On the Bus with WRTC - #4 - 14 July 2002
It's all over now! The IARU HF Championship is over as of a couple hours ago and the team and I are packing our things and loading them into
OH2BAH's car for the short ride back to Helsinki and the gathering gang at the Radisson hotel. And what a contest it was.
As we pulled into OH2BAH's QTH, we were thrilled to see several large towers and most amazing of all, a homemade 10-meter diameter dish for EME work.
John has a couple of acres at his summer home on a lake about 40 miles from Helsinki. He shares the antennas with his brother, OH2PO, the builder of the dish.
One of the truly unique experiences of this WRTC were the pre- and post-contest saunas (pronouced "SOW-nah").
I'm still feeling the warm glow that results from dashing out of the dark, dry heat of the wooden benches and diving off the dock into the cool, clear water. I had to demonstrate the good, old American Cannonball and Can Opener, of course. There's nothing like it.
Returning to the contest, though, if you were following the Real-Time Scoreboard, I'm sure you got caught up in the horse race that developed on Sunday. At the close of business, N6TJ and N6AA had managed to overtake last year's champs (and odds-on favorites) N5TJ and K1TO for the gold medal. Jim and Dick also fended off a very close challenge from DL6FBL and DL2CCC, who claimed the silver--also ahead of Jeff and Todd, who will be delighted to take the bronze.
Saturday night had N5TJ/K1TO in the lead by a substantial margin--I'm guessing due to their uncanny ability to mix mult-chasing with running.
I was expecting a three-peat, but Team Old Age and Treachery managed to close the gap and more.
I'm sure that Jim N6TJ will attribute it to "Guts", and he may be right.
Conditions were really good. Our host, John OH2BAH, said that conditions were excellent for midsummer, with a minimum of static and absorption on the low bands.
Ten was spotty which was hardly a surprise with the solar flux at 136. But with the A and K indices low at 4 and 2, respectively, we were prepared for that. There were no fades and the stations appeared from different parts of the world pretty much on cue. I hope you got a chance to put a bunch of the OJ stations in your log--maybe enough for a prize or certificate.
Listening as I did to the entire contest--I think I dozed for a total of about 45 minutes over the entire 24-hour run--this was an unusual contest.
Before the starting bell, we all had visions of what might become an "EU Sweepstakes". Not so. Because the weather cooperated, as well, there were no stations off the air at any time due to lightning.
I guess with the sky staying light all the time, maybe you could use the excuse of the sun being in your eyes, but that's about all you have to try. 80 meters was regional (what a surprise) but all the other bands were open for DX with plenty of stations.
My team of UA2FZ and RW4WR placed close to the middle of the pack even with 2400+ QSOs.
They pushed the last-10-QSO rate meter into the high 200's many times, even on CW. I think the difference between the competitors is a very small one and is mainly of the fine points of squeezing every drop out of a pileup or flurry of callers.
With low antennas (12-meters about ground) and equal locations, no one team had dominant propagation, so they had to maximize each chance to score.
So it was over in seemingly an instant. I'll tell you that it was a tough chore to be so close--at the end of a headphone cable--and yet so far, not being able to participate in the rough and tumble of the contest.
Referees just have to grit their teeth and watch and listen. However, it does strengthen one's resolve to get better and be worthy of one of the next WRTC chairs.
Speaking of which, will there be another WRTC? Almost certainly, but unlike the past two events, there is no announcement of a host organization yet.
I'm sure that the enthusiasm generated by WRTC2002 will carry over to an organization stepping up and taking on the job.
Then we will all be figuring out how to be a captain...or be best friends with someone who is. And maybe just packing our bags and saving our frequent-flyer miles to participate in one of the best experiences in ham radio, the World Radiosport Team Championship.
Nakemiin (Goodbye) from Finland!
73, Ward N0AX/OH
WRTC - World Radiosport Team Championship in Finland - July 9-16, 2002
© WRTC2002 Org. design: OH1NOA