N9RV, K0EU Lead 2010 SS CW; Team W6YI Halfway To Sweeps Double; Next Stop Is SS SSB

By Jamie Dupree NS3T  radio-sport.net 
Posted November 15, 2010

With three time defending champ Steve London N2IC on the sidelines, the leader in the ARRL November Sweepstakes is Pat Barkey N9RV, as he led a number of entries from Montana on the bands during another frantic, but fun, SS CW weekend in the US and Canada.

Since moving out West for work at the University of Montana a few years ago, Barkey has been quietly putting together his contest station not far from Missoula, and his performance in SS CW shows he is on the right track.

"First real test for new antennas here," Barkey wrote on 3830, as he rode his 40 meter yagi to 647 contacts, a big chunk of his 1498 claimed QSO's, for a score of 239,680 points, though it could have been better..

"It was a strategic mistake to take time off in the afternoon," said Barkey, who decided to be on for the final hours of SS CW, but found little in the way of good signals.

"I'll bank that experience for the next one," he added.

In second place right now is WRTC veteran Dan Street K1TO, who ran up 234,314 points from his QTH in Florida.

The difference between second and first for Street, may have been the Puerto Rico multiplier, which he couldn't find. That left him with 79, short of a sweep.

Less than 100 points back of K1TO was Todd Dravland WD0T, who operated from KD0S (his next door neighbor) and handed out the South Dakota multiplier to 1,464 different stations.

"I was hoping for a great Sunday but it didn't happen this year," Dravland wrote on 3830.

"Thats SS- never know what you will get!"

One score that had lots of people buzzing was from Alaska, as Larry "Tree" Tyree N6TR went north and operated from KL7RA, churning out over 225,000 points, and making a run at the Top Ten box.

"KL7RA (N6TR) is amazing considering there are a lot less than 24 useful hours to operate from up there," said K1TO. "Just as N6AA and N6ZZ operated CQ WW from all 40 CQ Zones, it looks like Tree is shooting for SS operations from all 80 ARRL Sections."

Tree did most of his damage on 15 meters, making 656 of his 1428 QSO's on that band.

"This certainly is a better result than I expected," Tree wrote on 3830. "The contest is very different from here than being on the west coast - or Louisiana," other places that N6TR has operated from in SS.

Almost A Montana Double In Low Power

While N9RV leads the high power "B" category, another Montana station is very close in the low power "A" battle, but right now, the top score is in the hands of Randy Martin K0EU, who most recently won the low power SS CW fight in 2008.

Martin finished at 204,960 - just 2,240 points back is Matt Trott K7BG, who was neck and neck with Martin all weekend.

"We always seem to be very close in score," K0EU said of K7BG. "This year was no different. When we worked, he sent me #392 and I sent him #393! It was going to be another shoot out."

As for Trott, all of his antenna work of the last few months paid off in SS CW.

"My main goal when I started this crazy hobby was to always try to out do personal records. I think I at least did that this time around," K7BG wrote on 3830.

Log checks seem like they might decide the winner this year; both men are over 7k ahead of Tor Clay N4OGW, who is in third in the low power category.

The ARRL November Sweepstakes SSB Contest begins at 2100z November 20 and ends at 0300z November 22. Get more on the rules at the ARRL web site.