2025 CQWPX CW VP5M

[James Jordan]

Contest: CQWW WPX Contest, CW - 2025

                    CQWW WPX Contest, CW - 2025

Call: VP5M
Operator(s): K4BAI K4QPL KK4R WT3K
Station: VP5/K4QPL

Class: M/S LP
QTH: VP5
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:   31
   40:  692
   20: 1256
   15: 1808
   10:  123
------------
Total: 3910  Prefixes = 1199  Total Score = 14,167,384

Club:

Comments:

CLUB ALLOCATION: 75% POTOMAC VALLEY RADIO CLUB; 25% SOUTHEAST CONTEST CLUB
(Club allocation didn't work the first time)

Another year, another week in the beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands, and
another two days of fun in the CQWPX CW contest. As N4YDU said in his AA4NC
posting, propagation was a roller coaster. Definitely the case and conditions
certainly didn't compare to 2024. 40 meters opened nicely on Friday evening with
good results and multipliers. As we rolled over into Saturday 20M was OK but 15M
was the money band this time with openings to everywhere and good activity. 10M
did not make an appearance. Saturday night was the usual slog with just enough
activity to keep operators awake. Sunday the solar flare turned everything
upside down with periods of nothing and then propagation directions went haywire
with some long path ZL-VK and for a short period best signal strength to NA was
with the beam pointed South! For a time EU also came in best with the SteppIR
set in the 180 degree mode (SW). 10M finally peeked out from behind the flare
debris to give us a few points and multipliers. I'm not a propagation expert so
my technical description of conditions is simply "weird".
Otherwise, the station worked well with no serious glitches besides a couple
keying matters like occasionally being "UP5M" and paddle CW not
perfect.
The team of guest operators was simply GREAT. John, K4BAI, put in a great
performance as lead run op, fully justifying his recent induction in Dayton this
year to the Contesting Hall of Fame. Daryl, WT3K, is a rising star in the
contest world who did a great job also in the run chair showing the benefit of
his very active participation at other stations as a remote op and from his home
QTH. Rob, KK4R did a great job with the second radio handling the demands of
balancing mult hunting and synchronizing with John at the run radio and the
hardware interlock to boost our in-band Qs. I also paired up with Daryl to keep
the second radio going with mults and in-band Qs. And of course, VP5M could not
operate without the before and after drinks and food at the Sharkbite beach
bar!

Thanks to the worldwide contesting community for all the Qs and a great
weekend.

73,
Jim, K4QPL for the team:
K4BAI, KK4R, WT3K