Antennas:
80/40: Alpha-Delta 80/40 Inverted Vee @ 54'
20/15/10: TH-7 @ 56'
My goals in this one were similar to the ones I had in SS CW:
1. Beat last year's raw score (1200X80=192,000).
2. Get a sweep for my first double-sweep in years.
3. Stretch goal: Make the top 10 (finished 14th last year).
In preparation for both contests this year, I printed and reviewed the rate and band change reports from the previous year's contest to develop a band plan strategy. I keep this in prominent view throughout the contest so I can get a constant sense of how I am doing and what band I should be on to maximize rate. My strategy this year was based on low-band avoidance. In other words, stay on the high bands Saturday as much as I could, go to the low bands only to pick up the close-in multipliers (OK, NM, STX, WTX, LA, MS etc.) and then go to bed, taking 5 of my 6 hours of break asleep. 40 and 75 meters are like hell for the "A" power phone operator from here. There are only about 20 or 30 places on 40 that you can establish a frequency between the broadcast stations and almost all of them are taken up by B category stations or A power stations in rare sections. I have never been able to establish any rate calling CQ on 75M. S&P ing on these bands doesn't produce a high rate of QSO's for me either. In the end, it's rate that matters in this contest and I can't get any on 40 or 75. So for me, it's best to get in, get my multipliers and get out as quickly as I can.
I decided to start on 15 this year. Last year's band change report showed I started the first 41 minutes on 10M last year which produced 45 QSO's (1.1 Q's per minute), then went to 15M the last 14 minutes of the first hour and produced 33 QSO's (2.35 Q's per minute). The strategy seemed to work, as I worked 92 the first hour this year vs. 78 last year. I stayed on 15M until switching to 20M in the 0000Z hour. I really pulled ahead of last year's totals in those next few hours on 20M. I switched back and forth between running on 20M and searching for multipliers on 40/80 between 0400-0658Z. I accomplished my goal of getting a sweep before I went to bed Saturday night. Strangely enough, my last section was SDG-never would have guessed that one. By the time I went to bed at 0658Z, I was 110 Q's ahead of last year's pace (665 vs. 555).
I got back on the air at 12:00Z after a 5-hour off time. Worked 29 stations on 40 and 80 before switching to 20M around 1300Z. Stayed on 20 for 1 hour (worked 40) before switching to 15M at 1400Z. Spent only an hour on 15M (42 Q's) before switching to 10M around 1500Z for my first QSO's on that band in the contest. Stayed on 10 for the next 6 hours producing rates of 50, 71, 59, 39, 39 and 37 (2 30 minute breaks in the last 3 hours there). 10M was much better for me this year than last (324 Q's vs. 214). By 2200Z I was 156 Q's ahead of last year's pace (1135 vs. 979). I had 15 fewer Q's in the last 5 hours this year than last year, which was somewhat disappointing considering how well I had done in the hours leading up to that point. I just seemed to run out of guys to work on 10 and 15 and couldn't find a clear frequency on 20M which was a war zone by the time I arrived there. That said, I did finish strong with a last hour of 51 on 20M (14.200 was abandoned by a station I answered a CQ from so I got a great piece of real estate to call CQ from).
Overall, I was very pleased with my effort. I was up 141 QSO's over last year, I broke 200K and I got the double-sweep for the first time at my own station. It looks like K5KA beat me out again for the West Gulf plaque (congratulations!), but I narrowed the gap considerably. I'll have to wait for the final results to see if I managed to sneak into the top 10. Thanks to everyone for the Q's!
