Donations are accepted. We appreciate the help!
With this year producing only two days without sunspots so far, the CQ 160 SSB Contest returns, as contesters hope to hang on to some of the special propagation that boosted scores in the 2009 SSB test.
Unlike the 2009 CW contest where records fell in droves, only a few records tumbled in the SSB test, like that from USA Single Operator winner Jerry Rosalius WB9Z, who edged out Paul Newberry N4PN for both the win and new USA record of 512,316 points.
Rosalius might be aiming for a different kind of record this time around, as he is heading to PJ2T for a bit of contesting.
"I hope to operate PJ2T Single Op High Power in CQ 160 SSB and ARRL DX SSB," Rosalius told radio-sport.net.
While PJ2T holds the South American record for Single Operator in the CW test (K8ND), the CQ 160 SSB mark is held by John Crovelli W2GD, who piloted P40W to 548,454 points back in 2004.
Only one continental SSB record is older than that P40W mark, as the Asian 160 SSB record of EK6GC, set back in 1997.
Last year's overall Single Operator winner was Nick Lekic VE3EY, who finished with 786,912 points, easily besting other top scores from Europe and the US.
That also earned Lekic the world's highest combined score in the 2009 CQ 160 contests, as he also topped all North American stations in last year's CW test with 1.36 million.
In Europe, Joseph Cornee F6CTT had the top SSB finish last year, using his set up with five different beverages to make over a thousand contacts, combining 34 W/VE multipliers with 72 DXCC.
But the key to Cornee's winning score was a lack of mistakes in his log, as the Frenchman went from 1,044 raw QSO's down to 1,026 - losing only 18 contacts overall for a final score of 620,524, second highest in the world.
Most years, that kind of score would not threaten the top spot - as in 2008, it was N5IA winning from VP6DX with over one million points. The Single Op record is still held by Al 4L5A from D4B in 2005, when he tallied 1.46 million.
The Cape Verde Islands will be on for CQ 160 SSB this year, as Massimo Cortesti IZ4DPV will be at the D4C station on Sao Vicente.
For a second straight year, John Barcroft K6AM will stay over another weekend after ARRL CW at his contest QTH in the Cayman Islands, as he will operate CQ 160 SSB again in 2010.
In his first try last year in CQ 160 SSB, Barcroft finished third from ZF2AM in Single Op High Power, with 515k points. It was the first SSB test he had ever done from the Caymans.
Barcroft made 901 QSO's with 53 W/VE mults and an equal number of 53 DXCC.
As for the CW test, there have been a couple of changes since the last radio-sport.net update, most notably in the Single Op High Power category.
No log is yet in from the top claimed score of Jim Sullivan W7EJ, who had 2.7 million points from CN2R in Morocco.
But the log is in from Valery Komarov RD3AF, who operated EF8M to the second highest Single Op score - at least on 3830 - but his log has been submitted in the Multi-Op category.
The 2.1 million from EF8M gives that entry the top claimed score among Multi-ops, with the P33W crew in second at 1.6 million points.
In the USA, Doug Grant K1DG still leads the CW Single Ops, while John Sluymer VE3EJ has a big lead in Canada in SO High Power.
VE3EY - Single Op High Power
KP4KE - Single Op Low Power
S57DX - SO Assisted
WB4MSG- Single Op QRP
HG8DX - Multi Op
2009 CQ 160 Top USA
WB9Z - Single Op High Power
K1EP - Single Op Low Power
N8TR - SO Assisted
WB4MSG- Single Op QRP
WE3C - Multi Op
2010 CQ 160 CW Contest
2200z January 29 - 2200z January 31;
more on the rules at the
CQ 160 web site.
