2012 ARRL 10 Meter Contest Result

2012 ARRL 10 Meter Contest Certificate 

It's pretty obvious that our friends at the League are working overtime in getting wallpaper in the mail. Here is one in which I received today. 

Of all the bands, I would say that 10 meters is my most favorite. It's so unpredictable and can be so darn exciting. I remember the Alaska contest group talking about nearly all night 10 meter openings and I could not wait to experience some great 10 meter propagation! It took a few years but things started to warm up as the solar cycle began to peak. It was not long before 10 meter contacts became a solid foundation on any weekend contest score. I'm just thankful I got to experience some great 10 meter DX before I had to pull the plug.

In looking back at my 3830 submission, it's apparent that I lost a few points but I'm darn happy with this score. Not a Golden Log but I'll take it. I always enjoy re-reading my overviews of the contest and going back to this blog and reading the good and bad about any of my past contest submissions. And as you can see, I try to help those who are doing mixed by moving up to SSB when it works. I sure won't leave a pile-up if I'm running stations but if the opportunity is there, I will sure give it my best. 

As you can read between the lines, I knew that our departure from Alaska was looming as our jobs appeared to be taking us back to the lower 48. I truly miss my contesting station and operating from Alaska. Even though it was an average station, your typical single beam at 40 foot accented with a few wire antennas, I was able to really have a ball and work some great stuff! Contests can be intimidating to anyone new to the fast paced world wide weekend craziness. But like driving a car, to get better, you just got to get behind the wheel and do it!  



   ARRL 10-Meter Contest

Call: KL8DX
Operator(s): KL8DX
Station: KL8DX

Class: SO CW LP
QTH: Alaska
Operating Time (hrs): 10h14m

Summary:
Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  CW:  375    63
  SSB:    3    5
-------------------
Total:  375    63  Total Score = 94,500

Club: North Coast Contesters

Comments:

This will be a CW only submission but I did work a few
that asked me to QSY to SSB. I had to work late on Friday
so I also started out with NIL until Saturday morning.
My first contest QSO came at 1828z and last fell into
the log at 2342z, Saturday. Saturday was tough but that's
contesting. Saturday was even a bit harder due to QRN
as a direct result of 40 mph wind gusts that day. I 
watched our temperature go from -21F to +20F in a matter
of a few hours thanks to the arrival of the SE wind flow.

The last four hours of Sunday showed my best rates all
weekend. I had higher hopes for the last big contest of
2012, as I didn't even hit the 50% mark from what I was 
able to accomplished last year. 

I think the most notable points with this contest was
the crazy propagation and QSB. The QSB was intense at 
times and stations would call and then disappear. I was
low power so like many, I had multipliers CQ in my face
to no avail. I missed more than I care to list.

Happy Holidays to all and I hope to find my way into a 
few logs as this contest season continues into 2013. I
have no valid complaints about this contest as 378 QSO's
are better than none, which was the case only a few years
ago. I predict that 2013 will be the year of change for this
station. But for now, it's time to enjoy the holiday season
and from our shack to yours, on behalf of KL8SU and myself,
Seasons Greetings from Alaska! May many new multipliers and
entities fall easily into your logbooks in 2013. 

Sincerely,

Phil - KL8DX
Suann - KL8SU
Dempsey (The Wonder Beagle)
Luna (The Grandcat)

Denali National Park, Alaska
Office: http://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm
Personal Website: http://www.livingindenali.net/
Blog: http://kl8dx.blogspot.com/