ARRL DX CW Contest - 2013

ARRL DX Contest 2013

I received what I would consider a participation certificate from my 2013 ARRL DX CW Contest effort. In reading my old 3830 post, it was a rough weekend due to a solar flare but things apparently did not go any better as the weekend progressed. 

As the wallpaper trickles in, there should not be much left from my Alaska operation. It's hard to believe it's been nearly a year that we left the 49th in our rear view mirror. It was a sad day for sure. We do plan on returning in the future but until then, I have many fond memories of our life in the 49th. A career is like a river, it will flow via the path of lease resistance. I've done very little radio since landing in MA but I don't have a shack to draw me in either. Here, life is much faster than it was last year and with temperatures already in upper 60's and low 70's, we are drawn outdoors enjoying what is for us, a much earlier spring than we are used to. My 3830 post from the contesting archives from the contest. 

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

Class: SOSB/15 LP
QTH: Alaska
Operating Time (hrs): 13h 1m
Location: Other North America

Summary:   Compare Scores
Band	QSOs	Mults
160:
80:
40:
20:
15:	568	53
10:
Total:	568	53	Total Score	90,312

Club: North Coast Contesters

Comments:     [email]     2013-02-18 11:46:26

Decided to do a 15 meter SO/SB entry on this rather than my continued 20 meter SO/SB from previous years. The solar flare put the damper on any great numbers for Sunday. Saturday started out slow but picked up later in the day nicely. When it came to Sunday, my longest CQ between QSO's was 27 minutes! Rough to say the least. SOAPBOX A little more than annoyed at what seems to be more folks just landing on a frequency and calling CQ without as much as a "QRL" or ?? to see if the frequency was in use. I was chased off my run frequency on more occasions by this poor, what seems to be, growing practice. OFF SOAPBOX Lots of great friends encountered and lots of great DX heard that I obviously could not work, being DX myself. Saturday picked up in the afternoon and 15 meters sounded like a typical contest weekend, wall to wall signals, stretching pretty high up the band. I missed DC, WV, SD for lower 48 and as normal, I only got a handful of VE sections missing, NS, NF, LB, QC, NT, YT and NU. I was extremely excited to have W3MLK (DE), VY2OX (PEI) and N7NG (WY) call in for final stretch mults! If they were all easy, it wouldn't be contesting! Thanks for the QSO's! 73, Phil KL8DX Denali National Park, Alaska Office: http://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm Website: http://www.livingindenali.net/ Blog: http://kl8dx.blogspot.com/

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/

Yes Sean, It Was Well Worth The Wait!

Christmas comes a few days early

The ARRL Santa has been delivering these certificates all over Alaska over the last couple of days. My mailbox was no exception. It is always a very nice surprise to see a certificate in ones mailbox. When I opened the envelope, I was smiling with joy! Now, THIS is a contest certificate! What a beautiful job on the new design. I enjoy each and every certificate I receive obviously, but this new design by the ARRL is top notch in my opinion. So, even though these arrived a bit later than expected, it was well worth the wait! It will look very nice framed on the wall of my shack, for one an all a visitor to enjoy but I'll get the most enjoyment out of it. Not that I get that many visitors here in remote Alaska.

Sean, KX9X explains

In looking back at this contest, I remember it as being a challenging weekend. Of course, I never know what weather or propagation conditions are going to be like this time of year. Weather can put a damper on my operating and that was the case last year at this time. If it's a deep cold spell, I won't want to turn my beam to much. My rotor operates well below zero due to the fact of having it rebuilt and "greased" for arctic temperatures. It's my aging feedline that normally has me worried once the mercury (aging myself) heads well below zero. Or, as in the case of that weekend, we may have a Chinook blow through that increases my noise or forces me to lower my antenna to a height that is not optimum for 10 meters. With that said, I'm pleased with my effort last year (as mentioned in a previous post, I should have beat that this year) and just having any propagation on 10 meters is exciting! I've blogged about my love of that band and I'm glad I've been able to experience openings while living here.

My 3830 post from last year is listed. Once the log was washed and cleaned, my final score is reflected on my certificate above. I appreciate all the contacts that made this certificate possible. I also have to say a big "Thanks" to the ARRL for sponsoring the contest, for the certificate, and I think the new design is awesome! A sure winner in my book, Sean!

 ARRL 10-Meter Contest

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

Class: SO CW LP
QTH: Alaska
Operating Time (hrs): 15h12m

Summary:
Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  CW:  883    63
  SSB:    0    0
-------------------
Total:  883    63  Total Score = 279,028

Club: North Coast Contesters

Comments:

My long time friend and old neighbor Sean, KL1SF made a return
trip to Alaska on a work related mission. I was hoping to get
him in the shack but his schedule never allowed it. He headed back
to AZ on Friday night, so I did not operate a few hours so I 
could see him off. 

We were forecasted to receive strong winds yet again from another
of our famous winter Chinooks. I had to crank down my beam from 
the 42-43 foot level where it normally sits, to about 20 foot. All of
my operation on Saturday was with my beam at 22 foot! We had wind
gusts here at my QTH to 60 Mph over the weekend so needless to say,
the lower noise was horrible and it was directly in my lower 48 
path. 

I was able to send the beam back up Sunday once the winds dropped to
a normal speed. For me, I think the propagation on Saturday seemed a
bit better than Sunday but of course, my beam was 20+ foot higher
too! 

I will post a full overview on my blog in the next few days. I want
to extend the very best of holiday wishes to everyone! Thanks for all
the patience as I continue to learn the ropes to this contesting
stuff. May 2012 bring you a wealth of DX to your logbook. I'm sure
hoping it will bring me DXCC on 10 meters!