End of the month chores completed. Logs updated, back-ups made, that kind of stuff. My first month in the New Year using CW-only went reasonably well. While the quantity of contacts was significantly lower than recent monthly averages, effort toward chasing specific DX was more focused. Several ATNO’s were worked (none yet confirmed), though a couple of new one’s on CW were confirmed.

Along the way I managed 34 valid QSOs across 7 bands in the World Wide Award event which was good for a 231 rank among all US stations using CW. A couple of other special event stations (DL2025S and GB200LB) were also logged.

I also snagged “Mike” operating from the HQ station W1AW.

My activity mostly took place on 10 and 12 meters using a ground mounted vertical and 100 watts. The big amp wasn’t pushed into service this month though I expect to make use of it in February as the contest season begins to ramp up and several planned DXpeditions come online. Some important antenna work needs to be completed between now and then and while I’ve been pessimistic about that happening due to weather, we are catching a break right now with warmer temperatures expected.