Operator(s): ZL2AOV ZL2BSJ
Class: M/S HP
Operating Time (hrs): 36
Band QSOs Mults
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CW: 880 92
SSB: 624 71
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Total: 1504 163 Total Score = 777,184
Comments:
Surprisingly good condx for us down here, in particular in the first 24 hrs. In fact, we improved 30 % on our 2005 score.
Very good signals from Western and Southern US on both days. We managed to work most states and a handful of provinces, but VE was much more difficult. We seemed to have a pipe-line into TX, ad also good signals from OR, CA, NM and the mid-West. Just on ZL2-sunrise the band opened to the US East Coast on both mornings...not bad for a solar minimum!
Reception to the US suffered from a slightly elevated noise floor. The ZL6QH site looks at distant DC power lines that supply the South Island (the Mainlanders at my QRL reckon it is the other way around :-) As a result, S-2 white noise combined with very low signals and deep QSB made it difficult for the QRP and QRS DX. Thanks for the many repeats, and top marks to most US ops for standing by.
Solid condx to JA and BY-land. The big JA contest stations came booming in from midday until 9 PM loc both days. We missed a few normally easy Asian mults (9V, JT, VU etc.). The OTHR showed up for a while, but we dodged it by going to CW.
To our amazement, on both evenings we had useful Eu openings with many UAs and UYs very good copy and easy to work for several hours. Also worked Central and some Western Eu (the latter on the first night only). EA, PA0 and G got away, as did Scandinavia.
No Africa heard, not much Caribbean and not much from South America, but several good mults out of Central America.
Thanks for Doug ZL2AOV for looking after all the sideband, and for bringing his TS-850 to replace the FT1000MP (we figured we'd need the front-end gain...). Please QSL via ZL2AOH. ZL6QH will likely be QRT in the 2007 ARRL 10M contest as the wind-farm goes up on the site.
Gear used: TS-850 + amplifier, 6 el mono-band yagis at 20 m (USA and JA/EU) with back-up Vee beams in various directions.
Wilbert, ZL2BSJ