WQ6X Triple-OP's yet another California QSO Party

From the beginning, making this weekend happen was clearly an embodiment of what I call the WB6ACU school of contest organization (even tho I believe Joe rarely works radiosport events). 
The original idea was to organize the Amateur Radio Club of Alameda (ARCA) as K6QLF.  Unable
to secure a secure location for 40+ hours eventually the deciding factor, suggesting that ARCA can always come back in 2023.  Using the WB6ACU method is of course never a guarantee, although
it does make success more likely.  As I stated in a previous Blog, sometimes to succeed, we need
a contingency plan as a backup.

Sometimes when you're having difficulty making an operational decision, it could mean that
you are lacking data.  On that premise, I slogged thru the different pages making up CQP.Org. 
What stood out was the all-time score records for Contra Costa County.  While I set a record in
the Single-OP (Assisted) class back in 2017, the number looked low enough to be easily beat.

This turned out to be the 1st of 3 operating goals for this CQP weekend: the 2nd being some
remote OP-time for NX6T's remote operation from the WA6TQT Super station.  The 3rd goal
came as a surprise to even me: run as WQ6X using a QRP configuration.

Accomplishing this goal required I setup some easily modifiable F-Key macros for F1-CQ
and F3-TU messages.  It began as K6Q working stations at 100-watts.  Because I was running
as Assisted, I was allowed to use the info gained from running K6Q to then work the station again
as WQ6X (turning down the power to 5-Watts before calling).  Of course, having access to the (EASY) Button helped things a little.

Compared to previous years, band condx. were quite amazing; the sun waited until 10pm Sunday
(7+ hours after the CQP ending) before BELCHing an X-1 flare.  Amazingly, even in the Concord signal-vortex there were openings to Europe (EU).  Many CA scores submitted to the 3830 Scores website mentioned being called my OM2VL.  NoT only DiD OM2VL make it into the K6Q log; the real miracle came at 05:32z when he called WQ6X (5-watts) on 40-meters and we exchanged exchanges.

Another surprise came around 22:00z on 10-meters.  While the band had been open domestically
all day, suddenly I was working PT7, ZL3, KH6, KL7 and even JA; WQ6X on 5-watts worked into KH6/KL7.  Two remote hours w/NX6T put 200+ Cw/Ssb contacts into their log.  After some sleep
at midnight, I ran the 2am to 5am shift on 40 & 80/75.  While 160-meter contacts were made earlier, Billy-Bob and his brother Barney were evidently sound asleep, leaving 160 a "deathly quiet" frequency morgue in the middle of the night.

For Sunday, I ran only the 1pm to 2pm shift for NX6T, leaving the rest of the contest time for K6Q/WQ6X.  With 55 QSOs in the QRP log, the remainder of the contest was all about K6Q beating the K6T score from 2017.  Overall, due to the nature of the WQ6X operation, I came up with a new callsign phonetic: WHISKEY QRP 6 Xperimental.

Because I typically run NX6T in the middle of the night, I get to experience what I call the purposeful 40-meter intentional-QRM; this event was no exception.  At 10:57z, NX6T was BOMBARDed by RTTY on 7.035.  Shifting frequency, it shifted with me.  Then quickly as it came, it disappeared. 
10-minutes later.  Running Lsb on 7.185, I was BOMBARDed by the "data cranker" (heard ONLY
on 40-meters).  Then again, 40-meters gives us access to the Russian Military beacons.

When it was all over, I sat transfixed, studying the ending stats for both K6Q and WQ6X. 
What began as considerations of running Multi-single from Alameda County, instead morphed
into a Triple-OP operation: RIVE & 2xCCOS.

DiD YOU work the CQP California QSO Party?

Is K6Q, NX6T, WQ6X (or all 3) in YOUR logt?