2011 CQ WW DX contest

Really enjoying the 2011 CQ WW DX contest. Last year I was only active on 40m since I only had my NorCal 40A. This year, so glad for my Oak Hills Research 100A for 20m. Still, the NorCal 40A is a superior contesting rig as its keyer speed and auto send controls are all on the front panel. The same controls on the OHR 100A are located on the rear of the XCVR making quick use of them awkward. I do like the bandwidth tuning on the OHR 100A, it came in handy on several pileups during the contest.

Not sure why, but even though there was activity on 40m, I have had no luck making any contacts there, yet. Lots of QRN.

20m has been hot and cold, but when it's been hot, activity has been phenomenal! Signals so loud they practically blew the headphones off my head. ...and that was with the AF turned down quite a bit. Stations such as KH7X, N6WM and WX0B were blasting through like gangbusters. I could consistently hear them with the AF almost off.

I've worked about 25 stations so far, not bad for my 1-2 watts out to my wrap-around 40m dipole. Made contact with stations in Russia, Japan, the Bahamas, Alaska and most parts of the US, including, Texas, Georgia, and Pennsylvania to name a few.

Still plan to get on for a few more hours if propagation continues to be favorable. Would have liked to get on 15m, as that band has seen some strong activity at times this weekend. But, not 15m gear this year. Maybe next year.