Eva Borušovičová wrote: “Family members of amateur radio operators know that there are dates on the calendar when they can’t celebrate birthdays, get married, or even die suddenly, because the ham radio operator won’t be present at the family event—instead, he’ll be up in a mast calculating how solar flares will affect signal quality.” One such date is the CQ WW DX SSB Contest, which usually takes place on the last weekend of October.
However, a family-oriented amateur radio operator has it tough—he’s competing on two fronts at once. That’s also my case, where harmonics (2- and 9-year) create QRM, and tactics must be employed if a ham radio operator wants to succeed on the air. But it’s practically impossible to compete on all bands. That leaves a choice between daytime bands (20m – 15m – 10m) and nighttime bands (160m – 80m – 40m).
Last year, Oliver OM0RX and I tested the 100W category with a Diamond W-8010 multiband antenna. However, over the summer, I managed to set up an RDM-12 mast equipped with a Moxon antenna for the three upper bands and an inverted V for 80m. Unfortunately, right before the CQ WW DX SSB Contest, it turned out that the rotator wasn’t turning the antenna, and it was fixed facing Japan. So, I had no choice but to stick with the 80m band, which is a bit easier to balance with family life anyway. And I decided to try QRP. I don’t have a power amplifier capable of contest-level performance, and the 100W category didn’t appeal to me.
Most QRP operators participate in contests for the joy of making a connection even with 5W, without worrying about the overall result. With 5W, you almost certainly won’t enjoy the pile-up in a contest like the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. That’s a false assumption.
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Pre-contest time
RDM-12 mast fully extended
It’s my habit to listen to the traffic a few days before contests. My ears “tune in,” I test my equipment, and I prepare my log. I’ve been using N1MM for years, but it’s still good to have everything tested. I use a Yaesu FT-1000MP transceiver with an Inrad roofing filter and a homemade SDR spectroscope. The transceiver can be switched in the menu to maximum power settings of 100/50/10W and fine-tuned via the front panel controls.
News reports mention a solar flare and a possible aurora on Saturday. That might not be good for propagation conditions on the lower bands. So I’m changing my plan to skip the first night.
On Friday, I head back early; by 8:30 p.m., I’m already in bed. My alarm goes off fifteen minutes before the contest starts, and surprisingly, I actually feel like getting up.
Start of the CQ WW DX SSB Contest
Not surprisingly, the band is full of signals. But it’s not as crowded as the 40-meter band usually is. My approach is simple—I try to call anyone I can hear clearly no more than five times. If I can’t get through, I tune to another station. Sometimes I listen first to see who’s calling that station. Dozens of stations are calling 3A3A, for example—I’d rather not call there. As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. So I’d rather make two Polish contacts than one failed attempt at Monaco.
N1MM+ log
I was pleased, though, that among the first contacts were IS0/OM2TW and IH9/OK1M. Both came in very clearly here, and making contact wasn’t a problem at all. Rarer stations like Z60A, P33W, and LX/ON4EI made it into the log.
At 5:51 UTC, I even tried my own call sign on 3736.5 kHz. LY7M even sent a spot to the DX cluster, which immediately brought in several calling stations. However, even with the spot, it’s impossible to stay on the air for long with QRP at this frequency.
I ended the morning with a contact with OH0V at 06:03 UTC. The log shows 137 contacts.
DX Cluster and Spots
Using the DX cluster is different for QRO stations than it is for QRP stations. Stations monitoring the DX cluster tend to do the following: as soon as a new spot appears for a potential contact they haven’t made yet, they click to tune in and call. This approach works in only 1% of cases with QRP.
The reason is that the moment multiple stations simultaneously receive information about a potential contact, they all start calling at the same time. And in such a competitive environment, it’s impossible to succeed with QRP.
However, 5-minute DX spots can be interesting. These are spots where the initial rush of calling stations has already passed. The caller thus remains on the frequency, but no one is calling him at that moment. That’s when you can succeed even with QRP. However, this only works for spots from more common stations. When it comes to DX spots for rare stations, succeeding with QRP is difficult.
Another consideration is the option of submitting DX spots. How do contesters decide which spot to send? When I’m contesting with 100W or more, I only send spots for rare stations or spots that indicate an unusual opening.
With QRP, however, I send a spot for almost every contact. I see it as a way of saying thank you for the contact. Many stations certainly struggled with a weak signal (QRP is about -13 dB weaker than 100W), and I believe a DX spot will make them happy. During the CQ WW DX SSB Contest, I sent 295 spots. Do you do the same?
A Long Night at the CQ WW DX SSB Contest
Nighttime operating is exhausting for me. Sitting at the station, tuning, listening, calling, listening, calling, listening, repeating… But the propagation conditions were favorable. Since there was always something going on in the upper bands, other stations also got a chance to call on 80m.
TA7OM in the 2021 CQ WW DX SSB Contest
I’m starting relatively late, at 17:15 UTC. I’m also keeping an eye out for multipliers. Europe is rich in DXCC countries. It’s different in a place like Australia. I manage to make a contact with 4U1A. However, the contacts with TA7OM and MI5K were quite a challenge. Propagation conditions on 80m don’t yet seem to be affected by the predicted aurora. At the same time, I’m following predictions and reports about its formation online.
– “What are you doing?”
– “I’m waiting for the aurora.”
– “Oh, I thought you were transmitting.”
Signal attenuation during the 2021 CQ WW SSB DX Contest at OM0A
However, contacts are steadily coming in while I wait. At 22:45 UTC, I notice the signals are weakening. It’s as if someone had reduced everyone’s power by one decimal place. Only nearby stations can be heard. I’ll stick it out for another half hour. I go out to see if the aurora is visible. It isn’t. Then I take a nap.
The alarm goes off at the set time, but I don’t feel like getting up this time. But it wakes me up enough that I can’t go back to sleep. A little voice nags me: what if there’s an aurora, what if propagation conditions are good? There’s no aurora, but propagation conditions seem normal. The SDR spectroscope is bouncing around merrily.
There are over 200 contacts and more than 10,000 points in the log. Signals from across the Atlantic are coming in again this morning. Really strong. But it doesn’t seem like many stations are trying to make contact.
– “Whisky Three Lima Papa Lima, contest”
– “Oscar Mexico zero Alfa, Oscar Mexico zero Alfaaa!”
– “The station with Alfa”
It doesn’t bother me; there are plenty of stations with an “A” in their call sign. But still…
– “Oscar Mexico zero Alfa, Oscar Mexico zero Alfaaa!”
– “Is that Sugar Mexico zero Alfa?”
– “Oscáááár Mexicóóóó, Oscáááár Mexicóóóó, Oscáááár Mexicóóóó zero Alfa!”
– “Oscar Mexico zero Alpha five-nine zero five”
Apparently, W3LPL wasn’t fazed by my QRP. However, the log subsequently changed the color of several other DX spots from green to a different color. A few minutes later, I added KC1XX and K3LR. I also tried other 3-point stations, but that didn’t work out.
The log shows over 250 contacts and 14,000 points. The live score revealed that Dano OM4AQP had also started transmitting during the night. He apparently enjoyed a fantastic pile-up during the first hour. Now, however, it was time for us to take a break.
The Final Hours of the CQ WW DX SSB Contest
If I don’t like nighttime operating, I like the final hours even less. Imagine scanning the band and already having almost every station in your log. The original plan was to take advantage of the grayline conditions, but at dusk we were just returning from a short trip. The results looked good, so I didn’t take it too seriously.
I’m starting at 16:57 UTC. Yes, the contacts are coming in slowly. The pile-ups on multiplier stations are extreme. I could really use an MD4K right now! It was running very strong. Pretty much everyone was calling, so he was working them by the numbers. Even so, he was having a hard time handling it (or maybe he wasn’t).
I see that Dano OM4AQP has started transmitting again. I’ve known Dano since the days when we used to operate together in the multi-category in the High Tatras. I don’t want to give up easily, so I’m searching and racking up contact after contact. Dano has more multipliers, and no matter how hard I try, he soon overtakes me and keeps increasing his lead.
I’m not keeping track of the number of contacts, so I don’t realize I’ve surpassed 300. I’m taking longer breaks. It’s working out pretty well—I get a little rest, and when I come back, I immediately find several new stations that I manage to work.
The end of the contest is approaching. Will I last until the end? I want to rest a bit, so I find an open frequency at 3605 kHz and send out a call from N1MM. RG2Y comes back immediately and sends a spot. A flood of stations begins. Just when it looks like it’s dying down, DF2RG sends a second spot. In the last hour, I make 38 contacts—the strongest hour of the entire contest!
OM0A – OM4AQP rate in the 2021 CQ WW DX SSB Contest
OM0A – OM4AQP score in the 2021 CQ WW DX SSB Contest
In the end, there were 378 contacts in the log, totaling over 22,000 points. Several contacts were with OM stations. Those are worth zero points, but I called them to say hello and send a DX spot.
List of DXCC countries with which contacts were made
DXCC by points earned in the 2021 CQ WW DX SSB Contest
3A Monaco
5B Cyprus
9A Croatia
A7 Qatar
CT Portugal
DL Germany
E7 Bosnia and Herzegovina
EA Spain
EA6 Balearic Islands
EI Ireland
ER Moldova
ES Estonia
EU Belarus
F France
Zones of the 2021 CQ WW DX SSB Contest
G England
GI Northern Ireland
GM Scotland
HA Hungary
HB0 Liechtenstein
HB9 Switzerland
Ja Italy
IS Sardinia
LA Norway
LX Luxembourg
LY Lithuania
LZ Bulgaria
OE Austria
OH Finland
OH0 Åland
OK Czech Republic
OM Slovakia
V Belgium
OZ Denmark
PA Netherlands
S5 Slovenia
SM Sweden
SP Poland
SV Greece
TA Turkey AS
UA Russia EU
UA2 Kaliningrad
UR Ukraine
W USA
YL Latvia
YO Romania
YU Serbia
Z6 Kosovo
The CQ WW DX SSB Contest certainly did not disappoint. Thank you all for an exceptional experience!
