[TVARC] ARRLDX CW W3US SOUAB HP

[w3us at casa-aloha.net]

We had a couple of things going on this weekend so I only planned to “play around.”  That is until George and Pete’s pep talk at Thursdays club meeting, which was all the motivation I needed.  Sunspots were alive and well with solar flux topping 360 Saturday.  It was amazing (and mesmerizing) to view the 6600 panadapter on 10 and 15 meters with signals spread across the entire first 100 Khz.  My 6-BTV flagpole doesn’t play all that well on 10 and 15 but most stations were coming back after one or two calls.  20 proved a good option when things slowed Saturday and Sunday.  The vertical is an excellent performer on 40, and I managed to get a few runs going.  80 proved to be a pleasant surprise.  By the end of the first day, KL7RA and ZM4T were in the log on all five bands.

George mentioned setting goals.  One should always set goals before a contest.  I didn’t - until the last three hours when 1K Qs and 1M points appeared on the radar.  Then the XYL decided she wanted to go to the square and listen to a little music.  So off we went.  As soon as the band took their first break we headed home, and I found myself trying to make up for lost time.  In the end, I fell short of 1K QSOs, but did manage 1M points - barely and with one minute to spare.  Busted calls and exchanges may reduce that, but for now I am sticking with it.

Terrific effort by George for 40 hours BIC (butt in chair) time.  Your stamina is amazing.  Also a fabulous job by Pete with his 10M single band effort.  I am envious of your 4-el yagi.  What a game changer.  

Kudos to Wayne, N4FP, Doug, K1CTR, Bob, K3ZGA, Ken, WB2ART, Rich, ND4G, Dennis, N0SMX and Joe, NK7U for their awesome contributions to the club effort - nearly 3.5M points.

Contesting is certainly alive and well in TVARC.  If you haven’t tried it, the ARRL DX SSB is March 4-5.  Come join the fun!

73,
Rusty - W3US

>                    ARRL DX Contest, CW - 2023
> 
> Call: W3US
> Class: SOUAB HP
> QTH: FL
> Operating Time (hrs): 18
> 
> Summary:
> Band  QSOs  Mults
> -------------------
>  160:           
>   80:   84      
>   40:  222      
>   20:  224      
>   15:  282      
>   10:  158      
> -------------------
> Total:  970   344  Total Score = 1,001,040
> 
> Club: The Villages Amateur Radio Club
> 
> Comments:
> Flex 6600, Flex PGXL, Hustler 6-BTV flagpole vertical.