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Saturday, April 2, 2016

100 DXCC in 100 DAYS QRP Challenge finished

I finished the 100 DXCC in 100 days QRP. Almost can't believe I finished this as it is not a easy challenge at all. When I first read about this concept on NY4G Ariel's blog I thought this would only be possible to accomplish for those that are retired and have almost unlimited time for the hobby. Luckely Ariel published the rules and I decided to participate because there was no actual time limit. Anyway I accomplished this in only 79 days and that was totally unexpected. Ariel sent me a nice certificate via e-mail, thanks for that.


Analyzing the whole log is interesting. 79 days is a long time and sometimes I had excelllent propagation, sometimes not at all. I didn't have time every day, only on the dates that are in the log. I managed to work at least one or sometimes more new DXCC every day I spend time on the radio.So actually, if you only count the days that I was active, I did 100 DXCC in 33 days! Sometimes I really doubt I would work a new one and then in the end I suddenly managed to work it. There were surprises and there were days that I struggled to make a QSO anywhere. I even modified my FT-817 at day 67 to work A45XR from Oman which I had seen spotted the days before on 60m. And incredible, after modifying the rig first QSO was with him on 60m JT65. After day 76 I thought I would not going to make it within 100 days, just 24 days left, you know how fast time goes! I decided to take part in the CQWW WPX SSB 2016 with QRP to hunt primarely for DXCC to ad to the challenge log. And successfully I did! Well, at the end of the contest I counted 100 DXCC...however Z6 Kosovo (worked 2 different stations in the contest) is officially not a valid DXCC and so I stranded at 99. Can you imagine how this was on my mind! I had to make that last one. Had some radio time again tuesday evening after the contestweekend. Hunted for several DXCC I heard and saw spotted on the cluster but it's hard with only 5W. At the end saw T77C spotted on 40m CW and 2 calls later I was in his log, mission accomplished! After the challenge finished Ariel wrote me he had been analyzing the log:

I also analyzed your log with some interesting findings.  Your first half came rather easy as many of the DXCC entities are close by.  You were averaging about 1300 miles per QSO.   Then you had to go out much further in distance.  At the end you were averaging close to 2500 plus miles per QSO.
Antennas make all the difference for QRP.  K4SV averaged about 4200 miles per QSO with his big SteppIR with 4 elements on 20m at 90 feet.  I only have a 2 element wire beam on the high bands which allowed me to average 3800 miles per QSO.

Most memorable and amazing QSOs:

OD5ZZ Lebanon (worked 15m SSB from my mobile with the modified DV27 antenna his signal 9+30dB), JY6ZZ Jordan (SSB 17m), AP2IA Pakistan (15m JT9 ATNO for me), PZ5RA Surinam (on 10m PSK63), FR4QT Reunion Isl. (10m SSB), 7P8C Lesotho (10m CW), ZL3NB New Zealand (30m JT65 ODX 17939km), VP8LP Falkland Isl. (20m PSK125), A45XR Oman (60m JT65), NL7V Alaska (20m SSB) and actually the last 20 DXCC in the challenge log are all special!

A few QSLs received from the QRP QSOs in the challenge log


It has been a incredible experience and I'm glad I took the opportunity to take part in this event. If you're looking for a goal within the hobby I can certainly recommend this challenge.



19 comments:

  1. Congratulations, well done!

    73, Sverre, LA3ZA

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  2. Congrats Bas - QRP DXCC in only 79 days! And some good stuff too, especially working the Falklands. I wonder now what is your total DXCC count with QRP?

    73 - John AE5X
    https://tatqrp.wordpress.com

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    1. Hello John, Flakland Isl. was actually very easy. At that moment I wondered why he had not many replies. I spotted him on the cluster but even after that only a few responded to him. I don't know exactly how many DXCC I worked with QRP. I think about 120 in total?? I really should count it some day. 73, Bas

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  3. Hallo Bas, gefeliciteerd, mooie verbindingen en goede prestatie. Dit is het mooie van onze hobby, je kunt zoveel dingen doen. Ja, ik heb alle tijd om achter de set te zitten, gepensioneerd dus alle tijd. Toch doe ik dat niet. Er zijn zelfs dagen dat de set niet aan gaat. Voor mij is het verbindingen maken leuk om te doen. DX-en hoeft voor mij niet speciaal, wel leuk als ik er tegen aan loop, maar is niet mijn hoofddoel. Meestal QRP maar soms ook low power +/- 25 watt. Naast radio zijn er zoveel andere leuke dingen om te doen. Besteedt veel tijd met je YL en QRP (s) want het leven gaat soms zo hard voorbij. Geniet ervan zolang het kan. Een fijne zondag, 73 Paul PC4T

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    1. Hallo Paul, ja voor mij komt familie ook op eerste plaats hoor. Al heb ik best wel veel tijd besteed aan de hobby de laatste maanden. Nu de dagen weer langer worden en het weer beter ben ik weer met andere dingen bezig. Het aantal posts hier zal dan ook wel iets minder worden. 73, Bas

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  4. Hello Bas

    I always look forward to reading about your endeavors - QRP or not. You have a very good writing style that people can relate to. I am glad you enjoyed participating and taking on the QRP DXCC Challenge. Those who take it seriously like you did have the most to learn from it. There are three people who have daytime jobs in the participants - you, me and N3CZ. N3CZ is a very experienced QRP contester and radio operator with several DXpeditions "under his belt" and he has a decent gain antenna - a 3 element SteppIR. The rest of the guys are retired but on top of that they also have big antennas and they are also experienced DXers (all on the DXCC Honor Roll). W4KA's big antenna broke down so he was forced to use wire antennas. So you were able to prove that with perseverance, your antenna system and your effort, you were also able to do it in less than 100 days. The fact that the other guys beat us in the time it takes does not matter because the Challenge is a personal one - to do it with all the limitations we have - most important of which is time. Congrats Bas - well done and a well written blog article.

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    1. Hello Ariel, tnx for the inside information. Indeed the challenge is personal and you shouldn't compare to others. I don't actually, it was fun and I accomplished it. 73, Bas

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  5. Congratulations Bas and very nice summery of the challenge!
    73, Mike

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  6. Hallo Bas, Fantastisch gedaan. Achteraf kun je opgelucht ademhalen na alle UPs en de DOWNs. hi. Je heb een mooie klappper gemaakt in de CQ WPX SSB en dat nog wel met SSB.
    Het Award ziet er mooi uit. Gefeliciteerd. 73, Bert

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    1. Hallo Bert, bedankt voor de complimenten. Nou ja, je weet zelf hoe dat gaat met QRP(p). Het is niet makkelijk, maar dat is juist een uitdaging. 73, Bas

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  7. Replies
    1. It certainly does Roger, yes it does. But takes a lot of time as well. Never mind, this is possible with only 5W and 84m of electricity wire. 73, Bas

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  8. Bas

    You can add to your wall of fame by entering into the 2016 DX Marathon held by CQ Magazine. I bet you will get first place for the Netherlands. Google DX Marathon for the rules. You already did the work - now all you have to do is enter.

    Ariel NY4G

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    Replies
    1. Hello Ariel, tnx for the tip. Not that I am a certificate hunter. But I will look into it. 73, Bas

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    2. Hello Ariel, found the rules for the marathon. Unfortenately there is a limitation for antennas.

      1. and may be tower-supported at only one point

      My horizontal loop is supported by 4 towers (masts)

      2. Wire antennas, regardless of
      type, may not exceed 130 feet or 40 meters in length

      My horizontal loop is 84 meters in length.

      So I will not apply for the certificate.

      Thanks anyway,

      73, Bas

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Thanks for your comment. Bedankt voor je reactie. 73, Bas