The new ARRL Digital Contest grabbed my interest chiefly because it included 6 meters. I thought that might help get a few new people on the band. However, I discovered that the distance scoring for this contest means you need to be grabbing international DX rather than nearby stations.
I dug out a 14-AVQ vertical in preparation for the contest and got it set up. My dad won this antenna at a hamfest about 50 years ago. It’s seen some use. It covers 40-20-15-10 meters when it feels like it. I found that 15 meters worked great, and sometimes 40 and 20 would work but rarely 10 meters.
I had thought about entering the QRP category. But in testing before the contest, I found that no one could hear me. I don’t need that amount of frustration. So I entered the standard 100-watt category.
I thought that FT4 might be an excellent way to tackle this contest. And I did make some QSOs. But many found it hard to hear me on FT4 (27 QSOs), so I was mostly on FT8 (107 QSOs). 63% of contacts were on 15 meters and 34% on 20 meters. I managed to snag some great DX with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Falkland Islands. Europe was sparse, with only Croatia, Netherlands, and Slovenia.
I also discovered the 8-hour overlay category for this contest. With minimum 60 minutes breaks, I had 7 hours and 37 minutes of activity. That might help my 1,004 points in the rankings. We’ll see.
That was fun. Next week it’s off to the Texas Panhandle for 6-meter ops at rare grids and the ARRL June VHF Contest. Hope to see you in the log.
