The claimed scores for both UBA SSB and CW contests 2008 are out. I seem to be the winner in both contests for the 12h HP class. That means, just like last year, I can put up another two plaques on the wall. Am I happy? Yes. But the question is: what is the real value of this victory? In the SSB leg there are only four (4) submitted logs in the 12h HP category. I take the lead with 90k claimed, the runner up claims less than 23k. Hardly a battle fought. But it’s even worse in the CW part where I am the only one to have submitted in the 12h HP class. Showing up and submitting a log would do to get a plaque. My ego lets y’all know that my claimed 258k tops the 247k claimed by the winner in the 24h HP class. More points in half the time…
I am very happy with these plaques. I will never win a plaque in a DX contest like WW, WPX or ARRL. I don’t have the station nor the location to pull that off. Paper certificates ‘1st ON’ à gogo but a real wooden plaque or a trophy? No. So it seems I need to decorate the shack by focusing on the UBA DX contests. Right now that is fairly easy as you can read in the paragraph above. I’m aching for some competition. But I tell you: the day a competitor steps up and snatches the wood before my eyes, I will be very disappointed. So I’ll be happy and proud to nail these two plaques to the wall. I think the UBA DX contests will be more fun when the solar cycle picks up and there will be better propagation. Maybe I should try set some records then? HI
To close this entry: there seems to be a lot of google’ing on the GU74b tube. My posting on that topic (March 17) seems to be clicked a lot. So I guess the world is really looking for some spare GU74b tubes.
My Easter holiday break ends today. I spent a lot of time looking up things and preparing my courses so it was an all time low for ham radio @ ON5ZO. I don’t think I missed much. Worked 9X and 5T and a little bit WPX SSB. Now it’s the final stretch to the finish. A good 2 months and the QRL dust will settle. By then my K3 will hopefully arrive and a new era will begin…