[TVARC] ARRL 10 K2PS SO Mixed LP

[K2PS Pete Stafford]

Now that was a great weekend!  CW is worth twice the points of SSB contacts,
and in most years when CW gets slow, a move to SSB makes sense.  Well, this
time CW never really slowed, so had to force myself to go to SSB if just to
make sure I got the multipliers I needed.  The rates on both modes peaked at
over 200/hr, but it's of course quicker to make Qs on SSB.  Had to keep
checking my rate on CW: could I double that rate on SSB?  

It's easy to forget that 10 meters isn't always like this.  ARRL has posted
scores for this contest back through 2018.  For that period, my low QSO
count was 267 (2019), and this year was the high (1536).  Maybe we have one
more year of great condx?

Kept checking contestonlinescores.com during the contest, both to see how
our club members were doing, and also, in a separate window, where I stood
in my category (LP Mixed).  I saw, early on, that unless Jeff, N8II, was
going to get hit by a truck, I had no chance.  Now, I've met Jeff, a nice
fellow, with a big antenna farm up there in WV, and certainly didn't wish
him harm.  But he jumped out to a big lead and never looked back.  Beat me
by 250 Qs.  There was also 9J2FI (whom I never heard), who was also putting
up a nice score.  Ultimately, I fell exactly one CW QSO short of eclipsing
him.  Hoping that he made more copying errors than I did!

BTW, never heard WV and MO, either mode.  Very weird.

One guy, K9BBN, answered me, and after our quick QSO, came back with, "Enjoy
the Villages!"  I guess I thanked him, but no time to chat.  Does anyone
know him?  How did he know?  But that was fun.

I don't do SSB much.  Actually, pretty much twice a year - this one, and the
June VHF.  You don't want to leave any gaps in your transmission (it slows
things down), and I found myself straining to get out the whole exchange
sometimes, especially if he had a long callsign and phonetics.  Forced
myself to inhale just prior to it, so I could get it in in one.  Wondering
if, as we age, maybe our lung capacity decreases?  Never noticed this
before.

Worked W3US and K3WT both modes, and also K2DM (my very first QSO), K2TE,
and WB2ART.  Never heard W4GD.  I know Rusty, George, and Tom all put in
about half the time I did, nice scores guys!  Were there any others out
there?  Maybe some newly minted Techs?  

Thanks much to Tom, K3WT, for help in taking down the yagi.  He's been under
the weather lately or it would have been a round trip.  He certainly makes
it much easier (and I don't need to engage the XYL, always a good thing)!

Hope to see you all at the Holiday Party.

73, Pete, K2PS

                    ARRL 10-Meter Contest - 2024

Call: K2PS
Operator(s): K2PS
Station: K2PS

Class: SO Mixed LP
QTH: FL
Operating Time (hrs): 25

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   CW: 1020   132
  SSB:  516    94
-------------------
Total: 1536   226  Total Score = 1,155,312

Club: The Villages Amateur Radio Club

Comments:




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