With Low Bands In Good Shape, ARRL 160 Finds Topband Ready For More CW Contest Action

By Jamie Dupree NS3T  radio-sport.net 
Posted December 1, 2008

With the HF bands still smoking from last weekend's CQ WW CW Contest, US and Canadian contesters will bring the Topband back to life in the 2008 ARRL 160 Meter Contest.

"I always look forward to the 160 meter season," says two-time defending ARRL 160 Low Power champ Fred Helwig K8FH.

"The band has been in pretty good shape lately with good openings to Europe. Hope the trend continues," Helwig added.

For now, Helwig told radio-sport.net that he is not planning on actively going for another LP win.

"As much as I would like to defend my title, at this point I'm planning on operating a more relaxed contest, maybe even experimenting with a different entry class, and just having fun," said Helwig.

As for the defending High Power and Multi-op champs, they are some familiar names and calls in the ham radio contest business, as Tom Rauch W8JI had the multi-op crown in 2007 and Jeff Briggs K1ZM was the winner from his VY2ZM superstation.

"As for Jeff, I think this would be a very good year for him to make a Low-Power 100 watt entry," joked his brother Peter Briggs K3ZM, who finished third last year.

"I finished fourth in 2006 and third in 2007," said K3ZM, "but continuing the upward trend this year will be hard. There is lots of good competition, and the point structure of this contest does not favor me."

As for the 2007 winner, K1ZM tuned up with a big effort from VY2ZM, in which 160 meters played a big role as usual.

"I thought 160 was in pretty good shape," K1ZM told radio-sport.net. "I worked at least 10 UA9's and three z 18. I even managed to work JA7NI for zone 25 and KL7WV for Zone 01 - which I never do in a contest on Topband. No ZL or VK on 160m though."

Last year's second place finisher might be out of the way, which could even mean a Battle of the Briggs Brothers for the top spot, as life outside of radio may keep Yuri Blanarovich K3BU from a big effort.

"Unless at the last minute I free myself to go to some good place to attempt to beat some records, it most likely will be LP from the mediocre QTH with an inverted vee in a tree," said Blanarovich.

As for conditions this year, Blanarovich expects more of the same, which is certainly good for Topband enthusiasts.

"It looks like we are experiencing a prolonged (solar) minimum and apparently low coming max of the sunspot cycle, which should be good for the low bands," he added.

Of course, ARRL 160 is a bit different than the CQ 160 contests in January (CW) and February (SSB) as the US and Canada can work each other, but the world can only work W and VE stations.

That obviously impacts the strategy, as it is nowhere the same as the CQ 160 tests.

"One thing I may try to do differently this year is to send faster in the first few hours of the contest and to otherwise increase the rate at which I work W/VE stations on Friday night," said Peter Briggs K3ZM.

"Everybody seems to make more QSO's than I do, and I think there may be room for improvement there. I have liked to send a bit more slowly to attract the EU's, but we don't work so many of them in this contest anyway."

If you are thinking about making a QRP effort this year, then you will have to deal with the defending champ Mike Michael W3TS, who will be making another run at first place..

"When the sunspots are very low or zero I have more of a chance at working some DX," said Michael, who has a good shot to have exactly those type of conditions.

As for his strategy, Michael says he is mainly S&P when he does QRP on 160 meters, knowing full well that even if he can CQ, a Big Gun can take his frequency away at any time.

"I started doing it QRP because I thought I would get more sleep but that turned out not to be true," Michael told radio-sport.net.

"And if you want to get to first place you have to put in the operating chair time. I'm starting to wonder if it is worth losing so much sleep for a paper certificate."