On Nov 9, 6:34�pm, K�HB wrote:
What weekend!

Yes, it was. Even at the bottom of the sunspot cycle.

CW Sweepstakes is my "radio high" each fall.

Same here. I'm not a serious contester, I focus on just two main
efforts a year: FD and SS. Completely different contests but both are
fun.

�This is a Radioman skill
contest, not a computer operator skill contest.
�The long, complex, and
unpredictable exchange emphasizes operator
skill, and the crowded bands
challenge your station design skills.

Yes, and there's more. Because you can only work another station once,
and section multipliers count for so much, you have to choose band and
operating style for maximum ROTI (Return On Time Investment). IOW how
much time is it worth to work a weak one, when that same station may be
20 over on another band in a couple of hours? Will that rare section
show up as you run stations, or should you go hunting? Etc.

A computer logger helps (I went the N3FJP route in 2007 - had to
assemble a computer to do it, no big deal) but the computer won't make
operating decisions for you. And you still need those Radioman skills.

Thanks for the Q, Jim.

You're welcome, Hans. I think we've had an SS QSO every SS since about
1970. Field Day too.

This year I couldn't go all-out; just a couple of hours with the
Southgate Type 7. Still managed a couple hundred QSOs and well over 60
sections.

Heard the really big guns handing out serial numbers in the 1500s. That
means there were at least 1500 different stations on that weekend, all
running CW. Since some stations are multiops, the total number of ops
involved is higher.

Field Day Next!

73 de Jim, N2EY