After making a division-winning score in my power/mode class in last year's contest, I knew that I would really have to push hard to beat 2013.  So, I decided to just bite the bullet and devote the entire weekend to the 10 meter contest.  Another goal on the list was to work both Missouri and North Dakota on 10, to complete WAS on that band. Could I achieve both goals??

Well, the short answer is: YES.

In general, the propagation was pretty good into north central Wisconsin, but I felt it wasn't as good as 2013, where the DX signals were arriving well into the hours of darkness.  This year it seemed that the band dropped out earlier.

My station is quite modest; 100 watts into either a multiband vertical or a three element monoband beam up only about 20 feet.  Typically, I would listen with the vertical and then switch to the beam when I determined from which direction signals were coming.

The contest began with a batch of west coast stations, along with a few VKs, and then silence.  I started up again the next morning and was greeted with a bunch of stations from Europe and the Carribean, all pretty strong, so I dialed back my receive preamp and worked through them.  Later in the morning, the long-sought ND popped up and I snagged it, causing me to whoop so loudly that my wife came downstairs to see what was wrong.  Later in the day, I also worked a station in MO to complete WAS.

Throughout the contest, I was also able to work some new ones on 10m, including FR4 and J6, along with ZS, VK, JA, AK, HI and a whole bunch of Europeans.  Working close-in states was more problematic, though; I never did get MI or IA, though I could hear them way down in the noise.  I also never heard a whisper from MB, SK and ON, though I think my location might have something to do with that.

I have to say that I really like the fact that the Mexican states are now multipliers for the contest, as I think it has really increased participation south of the border.

Well, when it was over, I found that I had soundly beaten my score from last year; fewer QSO's but significantly more multipliers.  It remains to be seen how that stacks up against others in my power/mode class, but I am hopeful that my score will be competitive.

Did I mention that the 10 meter is my favorite contest?