WQ6X works another dual-OP CQ WW Contest

This CQ W.W. Cw contest seemed destined to be like the rest until a series of blue screens indirectly changed all that.  In preparation for writing this Blog entry, I tossed together another "Blast from the Past" Blog about this worldwide Cw contest.  ([CLICK HERE] to read that).

Until 2019, I normally ran the CQ WW Cw contest some variant of single-OP.  For this year, I put in
a request to run the CQ W.W. as QRP from our Anza location in Southern California, only to discover that Axel (KI6RRN) was set to run the site as SO2R remotely (from Alaska, no less).  Dennis (N6KI) gave me the go ahead to run from our newer setup in Ramona (not far from the Anza station "as the crow flies"), colloquially known as Cliffside.

 

I spent Thanksgiving daytime rewiring the stereo Cw audio.  While setting up the K3/0 for remote access a series of Windoze-7 "Blue Screens" made their presence, after which it was discovered
that the K3/0 no longer had internet access.  The plan was to resolve that problem on Friday afternoon in time for the contest's 00:00z (4pm in California) starting time.

 

In the "11th hour", N6KI texted me and said we should run a multi-single operation for a resounding 1st-place.  While that took me by surprise, all it really meant I need to change things around a bit.  What was to be a QRP operation w/ GooD location and antennas, became a QRP operation w/not-so-GooD location and antennas.  The way I run radiosport events is to make whatever radio setup
I have available into a successful operation nonetheless.

While other operators put NX6T on the air initially, Cliff (KN6NBT) took over the Windoze-7 system here to troubleshoot the sudden lack of remote access to the K3/0.  Somehow, the blue screens corrupted a network sharing setting, disrupting internet access.  With that fixed, a log was setup
on the N1MM+ software enabling WQ6X to run the CQ W.W. GiG as a QRP station.

I ran the 1am/2am shift on Saturday/Sunday mornings for NX6T, leaving me with most of the daytime hours for running QRP Dx for the first time; the previous two QRP runs were in domestic contests (CQP and Sweepstakes).  Similar to recent contest weekends, 10-meters has been THE band
from this location; so good that I ALMOST submitted the log as a Single-OP 10-meter entry. 
Both afternoons produced an opening to JA, not to mention South America.

While I ran frequencies throughout the weekend, to pickup multipliers, S&P was required. 
To make it thru some of the bigger pileups, timing was EVERYTHING.  Slipping in the WQ6X
callsign during a quiet moment on received a surprising reply.

During the middle of the night shifts from NX6T, Sunday morning brought in some intentional
RTTY QRM, right atop my calling frequency of 7012.12. Luckily, when I changed frequency,
it didn't follow me.  Listening on 7.039 heard both the "K" and "M" Russian military beacons
indicating clear openings to Asia.  Also notable was the AWOL (for months) "F" beacon. 
I've written about these beacons many times.  ([CLICK HERE] to read the latest in the series.)

To keep track of my results as the contest went on, I turned to the online scoreboard and the Reverse Beacon Network.  Not surprising, the RBN only listed a few spots for WQ6X.  Running 100-watts, the list of RBN spots is quite lengthy.  Nevertheless, the above screens made running a QRP operation more exciting.

When it was all over, it would seem that NX6T took 8th-place overall, 5th-place for USA and 1st-place for the W6 call area.  Similarly, WQ6X running QRP also took 8th-place overall, 4th-place for USA and 1st-place for W6 - GO Figure.

While the CQ W.W. weekend did not run as expected, it turned out to be an interesting challenge
and vindicated running QRP power even with marginal antennas and a marginal location.

DiD YOU run the CQ W.W. Cw Contest?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?