12/07/2006 | PJ2T Claimed Score: 182,490 - 1185 - 77

Station:

Radio: FT-1000MP Mark V Field;

Amp: Ten Tec Titan III;

TX Antenna: Inv-L (~60 feet vertical, rest sloping up to 90 feet);

RX Antennas: USA Beverage (750 feet), Flag (USA East Coast), Flag (USA West Coast), Europe Beverage (1000 feet).

RX Antenna Switching: K9AY RAS-8x2

(A second "hot backup" station was configured with FT-1000MP and a Cary LK-800 amp (2 x 3CPX800A7)).

This was the second time I've tried the ARRL 160 Contest from the Signal Point Station, PJ2T, sticking around after the PJ2T CQWW CW Contest operation.

You have to really like 160 meters to operate from 12 degrees North of the equator! Noise is a constant, and the only thing standing between a tolerable weekend and a bust is the movement of storm fronts.

I have a relative measure I use to evaluate how the noise is at any given time. I listen on the inv-L, and note the S-meter. For the week before the contest, it was about S9 with crashes to +30 dB, pretty much normal for Curacao at night. On both nights of the contest, the S-meter was about S7 - S8 with crashes to +20 dB, a big difference and a good sign!

The signal was loud enough to hold a run frequency, and except for some rude louts who settled 50 Hz from me and started their own CQs (ignoring my "QRL" statements), I was staying pretty much in one place. People got more rude on the second night.

Roughly 40% of the QSOs went like this: Me: "CQ PJ2T"; Caller: "K8A "; Me: "K8A? 599"; Caller " 8AJ ; 599 "; Me: "K8AJ? CL?"; Caller: "K8A 8AJS BK"; Me: "K8AJS?"; Caller "R R R R R"; Me: "SEC?"; Caller: "OH OH BK"; Me: "K8AJS TU PJ2T".


By the end of the first night, I had surpassed the South American record that I set in two nights in 2003, and thought that ZF2NT's 2002 DX World Record in this contest (150,176-993-76) was within reach.

First night rates were excellent, with two hours at 98, one at 90, one at 84, and one at 77!

One bad point. On the second night, I was plagued early by a very strong opening to Europe for a few hours around 0000Z! I heard what I thought was a weak W4, and was cycling among the receive antennas to see if I could copy him on any of them. I hit the Europe Beverage button, and up popped VERY strong UU4 and G4 stations! They were not alone. At any other time, I would have loved working such an opening, but as I was chasing a personal goal in the ARRL 160 Meter Contest, I announced "No EU" and switched the RX antennas back to my target audience.

The Europeans and other DX kept calling, and I was chasing nothing but phantom W1, W2, W3, VE3, etc. stations, and the rate failed to build. Frankly, I lost my cool and told off one particular unfortunate DL in no uncertain terms. For that, I apologize! I cooled off after about 15 minutes, and just ignored the DX callers as best I could. I see from reviewing the spots that some European posters noted that I wanted no EU, and that may have reduced the number of callers. The Europe opening faded after 2-3 hours.

The last QSO of the contest was made at 1125Z wih an Ohio station, a full 43 minutes after the cruel Caribbean sun had made a full appearance!

Thanks to Geoff W0CG/PJ2DX and his two non-Ham friends Fred and Lynda, who agreed to share the Signal Point house with me for the week following CQWW CW and who kept me fed during the week! Also, to Jim W8WTS and his XYL Jan, who along with the others helped to re-point the Flag antennas from their CQWW directions to USA bearings.

And, as always thanks to the other 18 members of the Caribbean Contesting Consortium, for their support in the building and maintenance of the PJ2T station!

And finally, thanks to all who called and either worked me or went away disappointed! I hope to see all of you (plus all those spurned DX stations) during the CQWW 160 CW Contest, when I will be back at Signal Point and listening hard through the noise!


73, Jeff -- K8ND