[TVARC] WPX CW W3US SOSB40 TB-Wires HP

[Pete K2PS]

Nice going, Rusty.  I’m impressed by your Big Ear mod, and even more impressed that it worked so well!

 

I couldn’t find the time to get on, but I’m looking forward to the ARRL June VHF Contest, coming up on June 13-14.  No mods needed on the 5-element 6m yagi that should go up a couple of days prior.  Just need some good propagation!

 

73, Pete, K2PS

 

From: tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net <tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of w3us--- via TVARC
Sent: Monday, June 1, 2026 7:44 PM
To: TVARC <tvarc at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [TVARC] WPX CW W3US SOSB40 TB-Wires HP

 

I LOVE a contest where everyone works everyone. It’s just plain fun, and this Worked All Prefix (WPX) was no exception, with tons of weird and wonderful call sign prefixes popping up all over the band.

I decided on a single-band 40-meter effort for two reasons: the flagpole/6-BTV works really well on 40, and with 40 only open during darkness (more or less), there’s less impact on family activities. Of course, the downside is that I don't get any sleep. Apparently my contest strategy continues to be "trade REM cycles for multipliers."

My approach this year was a little different. I planned to use the flagpole/6-BTV on Day One and a modified MFJ Big Ear on Day Two. I was curious how the two antennas would compare, so I set up the Big Ear late Saturday afternoon. Although the Big Ear works great on 20–10 meters and was never intended for 40 meters, I discovered that if I hang a 17-foot piece of 16 AWG copper wire from the tip of each whip, the resulting contraption tunes on 40 remarkably well.

How well?

At the conclusion of Day One, using the flagpole, I had logged 150 contacts. By the end of Day Two, using the Big Ear, I had added another 500! Granted, this is hardly a scientific comparison—especially when you factor in a little operator luck—but the difference was impossible to ignore. The Big Ear seems to provide another 1–2 S-units of signal and, more importantly, it is much quieter. And as every contester knows, hearing them is often more important than them hearing you.

The online contest scoreboard is also a nice touch. It adds a little extra motivation when you're chasing—or being chased by—friends and fellow competitors like Jim, N7US, and Grant, WA3AAN. Nothing says "friendly competition" quite like checking the scoreboard at 3:00 a.m. and discovering that someone else is apparently even less interested in sleep than you are.

In the end, the station survived, the antennas stayed standing, and I managed to put a few more prefixes in the log than I expected. That's a successful weekend in my book.

Happy contesting!

Rusty - W3US

 

                   CQWW WPX Contest, CW - 2026

Call: W3US
Operator(s): W3US
Station: W3US

Class: SOSB40 HP
Class Overlay: TB-Wires 
QTH: NFL
Operating Time (hrs): 16
Remote Operation

Summary:
Band  QSOs
------------
 160:     
  80:     
  40:  650
  20:     
  15:     
  10:     
------------
Total:  650  Prefixes = 472  Total Score = 1,042,176

Club: Florida Contest Group

Comments:

Flex 8600, Flex PGXL, Hustler 6-BTV flagpole vertical (day one), MFJ modified
BigEar (day two).


Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/tvarc/attachments/20260601/af6d08e7/attachment.html>