I'd like to take this time to thank the guys at PJ2T especially Marty Tippin (NW0L) and Geoff Howard (W0CG) for the opportunity to experience the other side of the pile-up. at the Signal Point Location in Curacao.
A Huge thanks to my two teammates Marty (NW0L) and Jerry (WB9Z) "World Champs" nobody can take that away!

         What does it take to Win the World?

With the contest complete, our PJ2T ARRL DX SSB Multi-2 effort appears to have been successful. A gauge for success is always relative. I have been involved in a few efforts in which “success” was defined as getting several new hams to operate. But this is different. This was an effort to put us on the map, to place our names and callsigns among the world’s top operators. The following is the complete story from the Midwest guys who have apparently “Won the World.”

 
KEY ELEMENT #1 Team Selection       
Marty Tippin, NW0L, is a young Anti-CW bigot. He actually earned his stripes as a competitive RTTY operator and fast talker (SSB runner) having coined the phrase “Adolescent Chipmunk”. Marty is a naturally competitive, slightly hyperactive computer programmer from the Ozarks of Missouri. A self-starter and excellent team player, Marty excels in computer networking and everything associated with the technical aspects of software and hardware integration. He’s an excellent high band running operator with a great understanding of efficiency.
 

Jerry Rosalius, WB9Z, is a well known low band operator and consistent “Top Op” from the Midwest. I first met Jerry (more than just casually) just weeks prior to the contest at his well stocked Antenna farm outside of Kankakee, Illinois. The purpose of my visit was to see how he did so well in all the low band contests. I was particularly interested in his beverage and other listening antenna setup. I got to know Jerry and his wife Lori pretty well and enjoyed their open and inviting personalities, typical of Midwest country folks. Jerry has more experience than both Marty and I combined. It is his experience and tireless endurance that we relied on to propel us through the tough times. His endurance is second to none and became a driving force in our effort.

 
I’m Tom Baugh, AE9B, A middle aged, fat, bald guy typical of many hams, but with a burning desire for competition. I’m not sure what drives other people but I’m driven by competition. Although not nearly as competitive as when I was physically propelling myself into opponents in the NFL, I still like a good battle. Perhaps one of my assets (it’s hard to talk about your own) is the ability to diagnose, compare and evaluate statistics and probability to position myself or the team for the best chance of success (kind of like a good coach).
 
As with all competitions, the measure of success is victory. In the world of radio sport, winning requires more than desire, more than good equipment, more than good operators. It is typical of many sports, where combining preparation, ability, and study of the conditions and opponents provides an improved chance of success. But unlike most sports, not everyone shows up at the same playing field for this competition. In fact your selection of playing field is just as important if not more important than any of the other factors affecting the final results. Selection of the playing field becomes part of the game plan.
 
KEY ELEMENT #2 Site Selection
Marty, NW0L, asked me a while back if I was interested in going with him to PJ2T for this contest and I had committed very early along with another friend Rick, W0ZAP. When Rick had to bow out due to a conflict, Marty and I asked around within the Kansas City DX Club and expanded our selective invitations to members in other contesting clubs. Marty and I were actually considering doing two separate single band competitions when Jerry, WB9Z, signed on as our 3rd team member. All three of us had been to Signal Point before and were all looking forward to a return visit to the improved site. I was particularly excited about the addition of a new 160M beverage to EU and spent every off-contest evening making contacts with the appreciative Europeans and off-contest daylight hours working everyone who was interested. Arriving on the island a little early and meeting with Geoff Howard, (W0CG) at the house, we discussed the work recently completed and the success of the PJ2T club and the station in recent months.   
 
KEY ELEMENT #3 Planning
After some prodding by Jerry, the three teammates sat down to discuss our plans for the contest. I had looked at the results from the prior two years. I found an interesting statement that the Multi 2 class had not become popular outside of the U.S. I also noted that in prior years the M/S scores were comparable to and in some cases better than the Multi 2 scores. It was obvious that we all wanted to operate as much as possible and we would have the best opportunity to score high with 2 radios instead of one. But with only three operators, we knew this would be a challenge to our endurance. We were fortunate to have Mr. Endurance (WB9Z) on our team. Marty and I compliment each other, as he stays up late and I get up early -- but Jerry just keeps on going. Armed with propagation predictions and prior contest logs, I had previewed what is really an easy game plan for those operating from the Caribbean: Point all antennas North and Run Run Run!  So our first day plans were based on those pre-game arrangements. We would run Multi-2, with WB9Z and NW0L starting the show, and AE9B taking over for NW0L in the middle of the first night. Just prior to the contest, we found that one of the main radios was down. All three of us are most comfortable with Yaesu radios, and one of the two was down. Fortunately, the PJ2T group had a spare 1000MP locked away for “emergency” use; after some creative locksmithing, it was installed and ready to go.
 
KEY ELEMENT #4 Teamwork
Marty and I had been through this before: The contest just starts and some problem creeps up, and the guy who’s supposed to be resting needs to get up and resolve a problem. In this case the #2 computer is having sound card problems and Jerry, WB9Z, is less familiar with the intricacies of Writelog. I get up periodically to assure that simple things (those that I can do) get done before bothering Marty on the main run station. We lose a few QSOs on # 2, but 15M keeps cranking away. Several times I had to jump into Marty’s chair while he troubleshoots (and resolves) the computer issues with Jerry. Finally, after having a few too many problems with a particular computer sound card, Marty just swaps out a complete computer and sets Writelog back up on the network without skipping a beat. Fantastic! Team selection is only as good as those who are TEAM members willing to work together to complete whatever is needed, whether you want to or not. This was truly a TEAM effort. 
 
KEY ELEMENT #5 Operating
 With our game plan in place, Marty and Jerry ran 15M and 20M to start with, planning to switch over to 40M when 15M died. Jerry “the low band guy” would switch to 40M putting Marty “the run guy” back on the rate radio. Jerry, we later found, could run them just as well, but we knew that Jerry would be our best 40M operator, having had many years of experience working the split band. Jerry kept plugging away at the 40M band through the night while Marty switched over to 80M for some fresh running. By the time I got to sleep it was time to wake up. With my energy level not exactly refreshed by the night’s events, I prepared to run 160M and 80M while NW0L got some well-deserved rest. The total QSOs to this point appeared to be very good. In my head I was thinking, “ I can’t let the team down.” I feel like this thought went through each of our heads several times during the contest. We were committed to each other and to the effort. Our original plans were for 8 hours of run time followed by 4 hours of off time. And for the most part this worked, primarily because Jerry was capable of making it through the tough times both nights. I enjoyed working the low bands, pulling out the weak ones, giving that “little pistol” his contest contact with PJ2. I’m sure I missed a few but, if there was a mouse farting in North Dakota, I was trying to understand his message. 
 
KEY ELEMENT #6 A little bit of Luck
 Daylight brought new and stronger signals. As propagation changed, with daylight, we hoped that we would have good signal strength into the states while most of their beams would surely be pointed to the East for the U.S. European opening. While we were able to hear many of the “Big Gun” east coast stations working some EU, we were able to work them fairly easily. We found out later that even East Coast/ EU contacts were difficult and beams needed to be pointed South to get through to Europe. That meant ALL BEAMS POINT SOUTH! This was the exactly the advantage we needed. Nobody could have predicted what happened that weekend. We were truly in the right place at the right time.
 
KEY ELEMENT #7 Half time adjustments
 After what seemed to be a great start, we discussed strategy every chance we had during the course of the contest. Marty had looked at prior years' scores and compared them to where we were. We hoped, like all contesters, that what we had done during the first day would be good enough to give us a chance to win. Up to this point we were still competing against ourselves, doing our best for each other and ourselves. We had already made more QSOs in the first day than the PJ2T multi-single team had made in the entire ARRL DX CW contest a few weeks earlier! Would there be enough casual operators available in the U.S. to continue the rate? Many questions entered our heads as we began our second day. One thing that kept creeping up was our level of fatigue. I noticed, as I’m sure Marty and Jerry did also, that every time a new operator took over the rate seemed to increase. Was this a change in conditions? No, it was a change in operators. A fresh operator, came in with new enthusiasm, new energy and was able to log more contacts. Because of this, it made sense that we change our plans for day 2. Our 8 hours on and 4 hours off plan worked for the first day, but with fatigue now entering the equation, we needed to adjust the plan to fit our new picture. So after each of us received one more extended 2-, 3- or 4-hour rest period, it would be 2 hours ON with 1 hour rest. This provided a fresh operator every 2 hours.
 
KEY ELEMENT #9 Persistence
During the course of the second night, rates reached painfully low marks but the boredom and frustration were lightened with words of encouragement from other contesters stopping by for a quick chat. K0XM, K5NZ, K9PG and others stopped by for humorous interactions, which provided encouragement and motivation. It was during this time when Jerry WB9Z mentioned how “plugging away,” or successfully enduring these tough times, is often the difference between success and second place. Looking back at it, I can’t agree more. This is what makes those top guys the one's to beat. Several times in my young 4 year contesting career I “wished” I had tried a little harder, stayed up a little longer, etc. The difference is in the effort during the tough times, as I experienced first hand while operating next to Jerry. He was a figure of consistency, a diesel engine just continuing with the somewhat monotonous task of working one tough station after another. “Kilo Alpha Seven again....”, “Kay Ay Seven Whiskey.... what’s the last letter?” “Thanks for hanging in there” “QRZ this is Papa Japan 2 Tango?” In a later discussion we all noted that, we living in the Midwest we are used to digging out the tough ones. Even when times are good we have to do that.
 
KEY ELEMENT #10 A push to the finish
Daylight came again, and with it some renewed enthusiasm. Marty awoke from his rest and after making some calculations wrote a “Post It” note at each computer listing the number of QSO’s needed to make it to various benchmarks: 10 Million Points = X QSOs, 12 Million = Y QSOs, 13 Million = Z QSOs. These were good targets, something that I usually do at the Multi-Multi’s at my house. Now we could see what it would take, and it became a race to see who would be the operator to turn the point total over to 10 million mark. By now fatigue was almost comical, with each of us struggling at some point to speak the same words over and over again. Many callsigns other than PJ2T were spoken inadvertently, needing correction. Anyone who has been to this level before understands what I’m speaking of. Even with 2 hour operating schedules we struggled. The schedule was working however... Marty’s voice was beginning to fail and he considered (after 10 million points were secured) taking an extended time off. However, not giving up on the team, he was back in the chair operating after a short rest. With about an hour left and a brief discussion of beer (Marty offering free beer for those who would join us after the contest), I reached into the refrigerator and opened a couple of Amstels (the local favorite) and placed them in front of Marty and Jerry, just a little more encouragement. Just a few more QSOs and now a new goal: 12,500 QSO’s. We had held off moving to 20M because the rates on 10 and 15M remained good. With the move to 20M, the final pileup on an extremely crowded band was incredible. There was no problem working them as fast as we could speak; both 15M and 20M kept us going to the final total of 12,510 QSOs and a score far beyond our original goals but not beyond our ambition. We had, after all, made the effort to assemble a good team, in a good location, with good equipment, good planning, and we operated with persistence and determination. Success comes to those who are prepared when the opportunity arises. I’m sure glad the Propagation Gods shined on PJ2T that weekend. Thanks to each of you who logged a QSO with us.

 

Marty (NW0L), Jerry (WB9Z) and Tom (AE9B)
 
BREAKDOWN
 Hour     160M     80M     40M     20M     15M     10M    Total     Cumm    OffTime
 
D1-0000Z  --+--   --+--   --+--  273/50  273/51   --+--  546/101   546/101
D1-0100Z    -       -    112/30  226/6      -       -    338/36    884/137
D1-0200Z    -       -    101/11  251/0      -       -    352/11   1236/148
D1-0300Z    -       -    161/6   244/1      -       -    405/7    1641/155
D1-0400Z    -    192/46  161/6    14/0      -       -    367/52   2008/207
D1-0500Z  84/33   20/1   101/0      -       -       -    205/34   2213/241
D1-0600Z  33/6    32/3   124/1      -       -       -    189/10   2402/251
D1-0700Z  47/5    85/1    45/0      -       -       -    177/6    2579/257
D1-0800Z  30/3    39/2    53/0    --+--   --+--   --+--  122/5    2701/262
D1-0900Z   1/1    52/2    31/0      -       -       -     84/3    2785/265
D1-1000Z   1/0    50/0    29/0      -       -       -     80/0    2865/265
D1-1100Z    -     22/0    27/0    31/1    20/1      -    100/2    2965/267
D1-1200Z    -       -       -     66/1   119/1    93/27  278/29   3243/296
D1-1300Z    -       -       -       -    178/3   131/7   309/10   3552/306
D1-1400Z    -       -       -       -    156/1   192/12  348/13   3900/319
D1-1500Z    -       -       -       -    138/2   199/5   337/7    4237/326
D1-1600Z  --+--   --+--   --+--   --+--  159/0   259/1   418/1    4655/327
D1-1700Z    -       -       -       -    210/0   270/3   480/3    5135/330
D1-1800Z    -       -       -       -    184/1   230/2   414/3    5549/333
D1-1900Z    -       -       -       -    200/1   189/2   389/3    5938/336
D1-2000Z    -       -       -       -    269/0   199/0   468/0    6406/336
D1-2100Z    -       -       -     72/0   187/0    76/0   335/0    6741/336
D1-2200Z    -       -       -    176/1   219/0      -    395/1    7136/337
D1-2300Z    -       -       -    204/0   111/0      -    315/0    7451/337
D2-0000Z  --+--   --+--   --+--  167/0   131/0    --+--  298/0    7749/337
D2-0100Z    -       -       -    251/0   167/0      -    418/0    8167/337
D2-0200Z    -     98/0   150/1    17/0      -       -    265/1    8432/338
D2-0300Z   6/1    94/2   116/2      -       -       -    216/5    8648/343
D2-0400Z  81/1    46/0   111/1      -       -       -    238/2    8886/345
D2-0500Z  31/1    37/1    90/1      -       -       -    158/3    9044/348
D2-0600Z  11/0    89/0    76/0      -       -       -    176/0    9220/348
D2-0700Z  15/0    32/0    45/0      -       -       -     92/0    9312/348
D2-0800Z   5/1    20/0    25/0    --+--   --+--   --+--   50/1    9362/349
D2-0900Z    -     30/0    19/0     3/0      -       -     52/0    9414/349
D2-1000Z    -     17/0    19/1     3/0      -       -     39/1    9453/350
D2-1100Z    -       -     15/0    37/0      -       -     52/0    9505/350
D2-1200Z    -       -       -     91/1    37/0      -    128/1    9633/351
D2-1300Z    -       -       -     89/0    40/0    40/0   169/0    9802/351
D2-1400Z    -       -       -    125/0      -    169/0   294/0   10096/351
D2-1500Z    -       -       -     36/0    42/0   177/0   255/0   10351/351
D2-1600Z  --+--   --+--   --+--   --+--   64/0   143/0   207/0   10558/351
D2-1700Z    -       -       -       -     73/0   178/0   251/0   10809/351
D2-1800Z    -       -       -     25/0    14/0   121/0   160/0   10969/351
D2-1900Z    -       -       -       -    144/0   169/0   313/0   11282/351
D2-2000Z    -       -       -       -    146/0   155/0   301/0   11583/351
D2-2100Z    -       -       -       -    178/0   153/0   331/0   11914/351
D2-2200Z    -       -       -     61/0   141/0    59/0   261/0   12175/351
D2-2300Z    -       -       -    201/0   134/0      -    335/0   12510/351
 
Total:   345/52  955/58 1611/60 2663/61 3734/61 3202/59
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