6Y2A CQ WPX COMPETITION
Thanks for making Team Vertical's efforts in the 2002 CQ WPX CW competition a success.
Operating from the familiar QTH on the north shore of Jamaica, Team Vertical eclipsed the existing North American multi-multi record and finished second world-wide. The initial score for 6Y2A is just over 40 million, about 60% above the previous record and the 6Y2A multiplier number is actually ahead of the first place team, A61AJ. As long as the 6Y2A multiplier number remains the at the top after log checking, it will be a record.
The team used two element verticals on all bands 80 through 10 meters and a simple wire inverted-L on top band. With this normally being the hot, dry season on Jamaica, the tropical depression that stalled over the island for several days was unwelcome. Besides dumping inches and inches of rain with high winds, the storm noise was incredible. Band noise was a minimum of S7 on 40-80-160, with heavy static crashes pounding us all night long. Interesting to note the crashes were strong even on 6 meters! During the day, the rain static would occasionally hit S9 on 20 meters and fortunately less on 15 and 10. The heavy rain hitting the metal roof on the villa created so much noise that it was often louder than the band noise and in the headphones, making it next to impossible to copy anyone on the low bands. If you called and we didn't hear you - our apology.
The team operated a lot on the WARC bands and 6 meters before the contest, making several thousand contacts. The antennas used were a wire vertical dipole on 12 meters and on 30 and 17 meters, a special Sigma vertical dipole. This was a proto-type Sigma that can be easily transformed to operate on any one of these bands: 40-30-20-17-15-12-10 meters. We used them on 30 and 17, then transformed them into a 2 element Sigma array for 20 meters for the contest.
Thanks for making our trip enjoyable and a few photos are included below (with resolution reduced for quicker loading).
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The "eye" of the tropical depression on
Thursday. The 2-element 80 array is behind the 2-element Sigma 20. |
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Set up on 30 meters is the Sigma 40-10 "Transformer" | |
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2-element Sigma 40 array, same lightweight units used last fall to set the CQWW CW QRP 40 meter single band world record and also used at VK9ML: 16' tall, 10 pounds each | |
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CQ WPX CW 2002, multi-multi 6Y2A Team Vertical, post contest (l to r): Rick N6XI, Walt N6XG, Fred KE7X, Mike WA6O, Kenny K2KW, Tom N6BT (with hat), Ed W0YK. |
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