[PVRCNC] FW: SS SSB K4CZ SO Unlimited HP

[Barry Baker, K4CZ]

                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB

Call: K4CZ
Operator(s): K4CZ
Station: K4CZ

Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: Durham, NC
Operating Time (hrs): 17

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:  501
   40:  162
   20:  107
   15:    0
   10:    0
------------
Total:  770  Sections = 75  Total Score = 115,500

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:


My score was below last year (115,500 vs. 134,080) but I achieved my primary
goal of 200,000 total points for ARRL SS (CW 85,478 + SSB 115,500).

Operating time was 17 hours in SS SSB both this year and last year.  When I
went to bed late Saturday night, I was ahead of last year's score (462 Qs
vs. 405 Qs).  This year, I "lost" a few normally productive hours on Sunday
from 14:00 UTC to 19:00 UTC when KI4GUO (my daughter) and KI4ZWQ (my XYL)
used the station.  However, near the end of the contest (01:00 UTC) my QSO
total was almost the exact same as last year (688 vs. 689).  I only needed
112 more Qs this year to reach my secondary goal of 800 Qs.  Since I worked
150 stations on 80m during the last two hours of the contest last year, I
thought I would reach 800 Qs this year.  However, the propagation gods were
not smiling on me!  Conditions on 80m were very difficult in NC.  The band
went long so most stations within a 500+ mile radius seemed to be whisper
quiet when I could hear them at all.  I managed to work 52 stations during
the next to last hour but the rate was falling.  I switched run frequencies
and tried some S&P and even tried 40m for a few minutes but I couldn't reach
the rate I needed.  After I reached 115,000 points at 02:41 UTC, I shut down
the station and enjoyed a cold beer!

Even though I operated Unlimited, I spent very little time chasing mults.  I
was surprised to miss 5 mults so maybe that wasn't such a good idea...those
mults would have added 7,700 points to my score!  Mults missed were PR, MS,
NL, NWT and SK.

Thanks for the QSOs.  During one run, I talked to so many PVRC NC-East
members, I almost thought I was at a monthly meeting...

Go PVRC!

73, Barry K4CZ