CQ World Wide DX Contest Breaks 10,000 Log Barrier

This is great news.

This means essentially that a lot of people are getting on the radio and having FUN. Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?

I love this hobby.

GL and see you in the contest!

 

"This is great news."

"This means essentially that a lot of people are getting on the radio and having FUN. Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?

I love this hobby.

GL and see you in the contest! "


I'll second that Ryan !!!!

 

I'll give it a third. I also tend to enjoy CW contests much more than SSB.

..........Bob

 

Over 50,000 of us making QSO's in one single weekend, maybe a few people will lay off the complaints next time the band plans go astray for a few hours. I have worked in CQWW since the late 60's and have few of their certificates on the wall. Congratualtions to the CQ gang and contesters worldwide. See you in the upcoming test, end of month. I'll be making a few contacts I hope!
73 David G3XYP

 

So!

So CW is supposed to be on the way out! I enjoy the CQWW CW more than the SSB myself. Now if I cud only get my antennas back up......send on guys es hve fun!

 

And you get my vote on that.

 

CW contests are actually easier to operate in my opinion. Easier to filter out/notch QRM and there's much more room to breathe.

Also no sore throats at the end of the test, just maybe sore thumbs.

 

Good news

CW ops are alive and well! They take their ham radio very seriously and make good A1 operators . CW ops are the real McCoy.

 

I've tried my best in several phone contests. The QRM just hurts my ears. My feeling is that unless you have a KW and really big antennas, phone contesting is a waste of time. CW rules!!

 

I've always preferred CW. I was worried that when the CW requirement went away, that CW would die, but paradoxically (to me anyway) there seems to be MORE CW activity than 5/6 years ago. The contest results would seem to bear that out.

I find CW to be far easier to get DX in than any other mode. Also it is much easier to design/build rigs for CW. PSK-31 and some of the newer digital modes are also great for DX and low signal. Phone in any form has never been a big draw for me. I find that some of the younger blood coming into the hobby feel the same way, probably due to the popularity of text messaging. CW is kind of like text messaging, it even uses some of the same abbreviations.

 

inb4 "Those durned contestor" posts start showing up.

I guess this shows that CW is still alive, well, and one of the most efficient modes of operation?

 

more of the got to have a kw and big antenna bs

ive never had a realy big antenna system
never owned a tower

phone contests run 5 watts or less

there is no better time
to work dx qrp phone
then during a contest

best on the 2nd day
when big gun contact rate starts to drop
are willing to work
dig a weak signal out of the crud
for one more point or multiplier

have worked dxcc more than once
during a dx phone contest
using a beat up old TenTec 509 Argonaut
all of 2 or 3 watts out

to a hb 2 el quad at 35 ft
and a short ground mounted hb vertical

using qrp or low power during a contest
is not harder on phone or easier on cw

it is simply knowing how to do it
then doing it

 

You must be taking whining lessons from Greg.

Mac's right. It doesn't take "a KW and really big antennas" to be in a phone contest. It might take that to win one (or be in the top 20), but I'm not even sure that's the case.

I've made plenty of contacts during phone contests without an amp. I've made plenty of DX phone contacts without an amp. In fact, I spent the first 13 years of my time in ham radio without any amp at all. The first amp I owned was an AL-811 @ about 600 watts, which I obtained in mid-2004.

Unlike you, I don't own a tower and probably never will. I don't own a single, rotatable, directional HF antenna. All I have is wire hanging from trees and an R-7000 vertical (the MFJ vertical is about half destroyed by fallen tree limbs). Read my current bio here on QRZ. There is nothing remarkable about my station, especially when you compare it to your station. Ryan N2RJ could whip my ass in a heartbeat during a contest or DX pile-up as well.

I have worked all across the lower 48 on 100 watts. I have worked a good bit of DX with 100 watts over the years, including A4, A7, 9K, and KH6 to name a few.

Does an amp help? Sure it does, but you don't need one during a phone contest if your goal is to work on your DXCC totals, or try out a new antenna.

That's how I look at it. YMMV

 

Mac,

Take note of his antenna setup.... and he's still whining....