03/05/2007 | N4CI This was my first chance to operate using a newly installed HF beam for 20/15/10m bands. My strategy was to focus on 20 and 15m which worked out great. I was incredibly pleased with the Mosley CL-33 performance and a thirty year beam worked perfectly. No amp required.

My biggest surprises of the contest was working Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa. Most QSOs came from Europe and South America. Working any DX entity is a real treat for me.

It was a real pleasure hearing 15m open. 20m was a tangled mess of callsigns and signal reports and gave my brain a real workout. 10m wasn't very open in my area and sounded muffled. Working Hawaii on 40m with a fan dipole early Sunday morning was well worth the early sunrise.

I wasn't able to work the entire duration of the contest but worked the radio in between daddy roles and honey-do's. I thoroughly enjoyed every QSO I made.

73, Scott -- N4CI