01/06/2004 | K4WW As with each contest, that I enter seriously, my main objective is to better my
last year's score. My secondary objective was reaching 1000 Q's. I doubt if I
really maximised my time, and spent too much time CQing, and not enough tuning
the band. I believe that a sustained rate is paramount to a high score, but now
I see how a few more multipliers would have been just as improrant. Although I
made more contacts, 19, my multiplier count was down, by 3. Finding just 1 more
multiplier, would have accomplished bettering last year's score. Missing 2 hours
of operating, most likely, was to blame for not reaching the 1000 Q goal. Rain
static on Saturday night, rendered 80 almost useless. Rather than my planned
break at 0500, I quit at 0336. I was 45 minutes late returning from my break. An
unexpected visit from my son and family took another 1:15 minutes, in the middle
of Sunday afternoon. That's not really a complaint, just a fact. If/when I have
to choose family time or contest time, the contest will lose every time! If
there was a "lowlight", it was not accomplishing the 1000 Q goal? The
"highlights" include working many, many regulars, along with a couple of "moldy
oldies", N5ZM and W7AY, neither of which had been on my screen for more than 6
months. I also managed to work 96 "new" (never before worked on RTTY), and after
exchanging email with most of them, it was their first RTTY contest. Imagine how
nice it would be to have 96 "new" contacts, per band, available in each/every
contest! The most amazing part of the contest was that my rate for the last hour
was as high, if not higher, as any other! Thanks to ARRL for sponsoring, the log
checkers for their efforts, and last, but certainly not least, all of you that
were gracious enough to give me a contact! Without y'all, RTTY contesting would
be no more fun than watching TV! -- K4WW