ARRL DX CONTEST CW : super !

Question :
- is it possible to contact 1000 different US ham operators
- within one contest weekend
- on a single band
- using morse code
- spending not more than 12 hours of time
- with a simple 3 element yagi antenna ?

Answer : YES !

This weekend I played a SOSB 15M HP and made 1112 x USA and 74 x Canada in 12.5 hours of time. With my 3 el steppir fixed to 310° at about 20m height.

I only did 3x a S&P tour of the band starting at 21.000 Mhz and going up to 21.150 Mhz, good for 62 QSO's.  The other 95% of the contacts were made in running mode.

The game was extremely easy.  For the first time in a contest I had no DXCC/WAZ/WAS feelings (I have DXCC/WAZ/WAS on 15m, so nothing to hunt for), and could play straight forward to achieve a high score.  Normally I've always the intention to work a "new one" in a contest and this costs points.

The working conditions were optimal : very wet ground in the Fresnel zone to the States (I'm convinced - I've experienced - that this helps a lot) and no problems with qrm-makers around my frequency.

On reverse beacon I looked up the results of my signal.  I compared with OQ5M (signal always around the same strength), ON7TK (I think he played in the same category) and S50K (2x 4el stacked yagi on >1000m asl).

This picture is about the same for all US SDR receiving stations.

Mario S50K is always stronger - I'm not surprised with his better system - but he has much more experience : the Belgians stop playing around 18h30 UTC but he continues and even after a serious signal-drop, the signal returns.

Here I made a mistake, I had to play longer (and start a bit earlier).

Anyway, I hope that this is an example for stations with moderate antennas to play in a big contest without any fear. 

As said before on my blog, even a big small gun can achieve good results !

For all US stations : a special QSL card will be made soon and will be sent by the buro.