WAZ160 – All 40 Zones

Richard, K5NA piloted TF4X in the CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest.

He made 1620 contacts (1531 after dupes), 42 Sections/States and 77 DXCC countries for a raw score of 1,056,244 points.

Considering the poor conditions this is an amazing accomplishment from this Arctic location although we are no longer surprised at the Arctic King´s performance and that of the location.

I believe that the noise level here may be up to 60dB less than that experienced in other countries and built up areas.

His score exceeds that of some Multi-Operator stations.  I would like to mention that he was called by ZL3IX for the 5th QSO in Communications History between TF and ZL.  Three of those QSOs belong to ZL3IX.   He was also called by CE1/K7CA in Chile for the second ever QSO between TF and CE.

His QSO with VP8ORK in South Orkney is the First Ever QSO between VP8 and TF.

All equipment performed flawlessly during the operation and the Arctic King never wavered in his resolve.

All Hail the King !

Richard wrote the following ‘soapbox’ about his effort:

TF4X – 2011 CQWW 160M CW

In early December, 2010, TF4M (Thor) contacted me about doing the ARRL 160M Contest from his station near Bildudalur, Iceland. Since it was too late for me to arrange my schedule for that event, I asked about the 2011 CQWW 160M CW Contest. After Thor checked his schedule and commitments, he agreed for me to come for that contest.

The first thing we did when arriving here two days before the contest was to get a tour of the antennas. They are amazing, to say the least, and represent a degree of work and commitment that few in the world would attempt. On the HF bands Thor has installed five rhombics in all the major directions. Two rhombics are reversible giving seven total directions. I played with them a little before the contest and was impressed. If the station was in the direction of the rhombic, you heard it. If you switched rhombics, the station disappeared. Amazing.

But I was here for the 160M contest and that was a different set of antennas. Thor has installed a vertical transmitting antenna that he calls the “Arctic King”. The antenna is a very large straight pole (It is the largest in diameter, weight, and height in Iceland) with two wires up the sides to a capacity top hat. This antenna is on the shore surrounded on three sides by seawater. It is located a long ways from the station and Thor ran thousands of feet of very large low-loss hardline to get to it. The antenna works!

Just as impressive is the receiving setup. Thor has installed four reversible beverages for the major directions. Added to the receiving setup is another 160M vertical located a long ways from the transmitting antenna. They all WORK very well. Anything that could hear me, I could hear even better. Imagine listening from a location that has zero atmospheric noise. That is what I had here.

I just reviewed the spots for the contest and found that many spots said that I had “good ears”. I had to laugh because I remember the comments I would see after a 160M contest from noisy Texas when the comments would sometimes say, “no ears”.

The only confusing factor of hearing so well is that sometimes we did not have transmitting conditions to an area that I was hearing quite well. So it would seem that sometimes we were not getting out, but in reality we just had poor conditions in that direction. Aurora is always a factor in transmitting from this part of the world. That’s why Thor has put so much effort into a superior transmitting antenna.

I used a K3 in diversity mode for practically all of the contest.

Operating this contest somewhere other than the USA is a real education for me. The band seemed always open to Europe even hours after European sunrise. There are many, many stations operating this contest in Europe. The band is as crowded here as it is in the USA during the contest. There is lots of splatter and key clicks, but you learn to live with it and do the best you can. The conditions to Europe dominated the contest.

The USA and other parts of the world were a different matter. I had hoped that the spots would bring lots of USA QSOs, but there were not many callers. I missed a lot of W7 multipliers and I probably should have done more searching and pouncing to find them. But I worried that even if I heard a station well, there was no guarantee that they could hear me. I seemed to hear everyone regardless of conditions. However, I did work a number of California stations.

One of the surprises was hearing and working J28AA in zone 37. Thor had said before the contest that he only needed zone 37 to complete his 160M WAZ After the QSO, I immediately jumped up and called Thor. Thor rushed in and started calling and in a couple of minutes had his last zone. It was a magic moment for all of us, me, Thor, and Susan. We drank a toast to Thor’s success while I continued to call CQ and work stations.

Two other QSOs come to mind, having VP8ORK answer my CQ and later, having KH2/N2NL answer my CQ. I worked a couple of Jas, not nearly as many as I expected. So conditions were not very good in that direction. Someone on my frequency said a BA1 was calling me. I listened but I never heard anything of it. That was the only thing that heard me that I did not hear all weekend.

It was a pleasure to operate from Thor’s station. Thor is an excellent cook and introduced us to many of the traditional Icelandic dishes and treats. I probably gained a few pounds from all the good food. He is a fine host.

This was truly an adventure.

73, Richard – TF/K5NA

Soapbox comments from other contestants may be read on the 3830 reflector.

The Certificate has arrived!

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