CQ World Wide VHF Contest
CQ World Wide VHF Contest
| Call | Category | Comments | 4O6BLM | Multi-Op | OPERATED FROM JN92JJ. BETTER CONDITIONS BEFORE CONTEST. SOME CONFUSION ON FT8 CALLING FREQ :-) | AA8TA | Single Op All | LIMITED TIME TODAY. HAD A FEW OPENEINGS TO THE WEST BUT DID NOT MAKE VERY MANY CONTACTS. KENWOOD TS-590SG, BAREFOOT HOMEMADE HALO, 15 FEET AGL | AB1YK | Hilltopper | I HAD A LOT OF FUN FROM THE TOP OF MOUNT MONADNOCK THIS YEAR! I HIKED UP MY HOME BREW ANTENNAS 2M 6 ELEMENT BEAM, 6M 2 ELEMENT BEAM AND MY FT-817. I HAD FLIERS IN A CLIPBOARD TO EXPLAIN WHAT I WAS DOING TO THE 100S OF HIKERS THAT SHOWED UP! THIS ALLOWED ME TO PROMOTE THE HOBBY AND OPERATE! | AC9EZ | Single Op All | GREAT CONTEST THIS YEAR! ENJOYED WORKING SOME NEW GRIDS AND STATIONS ON THE WEST COAST. THE BAND OPENED UP AT SOME SURPRISING TIMES. LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR'S CONTEST. 73 DE JIM AC9EZ | AF1R/R | Rover | FIRST TIME ENTERING THIS CONTEST. UNFORTUNATELY I GOT A LATE START AND ONLY HAD LIMITED TIME ON THE TWO SUMMITS I OPERATED FROM BECAUSE THE STATE PARKS CLOSED EARLY. | AF1T | Single Op All | I WAS GONE DURING THE BEST 50MHZ ES SATURDAY. CONDITIONS DETERIORATED SUNDAY AFTER THE RAIN CAME IN. | AL1VE/R | Rover | GOOD CONDITIONS,JUST NEEDED A COMPUTER THAT WORKED. SO MANY STATIONS ON FT8 WHEN SIGNALS WITH EXTREMELY STRONG SIGNALS. COULD HAVE WORKED MANY MORE STATIONS AND LOTS FASTER IF THEY HAD CHECKED OUT SSB. | JA5FBZ | Single Op 6M | I ENJOYED THE CONTEST. | JR2WLQ | Single Op 2M | VERY ENJOYED FOR 2018 CQ-WW-VHF, MANY THANK'S. | K0FX | Single Op 6M | NEED MY 6M ANT BACK UP-, KT34XA DOES NOT CUT IT. TNX FOR THE Q'S 73 DON FX | K1IM | Checklog | 3 ELE YAGI AT 3 FEET HIGH AND 100 WATTS! WHY MAKE ANYTHING EASY! I HOPE YOU DIDN'T GET HURT CLIMBING THROUGH YOUR RECEIVER FRONT END!!! TOM, K1IM | K1ZK | Single Op All | NOT A LOT OF QSOS THIS YEAR BUT WOOHOO A BUNCH OF NEW DXCC ENTITIES! FANTASTIC OPENING TO EU SUNDAY MORNING! | K3CCR | Single Op All | K3CCR IS THE CLUB STATION AT THE COLLINGTON CONTINUING-CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY AT FM 18OW IN MD, JUST EAST OF DC. FOR THE JULY 2018 CQ WW VHF, I (N3UM) WAS THE ONLY AVAILABLE OPERATOR. I WAS IN SOHC MODE [SINGLE OP 2 CONTEST], ALSO DOING NAQP RTTY. BOTH TESTS STARTED AT 18Z; I GOT ON 2M. FOR THE FIRST HALF-HOUR BUT HEARD VERY FEW SIGNALS, CQING OR TUNING. I GOT ONLY 5 QSOS IN 4 GRIDS, PLUS GIVING W3EKT A QSO ON 6M. AND FINDING NO OTHER SIGS THERE EITHER. SO, I WENT TO NAQP RTTY AND GOT LOTS OF QSOS TILL QRT AT 03Z. I HAD MEANT TO TRY VHF AGAIN, BUT THE CONTRAST BETWEEN HIGH ACTIVITY AND NEARLY NONE KEPT ME FROM DOING SO. SUN. AM AT 1340Z, 2 M. WAS EMPTY BUT I COULD HEAR SOME 6M. SIGS ON A LOW 40M. DIPOLE ON ITS 7TH HARMONIC. DESPERATE FOR A BETTER ANTENNA, I CHECKED 6M. SWR OF THE LOADED 2-EL. 40M-PART OF OUR JK 20/40 FALCON ON THE 85 FT. HILLTOP TOWER. WOW, 2.3 TO 1 SWR! A TUNER BROUGHT IT DOWN TO 1-1.3 OVER THE BAND, AND I HEARD S9 ES AND LOCAL SIGS. STARTING 14Z I GOT 16 QS, 11 OF THEM ON CW, INCLUDING 9 ES QSOS IN 8 EM AND EN GRIDS, AND BROKE FOR LUNCH. AFTER LUNCH, HEAVY RAIN, P STATIC, NEARBY T-STORMS, AND ONLY ONE SIGNAL HEARD, W3IP CQING ON 6M. I PASSED ON COMING BACK FOR THE LAST HOUR HOPING FOR ACTIVITY AND NO STORMS. TINY SCORE, BUT GREAT TO LEARN THAT OUR FALCON WORKS WELL ON 6M, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD NO 6M. BEAM SINCE WE GOT THE FALCON UP; TOO MUCH TO PUT BOTH ON THE TOWER. NO IDEA WHY IT WORKS, OR WHAT GAIN. SIGS ARE ~1 S-UNIT LOUDER IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. HAM SPIRIT: TRY IT!! | K3TW | Single Op QRP | BAND CONDITIONS ON 50 MHZ. SSB/CW WERE ABOVE AVERAGE, BUT THE SAME CAN NOT BE SAID ABOUT ACTIVITY. IT'S TIME TO REVISE THE CONTEST RULES SO DIFFERENT MODES ARE SCORED SEPARATELY. | K4QR | Single Op 6M | LOUSY CONDITIONS BUT FT8 A BIT BETTER | K5QE | Multi-Op | Es on 6M was very good this time. Fortunately, we did not have to rely on FT8. Rates were 120/hour at the best and more like 60/hour on averge hours. We still found way too many folks that were not running in the contest mode. Lots of aggravation. The moon pass was poor on 2M. Degradation was high and declination was low, making for poor grid totals there. | K5XU | Single Op 6M | HAD FUN, BUT OF COURSE, WISH THE BAND HAD BEEN OPEN LONGER TO MORE PLACES. | K7BHM | Single Op 6M | FT8 IS A USELESS MODE FOR A CONTEST SUCH AS THIS VHF CONTEST. KEEP CW AND SSB (ONLY) IN ONE CATEGORY AND ANOTHER CATEGORY IF FT8 IS USED. | K7BWH/R | Rover | I OPERATED SATURDAY-ONLY AND ACTIVATED FOUR GRID SQUARES. MY CN86 AND CN96 WAS FROM A 3,500' RIDGE NEAR MT RAINIER IN WASHINGTON STATE. IT SURE WAS FUN TO HAVE A 6M OPENING TO NM, AZ AND CA. I WOULD'VE WORKED A MORE GRIDS BUT USING ROVER /R ON FT8 WAS DIFFICULT AND SLOW. FUNNY TO SEE SIGNALS FROM IN-STATE WA BOUNCE OFF THE NEARBY 10,000' MOUNTAIN AND BE EQUALLY STRONG IN ALL DIRECTIONS, LOL. MY CN87 AND CN97 WAS FROM A 2,500' HILLSIDE NEAR ISSAQUAH, WA WITH A GOOD VIEW WEST BUT EVERYTHING ELSE (AND THE BAND OPENING EAST) WAS BLOCKED BY THE HILL. FUN CONTEST AND I'M HAPPY WITH RESULTS FOR A ONE-DAY ROVER TRIP. IT SURE IS A LOT EASIER TO ROVE CLOSER TO HOME LIKE THIS AND NOT CAMP OVERNIGHT. | K8TS | Single Op 6M | SIX DIED SUNDAY....DEAD AND BURIED | K9JK/R | Rover | OP'D FROM 4 GRIDS IN IL ON SATURDAY (ABOUT 6 HOURS WITH A LITTLE BIT OF DRIVE TIME) & RETURNED TO THOSE SAME 4 GRIDS ON SUNDAY (FOR ABOUT 4 MORE HOURS WITH SIMILAR DRIVE TIME). 81 QS/57 MULTS ON SATURDAY (LOCAL TIME) AND 60 QS/55 MULTS ON SUNDAY BUT, EVEN THOUGH SUNDAY'S OPERATING WAS FROM THE SAME GRIDS AS SATURDAY'S OPERATING, WITH SUNDAY'S PROPAGATION BEING TO DIFFERENT AREAS, 44 (80%) OF SUNDAY'S MULTS WERE 'NEW' OVER SATURDAY'S MULTS - 141 QS/101 MULTS TOTAL. IT WAS GREAT TO CONTACT SEVERAL STATIONS ON 50 MHZ FROM ALL 4 OF THE GRIDS I VISITED AND SEVERAL MORE FROM THREE OF THE GRIDS I VISITED. EVEN WITH FT-8 DRAWING ACTIVITY AWAY FROM PHONE (AND CW), THE LEVEL OF ACTIVITY ON PHONE SEEMED A LITTLE HIGHER THAN RECENT YEARS AND PROPAGATION ON 6 METERS SEEMED MORE STEADY. NOTHING SPECTACULAR NOTED ON 2 METERS BUT NICE TO GET A FEW 2 POINT QS. THANKS TO ALL WHO WERE ON AND PARTICIPATED AND TO CONTEST DIRECTOR STEVE, N8BJQ, FOR ALL OF HIS HARD WORK TO MANAGE AND SUPPORT THE CQ WW VHF CONTEST AND KEEP IT GOING. | K9LA | Single Op 6M | I WAS IN CONNECTICUT REMOTING TO THE HOME STATION IN INDIANA. | KC0SKM/R | Rover | START OUT WITH AMP TROUBLE BUT WENT OUT AND HAD FUN | KC4PX | Single Op All | FLORIDA WAS AGAIN BLESSED WITH GOOD OPENINGS TO EU, NORTHEAST MIDWEST AND WEST COAST ON SSB AND FT8. I ALSO MANAGED TO GET THE 2 METER RADIO WORKING ON MSK144. MOST EXCITED TO WORK INTO NORTHERN CANADA.. DO20, DO42 AND DO61 MY ONLY WISH WAS TO WORK INTO ALASKA FOR NUMBER 50 WAS ON 6 METERS, ONLY TO FIND I MISSED THE KL7 OPENING . THE LATER PART OF THE CONTEST SUNDAY WAS EXCITING TO RUN THE WEST COAST PRIOR TO AN INTENSE STORM COMING FROM THE WEST. UPON STORM ARRIVAL, WINDS REACHED 52 MPH WHEN OVERHEAD AND 6 BECAME DEAD TO ALL SIGNALS. THIS LASTED TO JUST 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO CONTEST END. TO MY SURPRISE, AN INTENSE OPENING TO EUROPE BEGAN WHEN THE STORM MOVED EAST OF MY QTH WITH ONLY 10 MINUTES LEFT IN THE CONTEST. I SUGGEST IN 2019 THE CONTEST SHOULD END NOT AT 2100Z BUT 0300Z THE FOLLOWING DAY. FOR FT8, I CAN SAY IT'S A GREAT WAY TO INCREASE MULTIPLIERS, BUT I ONLY WISH WE CAN ALL CHOOSE WHICH MODE TO USE. WE SHOULD USE NA CONTEST MODE AT ALL TIMES EXCEPT FOR DX CONTACTS. HOPEFULLY WSJT-X CAN AUTOMATICALLY SWITCH MODES IN THE FUTURE. | KD7UO | Single Op All | OPS FROM QUARTZ MTN CN97 | KD7WPJ | Single Op 6M | DXPEDITION TO RARE GRID CM79 IN KING RANGE NCA | KE4S | Single Op 6M | JUST DROPPED IN FOR A COUPLE HOURS OF S&P CW. | KG0HY | Single Op 6M | GOOD SIGNALS OUT IN NEBRASKA | KI7M | Single Op 6M | JUST WISH THERE WAS MORE SSB ACTIVITY | KL7BSC | Hilltopper | HILLTOPPER IN ALASKA . . . IT DOESN'T GET ANY COOLER THAN THAT | KL7UW | Single Op 6M | OPERATED FROM ST. VRAIN STATE PARK IN NORTHERN CO WHILE ON TRIP WITH OUR 5TH WHEEL TRAILER. NOTE 50 PH 7/21 2158 N8XA/8 EN89 | KM4NYI | Single Op 6M | ALL CONTACTS MARKED RTTY ON THIS LOG ARE FT8. THE CABRILLO FORM WOULDN'T ACCEPT FT8, AND I WORKED FOR SEVERAL HOURS TRYING TO GET JT ALERT AND N1MM SOFTWARE TO WORK WITHOUT ANY SUCCESS. | KX7L | Single Op All | MY BEST SCORE IN THIS CONTEST SINCE 2013. NOT AS MANY QSO'S AS THAT YEAR, BUT MORE MULTS! LOTS OF FUN, WITH 6M OPENING ALMOST AT THE START ON SATURDAY, AND STAYING OPEN TO SOMEWHERE UNTIL WELL INTO THE EVENING. OF COURSE UP HERE IN THE PNW WE WERE ALL JEALOUS OF THE EUROPEANS WE COULD HEAR THE GUYS IN THE SW WORKING. WHICH SEEMED TO CAUSE AN ISSUE WITH FT8 OPERATION BEFORE THE BAND OPENED ON SATURDAY, IT SEEMED LIKE 80% OF THE OPS UP HERE WERE USING "CONTEST MODE" BUT WHEN THE BAND OPENED TO THE SW, THAT RATIO FLIPPED - MORE LIKE 80% WEREN'T. WAS IT BECAUE THE EUROPEANS DON'T USE IT, AND THEY JUST TURNED IT OFF? INSTEAD OF SPEEDING QSO'S UP, AS INTENDED, THE EFFECT SEEMED TO BE TO SLOW THEM DOWN, IF THE OTHER GUY IS IN THE OTHER MODE. STILL, I HAD A BLAST, AND WORKED SEVERAL NEW GRIDS INCLUDING CN77, WHICH IS "RIGHT NEXT DOOR" BUT ALWAYS ELUSIVE UNTIL NOW. THANKS FOR THE Q'S! | N0JK | Hilltopper | WHILE OPERATING PORTABLE HAD A SPONTANEOUS VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE IN MY R EYE, THUS HAD TO QRT. HAD SEVERAL JA DECODES AND WAS TEED UP ON JH4UYB WHEN IT HAPPENED... | N0LD | Single Op 6M | CASUAL ENTRY TO PICK UP A FEW NEW GRIDS - NETTED ENGLAND ON 6M! | N0URW | Single Op All | FARTHEST 2 METERS SSB CONTACT WAS TO ALABAMA, FARTHEST 6 METER SSB CONTACT WAS TO THE CANARY ISLANDS | N1RWY | Single Op All | NON CONTEST AND CONTEST MODE CONFUSION ON FT8 LEAD TO LOTS OF BUSTED QSOS. | N2SLO | Single Op All | CONTESTS ON 6M ARE NOW FT-8 FOCUSED. SATURDAY CONDITIONS WERE GOOD, UNFORTUNATELY I HAD TO LEAVE AROUND 2130 DUE TO A FAMILY ISSUE SO I MISSED PLENTY OF DOUBLE HOP TO THE WEST COAST. MINIMAL ACTIVITY ON 2M THIS CONTEST. PARTICIPATED ONLY AN HOUR SUNDAY MORNING... | N4PN | Single Op 6M | STILL A LITTLE LIFE IN OLE 6M. NICE TO FIND SOME OPS THAT HADN'T GOT ALL CAUGHT UP IN FT-8. THANKS TO CQ FOR SPONSORING THIS EVENT ONE MORE TIME. | N6HI | Single Op All | RAN QRP, 5 WATTS TO AN END-FED 20 FOOT PIECE OF WIRE THROWN INTO A TREE OUT MY WINDOW. MAGIC BAND WAS A BLAST, WISH I HAD MORE TIME! JUST HAD A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR AVAILABLE BUT WHAT A TREAT ON SUNDAY. THANKS FOR THE QSOS. 73, JOHN N6HI GO ARIZONA OUTLAWS! | N6ZE | Single Op 6M | EXCUSES, COMPLAINTS, ETC 1. ONLY OPERATED DURING LAST COUPLE OF HOURS OF CONTEST DUE TO PUBLIC SERVICE ALS BIKE RIDE & OTHER FAMILY COMMITMENTS. SOAPBOX: 2. FIRST 16 QSOS ON SSB; LAST 4 QSO FT-8 6M: 100W-SSB/25W FT8/5 ELEMENT M>2 @ 15 FT | N7EPD | Single Op All | WAS OUT OF TOWN SO GOT STARTED OVER 4 HR LATE AND REALIZED I MISSED A BUNCH OF DOUBLE HOP. IT HAS BEEN HOT AND DRY CAUSING THE POWER LINE QRN TO RETURN AFTER A QUIET SPRING/ SUMMER SO FAR SO THAT WAS AGAINST ME TOO. FURTHER DISCOURAGEMENT OVER SO MANY STATIONS ON FT8 NOT USING NA CONTEST MODE EITHER. ARE ALL THOSE POEPLE THAT CLUELESS???? NEEDLESS TO SAY MY SCORE IS PATHETIC THIS YEAR. | N7MZW | Single Op 6M | FIRST TIME EFFORT IN THIS EVENT USING A ICOM IC-706MK-IIG WITH 80 WATTS OUTPUT,A HEIL PRO MICRO HEADSET WITH VOX,AND A HOME BREWED 2 ELEMENT CUBICAL QUAD UP 30 FEET. A DIAMOND X-200 VERTICAL WAS USED TO CONTACT TWO LOCAL OPS ON 2 METER SSB.LOTS OF FUN WITH 39 NEW GRIDS TO ADD TO MY COUNT SINCE MAKING MY FIRST 6 METER SSB CONTACT IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR.MEXICO AND CANADA WERE MY ONLY DX STATIONS WORKED. I HAD A FEW PRODUCTIVE RUNS,AND HAVE NOTICED THAT PILE UP DICIPLINE ON SIX METERS IS A LOT MORE CHALLENGING COMPARED TO HF CONTESTING. I HAD TO SHUT DOWN MY STATION THREE DIFFERENT TIMES DUE TO NEARBY THUNDERSTORMS.OUR ANNUAL CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS RODEO IS IN FULL SWING TWO BLOCKS NORTH OF MY STATION, SO I NOTICED SOME STRANGE INTERFERENCE SOURCES FROM FERRIS WHEEL LED LIGHTS?, NIGHT CONCERT LIGHTING AND GENERATOR QRN?, AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE FROM A 20,000 SEAT,S.R.O. AUDITORIUM SO NEAR BY. NONE OF THIS NOISE WAS PRESENT ON SIX METER SSB LAST WEEK!. THIS CQ WW VHF CONTEST, THE ARRL VHF CONTEST AND THE LAST S.M.I.R.K. CONTEST WERE MY FIRST THREE VHF CONTESTS,SO I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT I AM HOOKED ON THE "MAGIC BAND".THANKS TO ALL THAT WORKED ME. 73, NOVEMBER SEVEN MANY ZEBRAS WALKING. | ND9M/7 | Single Op 6M | OPERATED PORTABLE FROM GLENDO STATE PARK AND USED AN OCF DIPOLE AT 20 FEET. THE ANTENNA WAS HARDLY THE RIGHT ONE FOR VHF, SO THE BAND OPENING MUST HAVE BEEN A REAL GOOD ONE! | W3EP | Single Op 6M | SIX-METER SPORADIC-E CONDITIONS WERE QUITE INTERESTING FOR MUCH OF THE DAYLIGHT HOURS, BUT CW/SSB ACTIVITY NOTICEABLY LESS THAN WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTED. FOR MANY GOOD REASONS, A SEPARATE ENTRY MODE IS NEEDED TO DIFFERENTIATE STATIONS MAKING DIGITAL CONTACTS FROM THOSE USING ONLY CW AND PHONE MODES. | W5SRO | Single Op 6M | GREAT BAND OPENING INTO OKLAHOMA. | W6BJB | Hilltopper | OPERATED FROM PALISADES PARK ABOUT 1.25 MILES FROM MY HOME QTH IN OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA (SAN DIEGO COUNTY). RIG WAS ELECRAFT KX3 AT 10 WATTS, PX3, BUDDIPOLE 6M DIPOLE, AND A SURFACE PRO LAPTOP RUNNING N1MM+ LOGGING SOFTWARE. GOT ON THE AIR LATE SATURDAY AND DIDN'T GET MUCH, BUT MID-DAY SUNDAY WAS A LOT MORE REWARDING. THANK YOU TO THE FOLKS WHO RUN THE CONTEST! | W7DCM | Single Op 6M | THIS IS MY FIRST ENTRY IN A CQ SPONSORED CONTEST. SEVERAL NEW GRIDS WERE PICKED UP! I HOPE THOSE OPS I ASK QSLS FROM WILL RESPOND AS THAT I'M CHASING VUCC AS WELL AS COUNTIES. | W7OTV | Multi-Op | OPERATING FROM CLOUD CAP LOOKOUT AT CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK, CELEBRATING THE 116TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PARK. ONE OPERATOR FIRST LICENSED TWO WEEKS AGO. | W8RU | Single Op 6M | ONLY HAD LIMITED TIME BUT LUCKED INTO A NICE OPENING ON SUNDAY. THANKS FOR THE QSOS AND 73. RON (W8RU). |
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