All in all a fun contest.  

For many reasons I decided to operate from home this year instead of heading to the mountains. I had a great time and took advantage of the chance to experiment with some new gear.  

This year I added 222 mc SSB to the arsenal with the addition of the ICOM IC-375A and a Cushcraft 11 element beam which brought the total Q’s for that band up to 18 but more importantly yielded 7 multipliers. I of course continued to maintain a 223 mc FM station as always and appreciate all the FM contacts there. I keep hoping activity on and interest in this great band will continue to grow.  

Activity Saturday was nice, but Sunday it was struggle just to dig up a few contacts.  

I experienced no band enhancement here on 6 meters at anytime during the contest.  

I did however make one 234 mile 2 meter Tropo contact from North Carolina EM96 in to Ohio, EM89 Sunday evening. A nice highlight of the weekend.  

Many thanks to all who took the time to contact me and I look forward to the next contest.  

73, Bill