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P49X (W0YK) #1 Claimed at RTTY RU Log Cutoff; AA5AU Leads In Bid For 14th Straight LP Title
By Jamie Dupree NS3T radio-sport.net
Posted February 10, 2008
While Ed Muns P49X/W0YK couldn't repeat his world record of 2007, his 2008 ARRL RTTY Roundup effort is the number one claimed score as the contest now goes to the ARRL log checkers.
Muns was cautious a few weeks back about whether he had put himself in position for a third straight high power title.
"One never knows for sure," said Muns, "but I never worked any one with a serial number more than 40% of my own." Muns made 2,936 contacts in all.
While Muns led the world at the log deadline, the US high power claimed leader is Dennis Egan W1UE, who has a 13k lead on Mike Sims K4GMH.
In low power, the story is a familiar one, as Don Hill AA5AU again finds himself on top of that category, which would be his 14th consecutive low power win in ARRL RTTY RU.
"The joy of 24 hours non-stop RTTY fun is what keeps me coming back to the Roundup," Hill told radio-sport.net
Hill said the down conditions on the high bands kept him from coming close to his LP World Record of nearly 231k, set in 2006.
"The biggest reason for the lower score this year is because 15 meters was not open to the USA or EU at the start of the contest," said Hill.
"I thought 15 meters would be OK with the solar flux at 80 and the K at 2. But just before the contest, the K jumped to 3. So I got a slow start out of the gate pretty much like Ed did at P49X."
Hill said he also changed his usual time off strategy, but almost was punished for it.
"I normally take my off-time in one 6-hour rest period. With the A index up to 3, I felt it would be better to spend more time on the low bands," said Hill, who only took 4.5 hours of sleep on Saturday night.
"This strategy nearly backfired when 15 meters nearly opened up on Sunday when I needed to take my last 1.5 hours rest period."
"Winning is no longer my purpose in RTTY contesting," said Hill, "RTTY contesting is that place I go to find peace and to escape the real world for a few hours. It's therapy and it works well for me!"
34k points behind Hill in second place, with the top low power score outside the US is Teddy Jiminez HI3TEJ, who operated HI3T to 172,162 points. He has a clear lead on third place Steve Franzen N9CK.
While the multi leader didn't score nearly as well as P49X, it's still a battle for bragging rights in that category, as Team CT9M leads with 218,139 points. The US multi-op leader is K5NZ from South Texas with 193k.
The figures from the ARRL seem to indicate another increase in the number of logs for the RTTY Roundup, something that's certainly true with the major worldwide RTTY tests of recent years.