Our goal of each contest is to improve our score( as beating the K1JT Team will be impossible with only 2 bands here ). K4EME and KR4V on 432, and myself AD4TJ on 144, did just that; we achieved personal bests. Using CW and JT65B, totally random without Loggers and MAP65, we made 85 Q's and 52 M's on 144, and 36 Q's and 25 M's on 432, for a claimed score of 931,700 points. We both bemoan the lack of JA/VK/ZL stations, for whatever reason; on 144 I only worked 7K3LGC and VK2KU in the 1st leg, and heard none in the 2nd. On 432, Cowles worked none of them at all.

 On 144, stations would call me, then when I went back to them they just disappeared( also happens in other contests, too ) At least this year I made 3 CW contacts versus none last year. I've been told that my array is big enough to make several CW contacts, but I have a hard time hearing them. I did copy these: SP7DCS, K5GW( speaker copy! ), IK1UWL, DK3EE, and YO2AMU.

 On 144 JT I just did not find the activity that was there when the Assisted Category(ies) were in place. If the point of an EME contest is to generate activity, or have the number of stations increase each year, then the Assited Category accomplished that! Smaller stations have a hard time being seen by others, and without the Loggers can't find other smaller stations, so after they work the medium to large stations they can't do anymore. I don't understand the argument against the Assisted catagory, as Unassisted and Assisted don't compete directly against each other.

 On 432, Cowles actually made more JT Q;s than CW for the tirst time, 24 versus 12. He has his computer noise under control; also a new preamp helped. As usual, he also used a 4x22 vertical K1FO array to hear the EU stations better.

 Conditions were variable, with echoes heard clearly for a while, then not heard minutes later.

 73,  David AD4TJ

144 Station: 4x15 horz. K1FO's, 4x11 vert. K1FO's, KW JT/CW

                     Icom 706MKIIG, DSP-59+,  24 dB/.5 nf preamp

432 Station:  8x33 horz K1FO's, 4x22 vert. K1FO's, KW CW, 600 JT

                    Yaesu FT-847, DSP-599+,  vert. preamp .3 dB NF

                                                                 horz preamp .5 dB NF