WQ6X/WP2: Some after thoughts

The WQ6X/WP2 & N6GEO/NP2 expedition to St. Croix is nearly 7 months behind us.  Our original goal for operating from /WP2 was reached as we ended up taking 1st Place (for DX) in 2014's RTTY RU Competition.  Originally, our thinking was that we would be "outclassed" by the Mega S. American stations; evidently they were all HP operations.

This is further proof that it isn't necessarily high power that wins contests.  150 watts and an array of multi-element antennas are really all that is needed.  Of course the actual location of the WP2 QTH had a lot to do with our outcome.


Due to logging errors our score was dinged down from 116k to 107k, although not enough to be overcome by SP9KDA who (according to 3830Scores.Com) submitted a 106,742 point score which was eventually dinged down to 99.5k.  That's actually quite close - WHEW!
Now, if the RTTY RU had a Multi-2 category, we could have near-doubled our QSO total.  George and I do Multi-2 operations very well together.

The QST magazine RTTY RU writeup gave us a nice mention in the contest soapbox.  I put a picture of the writeup on the WQ6X.Info/WP2 web page.  This goes along great with CQP.Org's showcasing our 2013 CQP 1st place operation from Modoc county - another low power operation.

Additionally, our performance was aided by the K6TU propagation charts George printed in advance of our operation .  During the flight to San Juan, from those charts I pieced together an operating schedule designed to maximize band utilization; although typical to actual contest operations, the real world (discovered by actually listening on the bands) was sometimes not even close to the chart predictions.

Here is the Hammock I slept on for most of our stay on St. Croix.

Why sleep inside when I can be rocked to sleep at night by a gentle wind and the sound of waves off in the distance.

While I enjoyed 70 degree breezy wx at night, the rest of the U.S. was suffering thru minus degree cold fronts and snow storms.




QSLs are finally being designed and should be ready for distribution in September.

The after-contest operating videos have now been uploaded to YouTube.
You can find them at:
WQ6X/WP2 on 80-Meter C.w.
WQ6X/WP2 on 15-Meter SSB
WQ6X/WP2 on 21.232 mhz. Ssb @16:44z
WQ6X/WP2 working OE9MON ON 21.205 mhz @ 16:37Z
WQ6X/WP2 Working stations on 17-Meter SSB
WQ6X/WP2 Running stations on 10-Meter Ssb @ 18:57z
WQ6X/WP2 Running Europe on 15-Meter Ssb
WQ6X/WP2 working N.A. & Europe on 30-Meter Cw

Did you participate in the 2014 RTTY Roundup?
If so, is WP2/WQ6X in YOUR log?