After a few years of helping out on the hard-to-fill slots, there was again enthusiasm for a serious participation in the PA6HQ event this year. Due to the cancellation of two permanent participants, it worked out well this year and we were allocated 20CW and 40SSB.
Putting together a team for a 24 hour contest is generally not such a problem and the experienced base consisting of Ton PA1CC for 20CW and Dervin PD9DX and Alex PA1AW for 40SSB was quickly formed. Later the 40SSB team was expanded with Fred PA3GDG and Jeffrey PD0JZ, both not so experienced. For Jeffrey PD0JZ this was his very first real SSB contest and then 40SSB can be quite tough.
Fortunately, our station has a permanent set-up, so no slogging in the rain for us in the run-up to the contest. The equipment in both shacks arrived at the site during the morning, plugged in and tested. As always, getting the N1MM network working was the biggest challenge, but even that went reasonably well. After the crash course “IC7610” and N1MM and the team photo, it was time to start and it was up to Ton PA1CC and Dervin PD9DX for the first shifts.
As expected, 40SSB started with a solid rate from Europe. The rate went up a lot, so it was a hopeful start. 20CW, on the other hand, did not start so turbulently. There was good activity but the real first hours peak was missing. Actually, this was the story of the entire 24 hours, constant activity but apart from a few brief moments no bizarre pile-ups. However, even in the heavy hours late in the European night, achieving a rate above 50 is just good. 20m was open the whole contest and that was a while ago and a welcome result of the current cycle.
On 40SSB it was Jeffrey PD0JZ’s turn, after a few minutes of getting used to it and with Alex PA1AW listening and coaching it was soon as if he had been doing it for years. Yes, the experience of a station with multiple antennas to choose from, including a beam, is quite different from home in the residential area with an end-fed. You have to realize and experience that and then it’s “business as usual”, also for Jeffrey.
A schedule was made for the whole contest so that everyone had time to eat and sleep. At the PI4COM location, the accommodation facilities are not as well developed as the station, so planning the available sleeping space is almost more challenging than the radio occupancy. Fortunately, there are always operators who can or want to contribute during the night hours and so Ronald PA3EWP took over a few times from Ton PA1CC on 20CW, and the same happened by Fred PA3GDG and Alex PA1AW on 40m SSB. Where Alex still had plenty of activity in the previous hours, Fred in particular was awarded with a challenge. His long shift from 4 to 8 am local time is one of the most difficult at 40m. The Americans (north and south) go to bed except for a few and Europe is not yet awake. But you have to be there and keep going for the best result, something that is not that easy when your rate drops below 15 Q’s/hour.
Contrary to what we are used to, the last hours on 40SSB were quiet. Normally it is pleasantly busy at 40m but now the CQ under the F1 button could be used regularly. Perhaps the more than 1700 QSOs in the log were also to blame for this. 20CW was a pleasantly whirring diesel with constant activity throughout the contest. On both bands, the activity from Asia and Oceania in particular was disappointing. At 40m not a single JA in the log and only a single station from China or Indonesia is disappointing. On the other hand, it went very well towards south and north America. Catching a lot of stations from South America in your best Portuguese and Spanish in the log is satisfying, just like a nice run to North America, but here too the DX of the west coast and Hawaii lagged behind on what we are used to.
All in all, we ended the contest more than satisfied, with more than 1700 QSOs on both bands, we were able to make a nice contribution to the PA6HQ score and the name recognition of the VERON in South America 😉
Two hours after the contest, the shacks were cleaned and locked again and it was time to go home to recover.
Tired but satisfied, we look back on our participation in PA6HQ 2024.
Will we see you again next year?
Team PI4COM
