All scores are claimed scores unless otherwise noted.
January: CWOps CWT 1300Z January 4
•
QSO’s: 97
•
Mult’s: 88
•
Score: 8,536
•
Op Time: 60 minutes
January: CWOps CWT 1900Z January 4
•
QSO’s: 100
•
Mult’s: 84
•
Score: 8,400
•
Op Time: 60 minutes
Comment: So, you can get a medallion from CWOps if you operate in at least 50
sessions in a given year. That would be about twice as many as I normally do but I
figure, why not? I also wanted to practice SO2R for the upcoming NAQP CW.
January: ARRL RTTY Roundup (Final Score)
•
QSO’s: 1,069
•
Mult’s: 85
•
Score: 89,930
•
Op Time: 20:00
Comment: First place overall for the Indiana Section (17 stations) and first place for
the Central Division in Unlimited, Low Power (17 stations). Fifth place US and Canada. First time ever to make 1,000 QSO’s in a
contest. I only wish I could have worked more mult’s to take advantage of the QSO points. I entered the SO-Unlimited Low Power
category in order to avoid being in the same entry category as my good friend N9LF. I can’t say that the packet spots helped with
either rate or multipliers, however. The old record for SO-U LP for Indiana was 48,790 so I surpassed that by a wide margin.
January: CWOps CWT 1300Z January 11
•
QSO’s: 100
•
Mult’s: 91
•
Score: 9,100
•
Op Time: 60 minutes
January: CWOps CWT 1900Z January 11
•
QSO’s: 105
•
Mult’s: 95
•
Score: 9,975
•
Op Time: 60 minutes
Comment: Another twofer CWT, and more SO2R practice for the upcoming NAQP CW. Towards the middle of the 1300Z session I
noticed the right radio, the IC 756ProIII, was not putting out full power. At first thought it might be due to an undervoltage from the
power supply but was able to duplicate the problem with several different power supplies. The problem manifests only after several
minutes or more of CQ’ing, but the slower pace of S&P does not seem to cause a problem. Temperature?
January: NAQP CW January 14 (Final Score
•
QSO’s: 688
•
Mult’s: 153
•
Score: 105,264
•
Op Time: 9 hours
Comment: High bands were very disappointing Saturday afternoon. Rate was actually
better on 15M than 20M until 15M waned. Nothing on 10M. So, 80M and 40M were
the money bands, but 160M was a pleasant surprise. All three lower bands were
quiet and signals were easy to copy. Normally, if I can snag a few dozen mults on
160, that’s a good showing. This was the best 160M NAQP CW in my memory. My
SO2R practice also paid off, although the power output problem (see comments in
Jan 1900Z CWT) was a nuisance. Third place for IN (26 stations)
January: CWOps CWT 1300Z January 18
•
QSO’s: 68
•
Mult’s: 55
•
Score: 3,740
•
Op Time: 45 minutes
January: CWOps CWT 1900Z January 18
•
QSO’s: 79
•
Mult’s: 68
•
Score: 5,372
•
Op Time: 45 minutes
Comment: Both of these CWT’s were run at low power and with just one radio, to see if I could isolate the power out problem on the
756ProIII. Definitely not a power supply issue. Installed a booster cooling fan but that also does not appear to make a difference. The
radio does not feel particularly warm, either. Perplexing.
January: NAQP SSB
•
QSO’s: 210
•
Mult’s: 84
•
Score: 17,640
•
Op Time: 5 hours
Comment: A contest tailor made for whining: low activity, poor prop on high bands, long skip and lots of noise on low bands. What’s
not to love?
January: CWOps CWT 1300Z January 25
•
QSO’s: 27
•
Mult’s: 27
•
Score: 729
•
Op Time: 30 minutes
January: CWOps CWT 1900Z January 25
•
QSO’s: 39
•
Mult’s: 39
•
Score: 1,521
•
Op Time: 30 minutes
Comment: Both sessions were primarily S&P due to my limited operating window, and single radio only.
January: CQ WW 160 CW
•
QSO’s: 472
•
Points: 1,094
•
Mult’s: 65
•
Score: 71,110
•
Op Time: 9 hours
Comment: A personal best in this contest, which included several long runs. Band
was relatively quiet and activity was high. Worked three new countries on 160:
Morocco, Belize and Columbia.
February: CWOps CWT 1300Z February 1
•
QSO’s: 108
•
Mult’s: 93
•
Score: 10,044
•
Op Time: 1 Hour
February: CWOps CWT 1900Z February 1
•
QSO’s: 109
•
Mult’s: 102
•
Score: 11,118
•
Op Time: 1 Hour
Comment: Sessions 9 and 10 for 2017. The 1900Z score was my second highest ever but not quite good enough for top 10. The
hobbled 756ProII does OK in search and pounce mode.
February: CWOps CWT 1300Z February 8
•
QSO’s: 105
•
Mult’s: 101
•
Score: 10,500
•
Op Time: 1 Hour
February: CWOps CWT 1900Z February 8
•
QSO’s: 46
•
Mult’s: 44
•
Score: 2,024
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Sessions 11 and 12 for 2017.
February: CQ WPX RTTY @ K9CT
•
QSO’s: 3,636
•
Points: 10,709
•
Mult’s: 1,061
•
Score: 11,362,249
Comment: Guest op at K9CT. Ops included (see picture, left to
right) were K9NR, N7US, K3WA, Moi, K9CT and N9CK. Live
score tracking during the contest suggested we were the top NA
team, with a couple of EU teams having better scores. The total
lack of 10M activity meant our score was considerably lower
than in previous years.
February: NAQP RTTY
•
QSO’s: 393
•
Mult’s: 106
•
Score: 41,658
•
Op Time: 8.5 Hrs
Comment: Got home from a 2 week vacation late on Friday.
Was I rested or exhausted? Bands were long and propagation
was poor. This seemed to be the best I could do.
March: CWOps CWT 1300Z March 1
•
QSO’s: 42
•
Mult’s: 42
•
Score: 1,764
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
March: CWOps CWT 1900Z March 1
•
QSO’s: 41
•
Mult’s: 38
•
Score: 1,558
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
March: CWOps CWT 0300Z March 2
•
QSO’s: 22
•
Mult’s: 22
•
Score: 462
•
Op Time: 0.25 Hour
Comment: Sessions 13, 14 and 15 for 2017. These were low power efforts. I was using a borrowed Icom 7300, testing it as a possible
replacement for my ailing 756ProIII. Some quick conclusions relative to the K3: good audio, excellent noise reduction; scope is
awkward and unsatisfying. Filtering is not bad but not quite as good as the K3, although the bands were not particularly crowded and
thus the filters could not really be pushed.
March: CWOps CWT 1300Z March 8
•
QSO’s: 42
•
Mult’s: 42
•
Score: 1,764
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
March: CWOps CWT 1900Z March 8
•
QSO’s: 56
•
Mult’s: 55
•
Score: 3,080
•
Op Time: 1 Hour
Comment: Once again operating low power, to test the Icom 7300. My 1900Z score was a top ten finish. I turned the 7300 off out of
frustration midway through the hour, finding the scope a source of frustration instead of satisfaction. I thought I did not need a scope
on my run radio, and maybe I don’t, but if the radio has one, I’d like it to be an aid rather than a hinderance. Testing the 7300 in
various 2-radio scenarios also shows it can experience ADC overflow or overload from the second harmonic of the K3, even when the
K3 is only operating 100 watts.
March: WIQP
•
QSO’s: 141
•
Points: 265
•
Mult’s: 59
•
Score: 15,635
•
Op Time: 5 Hours
Comment: A great job as always by the Wisconsin mobiles. Some of them were consistently lounder than some of the fixed stations.
However, it appeared the overall activity may have been down from the previous years, or perhaps propagation was just stinko. Still a
fun event.
March: CWOps CWT 1300Z March 15
•
QSO’s: 74
•
Mult’s: 62
•
Score: 4,588
•
Op Time: 0.75 Hour
March: CWOps CWT 1900Z March 15
•
QSO’s: 40
•
Mult’s: 40
•
Score: 1,600
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Sessions 18 and 19 for 2017.
March: CWOps CWT 1300Z March 22
•
QSO’s: 35
•
Mult’s: 35
•
Score: 1,225
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Sessions 20 for 2017. Operated low power.
March: CWOps CWT 1300Z March 29
•
QSO’s: 78
•
Mult’s: 69
•
Score: 5,382
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
March: CWOps CWT 1900Z March 29
•
QSO’s: 26
•
Mult’s: 26
•
Score: 676
•
Op Time: 0.25 Hour
Comment: Sessions 21 and 22 for 2017.
April: CWOps CWT 1300Z April 5
•
QSO’s: 97
•
Mult’s: 92
•
Score: 8,924
•
Op Time: 1 Hour
Comment: It felt good to put in the full hour at high power.
April: CWOps CWT 1900Z April 5
•
QSO’s: 38
•
Mult’s: 38
•
Score: 1,444
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Session 23 and 24 for 2017.
April: CWOps CWT 1300Z April 12
•
QSO’s: 43
•
Mult’s: 40
•
Score: 1,720
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Tested the newly repaired ProIII by trying to call CQ for as much as possible. Looks like the power problem has been fixed.
Session 25 for 2017.
April: CWOps CWT 1300Z April 19
•
QSO’s: 68
•
Mult’s: 65
•
Score: 4,420
•
Op Time: 0.75 Hour
April: CWOps CWT 1900Z April 19
•
QSO’s: 25
•
Mult’s: 24
•
Score: 600
•
Op Time: 0.25 Hour
Comment: Sessions 26 and 27 for 2017. Focused on “relearning code.” The 1900Z session was cut short by nearby thunderstorms.
April: CWOps CWT 1300Z April 26
•
QSO’s: 38
•
Mult’s: 36
•
Score: 1,368
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
April: CWOps CWT 1900Z April 26
•
QSO’s: 36
•
Mult’s: 34
•
Score: 1,224
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Sessions 28 and 29 for 2017. Decided to run without packet, call history, and any code reading software to see just how I
would do having to copy everything without any crutch. Up to 22 or 24 wpm not too bad. Beyond that it got ugly very quickly.
May: CWOps CWT 1300Z May 3
•
QSO’s: 43
•
Mult’s: 40
•
Score: 1,720
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Sessions 30 for 2017.
May: CWOps CWT 1300Z May 17
•
QSO’s: 45
•
Mult’s: 44
•
Score: 1,980
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Sessions 31 for 2017. First opportunity to operate after a two week trip to France.
My only exposure to ham radio there was a glimpse of this antenna in Paris, about a mile from
the Eiffel Tower. Picture was taken from inside our tour bus. I know, it could be a picture from
anywhere. Forty eight hours after returning from Paris, I was in Dayton for the annual
Hamvention. As Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around
once in a while, you could miss it.” Anyone? Anyone?
May: CWOps CWT 1300Z May 23
•
QSO’s: 41
•
Mult’s: 37
•
Score: 1,517
•
Op Time: 0.5 Hour
Comment: Sessions 32 for 2017
May: CWOps CWT 1300Z May 31
•
QSO’s: 96
•
Mult’s: 75
•
Score: 7,200
•
Op Time: 1 Hour
Comment: Session 33 for 2017 and the first full hour CWT since April 5.
May: CWOps CWT 1300Z May 31
•
QSO’s: 96
•
Mult’s: 75
•
Score: 7,200
•
Op Time: 1 Hour
Comment: Session 33 for 2017 and the first full hour CWT since April 5.
June: ARRL June VHF
•
QSO’s: 1
•
Mult’s: 1
•
Score: 1
VHF contests are not my oevre but the SMC put out a call for logs to help them get 50 or more submitted, in order to try to win the
Unlimited Club Competition.
June: CWOps CWT 1300Z June 14
•
QSO’s: 68
•
Mult’s: 64
•
Score: 4,352
•
Op Time: 1 hour
A special slow speed (20 wpm) or less CWT to accommodate the latest CWA graduating class. I decided the occasion represented an
opportunity to try sending everything by hand: calling CQ, calling a station that is calling CQ, and all exchanges. Something I had
probably not done for 20 years. There were a few QSO’s that were pretty ugly but for the most part it went well.
June: CWOps CWT 1900Z June 14
•
QSO’s: 25
•
Mult’s: 25
•
Score: 625
•
Op Time: 0.5 hour
Also a special slow speed (20 wpm) or less CWT to accommodate the latest
CWA graduating class. And I once again sent everything by hand. Had to pull
the plug after 30 minutes due to local storms.
June: CWOps CWT 1300Z June 21
•
QSO’s: 80
•
Mult’s: 72
•
Score: 5,760
•
Op Time: 1hour
June: CWOps CWT 1900Z June 21
•
QSO’s: 50
•
Mult’s: 49
•
Score: 62,450
•
Op Time: 0.75 hour
I ran both June 21 CWT’s at low power using what was to be the FD setup for
W9LDX, which included packet and call history but no decoding. Consequently,
both scores were somewhat lower than usual.
June: ARRL Field Day June 24-25 at W9LDX
•
QSO’s: 1,777
•
QSO Points: 2,398
•
Score: 4,796
•
Bonus points: 1,350
•
Grand total: 6,146
A 1A effort. Activity was high, band conditions were good, and the station
performed well. These things along with the pleasant company and great
weather made for a memorable Field Day. We even made a couple of satellite
QSO’s. I personally made 388 QSO’s, all CW, including a phenomenal (for me)
20M 104 QSO’s during the last hour of the event. All of our QSO’s were on 20,
40 and 80. This may have been our best 1A entry ever and will hopefully be
good for first place Indiana and a top ten for the event in the 1A category.
June: CWOps CWT 1900Z June 28
•
QSO’s: 97
•
Mult’s: 82
•
Score: 7,954
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Session 38 for 2017. Participation was high and band conditions were good. My first 1 hour, full speed CWT in quite some time.
July: RAC Canada Day
•
QSO’s: 196
•
Mult’s: 15
•
Points: 1,338
•
Score: 18,732
•
Op Time: 5 hours
My usual 40M effort. More QSO’s, more multipliers and more points than ever.
Hopefully, good for another first place world standing in this under-utilized category.
Spent more time calling CQ than usual, especially on phone, which brought in a lot of
Canadians.
July: CWOps CWT 1900Z June 28
•
QSO’s: 83
•
Mult’s: 64
•
Score: 5,312
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Session 39 for 2017. Started out on 80M thinking there might be a few extra QSOs to be had there, but with the benefit of hindsight I
probably spent too much time there.
July: NAQP RTTY (Final Score)
•
QSO’s: 584
•
Mult’s: 147
•
Score: 85,848
•
Op Time: 10 Hrs
•
Team: SMC-2
Comment: First Place for Indiana and a top 10 finish. Team SMC-2 also took first
place in the team competition. Midway through the contest I was optimistic that I
might break my all time record for the July NAQP RTTY, which was in 2014. And then
at 0100z it was time to drop down to 80M. The good news there was it was easy to
find a run frequency. The bad news was the S9 band noise, which made the band an
underperformer with relatively few QSO's. A lot of those QSO's involved some guess
work on the call and the exchange. So, no new personal best for me. I did manage to
work 4 states on all 5 bands including Indiana. Also managed to work all 4 of my
SMC-2 team members at least twice. Was pleasantly surprised at what was to be
found on 10M and 15M, considering the recent solar doldrums. Even though there
were not a lot of QSOs on 10 and 15, the mults on those bands contribute greatly to
the score. And, logged my first ever 40M QSO with FP (Saint Pierre & Miquelon).
So, all things considered, 10 hours well spent.
July: CWOps CWT 1900Z July 19
•
QSO’s: 46
•
Mult’s: 46
•
Score: 2,116
•
Op Time: .5 hour
July: CWOps CWT 1900Z July 19
•
QSO’s: 47
•
Mult’s: 47
•
Score: 2,115
•
Op Time: .5 hour
Sessions 40 and 41 for 2017
July: CWOps CWT 1900Z July 26
•
QSO’s: 49
•
Mult’s: 45
•
Score: 2,205
•
Op Time: .75 hour
Session 42. Ran low power and used my long wire antenna to test the antenna’s
viability in the face of the potential loss of my trusted Alpha-Delta DX-CC dipole due
to storm damage to the tree that holds up the Northwest end of the dipole. While the
damage was not itself a problem, it did reveal a structural problem with the tree that raised questions about the tree’s viability. Had the
tree assessed by an arborist who agreed the tree’s days are numbered but he did not recommend immediate removal.
August: NAQP CW
•
QSO’s: 720
•
Mult’s: 167
•
Score: 120,240
•
Op Time: 9.75 hours
SO2R is hard for me when the rates are high but, for the first ¾’s of this contest, I was
in The Zone and I though I was on the way to my best effort ever in this contest. Took
my last break and, when I came back, my fingers had turned to sausages and I could
not do anything right. Plus, 80M did not yield the expected number of QSO’s due to
high noise. So, I had to settle for a “pretty darn good” performance instead of my best
ever.
August: CWOps CWT 1900Z August 9
•
QSO’s: 32
•
Mult’s: 32
•
Score: 1,024
•
Op Time: .25 hour
August: CWOps CWT 1900Z August 16
•
QSO’s: 49
•
Mult’s: 45
•
Score: 2,205
•
Op Time: .75 hour
Sessions 43 and 44 for 2017.
August: NAQP SSB
•
QSO’s: 262
•
Mult’s: 84
•
Score: 22,008
•
Op Time: 6.75 hours
Possibly the most horrendous band conditions ever.
August: CWOps CWT 1300Z August 23
•
QSO’s: 25
•
Mult’s: 25
•
Score: 625
•
Op Time: .25 hour
Session 45 for 2017.
August: CWOps CWT 1300Z August 30
•
QSO’s: 98
•
Mult’s: 88
•
Score: 8,624
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Sessions 46 for 2017.
September: CWOps CWT 1900Z September 6
•
QSO’s: 81
•
Mult’s: 79
•
Score: 6,399
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Session 47 for 2017.
September: CWOps CWT 1300Z September 20
•
QSO’s: 52
•
Mult’s: 52
•
Score: 2,704
•
Op Time: .5 hours
Sessions 48 for 2017.
September: CWOps CWT 1900Z September 20
•
QSO’s: 26
•
Mult’s: 26
•
Score: 676
•
Op Time: .25 hours
Sessions 48 for 2017.
September: CQ WW RTTY @ K9CT
•
QSO’s: 3,546
•
Mult’s: 665
•
Points: 7,683
•
Score: 5,109,195
Comment: Operated as part of the K9CT M/2 operation. In
addition to myself, operators were (see photo, left to right) Don
K9NR, Roger N4RR, Steve AI9T, Craig, K9CT, Steve N9CK, and
moi. Preliminary results suggest we finished 8th overall and
second place for North America behind ZF1A.
October: CWOps CWT 1900Z October 4
•
QSO’s: 82
•
Mult’s: 75
•
Score: 1,650
•
Op Time: .25 hours
Sessions 49 for 2017.
October: California QSO Party October 7-8
•
QSO’s: 135
•
Mult’s: 40
•
Score: 16,200
•
Op Time: 2.5 hours
My first time operating this contest since 2009. Had intended to make a major effort but software problems wiped me out the first day.
October: CWOps CWT 1300Z October 11
•
QSO’s: 110
•
Mult’s: 105
•
Score: 11,550
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Sessions 50 for 2017. My best score of the year, and second best all time (see August 17, 2016). 40M just wouldn’t quit. Lots of
signals which meant I didn’t go to 20M until 45 minutes in, which also meant my mult total was higher than usual.
October: CWOps CWT 1900Z October 18
•
QSO’s: 80
•
Mult’s: 77
•
Score: 6,160
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Sessions 51 for 2017.
October: ILQP October 22
•
QSO’s: 68
•
Mult’s: 40
•
Score: 5,440
•
Op Time: 1 hour
A travel commitment made a full time operation impossible.
November: CWOps CWT 1300Z November 1
•
QSO’s: 117
•
Mult’s: 114
•
Score: 13,338
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Sessions 52 for 2017 and my best score ever.
November: CWOps CWT 1900Z November 1
•
QSO’s: 81
•
Mult’s: 79
•
Score: 6,399
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Sessions 53 for 2017. These last 2 sessions were operated as warm ups for SS CW.
November: SS CW
•
QSO’s: 788
•
Mult’s: 80
•
Score: 126,080
•
Op Time: 21.25 hours
There was speculation before the contest that it would be impossible to get a sweep
due to hurricane Maria damage in PR and VI. Having convinced myself before the
start of the contest that I would not get a sweep turned out to be very liberating,
allowing me to focus on rate. Turns out there were stations on from those sections
but I never heard them. NNY was also rare: heard him but there were big pile ups
and I moved on. I also worked straight through the first 9 hours of the contest with
no breaks other than a couple of 5 or 10 pauses here and there. And worked more
hours than ever. Bottom line, my best SS CW score ever. Go figure.
November: CWOps CWT 1300Z November 8
•
QSO’s: 72
•
Mult’s: 72
•
Score: 5,184
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Sessions 54 for 2017.
November: CWOps CWT 1300Z November 29
•
QSO’s: 105
•
Mult’s: 105
•
Score: 11,025
•
Op Time: 1 hour
Session 55 for 2017. Might be my first ever golden log, where every QSO was also a multiplier. Even made a couple of S&P QSOs on
80 and 20 while running on 40.
December: ARRL 160
•
QSO’s: 620
•
Mult’s: 74
•
Score: 92,648
•
Op Time: 11 hours
Excellent band conditions and high participation make for a good contest. All QSOs
were made using my long wire. Did not work much DX.
December: CWOps CWT 1300Z December 6
•
QSO’s: 42
•
Mult’s: 42
•
Score: 1,764
•
Op Time: .5 hour
Session 56 for 2017. This session started and continued through the month a practice of not using any aids to copy QSO info in the
CWTs: no packet and call history turned off. Done in an effort to improve raw copying skill. It’s a good thing there is no log checking.
Why is it I can copy 4-6 character callsigns with very high accuracy and then fumble over a 4-6 character name? Limiting myself to 30
minutes of operating in order to keep frustration to a minimum.
December: CWOps CWT 300Z December 7
•
QSO’s: 19
•
Mult’s: 19
•
Score: 361
•
Op Time: .25 hour
Session 57 for 2017.
December: CWOps CWT 1300Z December 13
•
QSO’s: 31
•
Mult’s: 31
•
Score: 961
•
Op Time: .25 hour
Session 59 for 2017.
December: CWOps CWT 1300Z December 20
•
QSO’s: 52
•
Mult’s: 49
•
Score: 2,548
•
Op Time: .5 hour
Session 60 for 2017.
December: CWOps CWT 1300Z December 27
•
QSO’s: 41
•
Mult’s: 41
•
Score: 1,681
•
Op Time: .5 hour
Session 61 for 2017.
December: CWOps CWT 1900Z December 27
•
QSO’s: 33
•
Mult’s: 32
•
Score: 1,056
•
Op Time: .5 hour
Session 62 for 2017.
December: CWOps CWT 300Z December 28
•
QSO’s: 39
•
Mult’s: 37
•
Score: 1,443
•
Op Time: .5 hour
Session 63 for 2017.
CQ WW RTTY @ K9CT