Monday, December 5, 2022

WQ6X Survives another 160-meter (barely) dual-OP Operation

The first two contest weekends in December bring us a pair of single-band ARRL radiosport contests: beginning with 160-meters (this last weekend) and moving onto 10-meters (this coming weekend),
just in time to synchronize with what hopefully will be a rising Solar Flux Index (SFI) along with low space-WX disturbances.

For the 160 GiG, the solar flux was low, which, as I understand it, is supposed to auger in favor
of better 160-meter band conditions.  Unfortunately, signal-absorption was a HUGE problem. 
I've written about 160-meters being a world unto itself
  • [X] - 160 METERS: A Whirrrl'd Unto Itself - Part 1
  • [X] - 160 METERS: A Whirrrl'd Unto Itself - Part 2
  • [X] - WQ6X Muses Wonderfully over the Wonderful Differences
              between 160 & 10 Meters
  • [X] - WQ6X Walks a Weird ARRL 160 Contest (2021)
While this was a thorough test of remote access to our Anza station (WA6TQT), it was even
more a retread test-run of the original Stereo-Cw concept, which I have written so much about. 
([CLICK HERE] to see some of the relevant blog entries on this topic).

Band condition-wise, not only was propagation a fraction of what we experienced from last year,
per soapbox comments, this FACT was evident for virtually ALL of the multi-OP operations around
the country; so at least, we don't need to wonder what WE could've done better - overall it was the atmosphere, not our radio/antenna systems.  Running Single-OP as WQ6X, it was quite a struggle
to put a WHOPPING 31-QSOs into the log.










While the NX6T operation managed to snag 80 out of the 84 ARRL sections,
MY question is, where on EARTH were all the stations in W. Texas (WTX) section?
The remaining sections to work were all those illusive Canadians (NL, NT & PE).

DiD YOU work the ARRL-160 contest?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?




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