Een gastverslag: SM7WT: The contest as seen from JO65QQ by Stan SM7WT. 

This year I had time to prepare for the contest (I have just retired),
the weather map looked promising and I checked the beacons, but there was
no indication that this would be anything out of the ordinary. The VHF
forecast site said the same, nothing to hope for. Hence, I was astounded
when I tuned across the band half an hour before the start of the contest
and found G8P booming in with an S-9 plus signal. I worked them as my first
contact in the contest and went on looking for other G-stations, but nobody
else could be heard! (During the 24 hours of the contest, wherever I turned
my beam, G8P was S-9!) 
I am never active in a contest to get a high contest score, my interest is to
work as many DX-stations as possible (800 km plus). So after the first hour,
I had only had 12 QSO:s and I started looking for Theo, PA1TK/MM in JO12.
I heard him, but he was very weak and he had an impressive pile-up. After
a while, his signal improved and I managed to work him. (Little did I know
that a day later he would be way over S-9!) 
At 1745, G8TIC/P could be worked, but he was around S-6 while G8P was still
booming in. No other G-stations to be heard, but the OK-stations were much
stronger than usual and best of all, their signals were not giving us the usual
problems with QSB. (Very often in the contests, an OK-station can be 57, when
calling CQ and then drop to an S-1 before we have had time to finish the QSO.) 
Nothing else out of the ordinary until 2017, when OM8A in JN87WV popped up with
an S-9 signal over 920 km, I was now up to 63 QSO:s. 
At 2110, I found OE3O in JN77TW reported on the cluster, turned the beam and
worked him right away. I was surprised to hear PA- and DL-stations working SM3LBN,
SK0UX and OH-stations with S-9 signals, so I turned the beam to the north and
listened and called a few CQ:s. Nothing happened, so went back to the south and
at 2121, I worked OH1NOR on the back of my beam! 
Worked OM3W in JN99BB (804 km) with S-9 signals on SSB at 2248. A few minutes later,
I talked to OM0C in JN99PG on the ON4KST chat and asked him for a CW-sked.
I heard him perfectly, but he didnīt hear me! 
No more 800 km QSO:s until I worked OM3KEE in JN88UU (815 km) - I work them in
almost every contest, so they are a "must work" -hi! 92 QSO:s so far, slow motion,
but I had been listening all the time. 
At 0023, SK7JM reported working S52CO and I went to the frequency immediately and 
heard S52CO calling CQ with an S-7 signal, answered him, but nothing more could be
heard. I noticed it must have been a long burst and I lost my confidence for not being
able to hear him via tropo. SK7JM continued working S5-stations and I heard nothing. 
At 0030, SK6BA reported working TM3Q in JN09TT, I listened and again - I heard nothing.
My mood was now at a rock-bottom level. I should have replaced my old antenna and why
did I waste a good night's sleep, when I couldn't hear the interesting stations, anyway? 
At 0046, G0VHF/P could be worked over 900 km, followed at 0130 by G5LK/P in exactly
the same locator as G8P, but only S-7! They became QSO number 100. 
OM3KII in KN09CE (858 km) at 0154, but nothing else. 
At last, at 0305, I heard S59R in JN76OM (1027 km) and after calling them for a while,
they noticed me. After that, I got OM4A in JN98HX (826 km) and OE5D in JN88PD (843 km)
and after that S51ZO in JN86DR (1016 km). 
My confidence was returning and at 0347, I worked TM2K in JO19KA (944 km) and an hour
later TM3Q in JN99TT (1023 km). The later contact was wasted by a "friendly" German guy,
who relayed the report to me. At 0600, I had to get some sleep and I woke up again
at 1030, only to notice that I had missed several G-stations that had been worked during
my beauty sleep. 
TM3Q was now strong and this time I had a successful QSO with them, followed by contacts
with G4FUF, G7ICV and G4PIQ. F5KKD/P in JO00QB became another 1000 km QSO (1017 km),
followed by G4ZFJ (953 km), I had now worked seven G-stations, all in JO01! Wasn't it
possible to work any other square in England? I found G4SWX in JO02, a station I can work
almost any day and at 1120, F/PE1BBI in JN09IT became my ODX with 1071 km. 
My last QSO was G5B in IO92WS (934 km) at 1205. I had only 133 QSO:s in the log, but I
was too tired to continue. I didn't break any records, I have done better in other
contests, but nevertheless, this was one of the most enjoyable ones. 

Two final questions: 
- Where were the HA:s? 
- Did you know that OH1NOR worked HB9FAP in JN46EW (1746 km!!!) and G5LK/P in JO01QD? 

73!  Stan  SM7WT  in JO65QQ 


Top 10 QSO-points: 

20040905     1120    F/PE1BBI/P  59  135  59  461  JN09IT  1071 
20040905     O305    S59R        559 110  559 389  JN76OM  1027 
20040905     1045    TM3Q        57  127  53  786  JN09TT  1023 
20040905     1050    F5KKD/P     57  131  59  334  JO00QB  1017 
20040905     O326    S51ZO       569 114  599 389  JN86DR  1016 
20040905     1047    G7ICV       57  129  59  032  JO01DE   998 
20040904     1745    G4FUF       59  128  59  071  JO01GN   961 
20040905     1101    G4ZFJ       59  132  59  034  JO01HO   953 
20040905     1101    G8TIC/P     56  037  55  220  JO01KJ   952 
20040905     O347    TM2K        55  116  59  597  JO10KA   944