12/17/2003 | K7OX Well conditions were not very good up here in the Pacific Northwest at 48 Degs North. Usually at the begining of the contest can work stations around the state while still daylight. However, didn't hear a signal until an hour into the contest when I worked KG7H over in Idaho which is about 70 miles NW of Spokane, WA. Very little east coast stations worked the first night. Conditions seemed a little better the second night, at least hearing and working the East Coast but still missed 3 states for a WAS. The bright side was working two new countries, T32WW and J8DX which now gives me 79 countries in my quest for DXCC on Top Band. I launched and used my 1/4 full size vertical balloon the first night. However, bad weather i.e., very high winds and rain/snow cause me to loose the balloon around 6AM local time Saturday morning. The second night it was still very windy so finished out the contest using my back up antenna which is a shunt fed tower which seemed to work OK. See everyone next year.
Seasons Greetings to all and to all a Good Night.

73 Gary K7OX -- K7OX