  POINTS
------------------------------------
    50       167   105     167
   144        32     26      64
------------------------------------
TOTAL   199    131     231
====================================
TOTAL SCORE : 30 261


This is far and away the biggest effort I have put into the CQWW VHF 
contest and the highest score I've attained to date.

At the start of the contest I looked for activity on 6M SSB and there 
was some, but it didn't seem like all that much, so I only ended up 
making 3 SSB QSOS.  The other 164 Qs were on FT8.  All of the 2M 
contacts were FT8 as well.  I just never found much activity on 2M SSB, 
although granted I didn't sit and call CQ on phone there either.

Bruce - I called for you several times on 144.240 (same thing with N9TTX 
on 144.220) and was never able to get a response from you.  We did work 
a number of times on 6M FT8 and those contacts were very easy (compared 
to how hard it always seems to be on SSB or CW). Wish we could have 
worked some on 2M.

Yes, FT8 is much slower for making contacts (unless you are struggling 
with very weak SSB/CW signals) and I'm sure it's not the easiest thing 
to do as a rover (especially not for a mobile team like Bruce & Janice), 
but I just find it so much easier to work others there.  The other thing 
I find is it is much easier to work grids out in what I refer to as "no 
man's land", which I define as too far away for normal groundwave 
contacts and too close for Es.  I rarely ever worked those grids on phone.

I agree, the advent of digital modes makes contesting a whole lot 
different from what it used to be, but FT8 is a mode that I have really 
grown to like.
Beyond that I don't what more to say about it.

Charlie, N0AKC
EN44gu Eau Claire, WI