CQ WORLD WIDE CW DX CONTEST -- 2012

      Call:      PJ2T
      Category:  Multi Two
      Power:     High Power
      Band:      All Band
      Mode:      CW
      Country:   Curacao
      Zone:      9      

3830 Comments: 

We were happy just to be on the air for this one. A family emergency this year
kept me (W0CG) in the States for nearly nine months, so I was unable to get to
Curacao to do the usual maintenance. We have a significant pile of dead
computers and amps here awaiting work, a failed multiplier antenna and multiple
other challenges, but we made it limping onto the air on the heels of the SSB
crew and had tons of fun.

Conditions on the low bands were a huge disappointment, but 10 meters made up
for it. Sunday morning about 9 AM local the sky abruptly turned nearly black
and we had an incredible deluge of rain, several inches, for most of the rest
of the day including thunder and lightning, which are very rare here. All of
our automatic security lighting turned on in the middle of the day because they
thought it was night. Some parts of Willemstad were under up to two meters of
water. The rain static and other racket from the storm slowed us down
significantly, with S9 noise at times on most bands. Naturally, Monday morning
we woke up to sun and blue sky and gentle breezes. Excuses aside we had a lot
of fun, the PJ2T CW skimmer system performed well (thanks W8WTS and K8ND), and
we're back on track now to resume our usual maintenance and project cycle and
get some of the problems fixed. Congrats to others who scored brilliantly,
particularly in nabbing multipliers. We worked 95%+ of the mults we could hear,
but the final high band mult numbers were not as we would have hoped.

Many thanks to Jim Livengood, W0NB, a very long-time CCC member who planned,
shopped, and cooked all the meals for us, including hauling some grocery items
here in his suitcase from Iowa. He had some help from the operator crew here,
but most of the work and stress was his. DF9LJ is a hobby baker and made some
incredible bread from scratch for many of our meals. 

Thanks to RW0CN (also VE7ACN) with his XYL Natasha, DF9LJ, and KB7Q for making
their first visits to Signal Point. They are top notch ops and we've made some
new friends. We hope to see them at PJ2T often. As always, we owe huge thanks
to our CCC members who have provided the effort and support to keep this
station active and loud, now in our 13th season of contesting from W1BIH's (SK)
famous former QTH. We have not missed a single major contest since beginning in
November 2000, and we think John would be proud to know that what he started in
1971 is still pumping out tons of QSOs.

See you in the ARRL 160 and 10 'tests in the next couple of weeks.

- Geoff, W0CG/7, PJ2DX