CQ WW SSB 2007 - WHAT'S THE SPOT FOR A WORLDWIDE WIN?

By Jamie Dupree NS3T 

"The winner almost always comes from Zone 9 or Zone 33," - Andy Blank N2NT.

"Best place in the world is still CT3, D4, or EA8," - Randy Thompson K5ZD.

"CT3/P4/9Y4/EA8/D4 and even PY0F with the right operator," - Jeff Briggs K1ZM/VY2ZM.

"The places to win CQWW are in North Africa or Caribbean," - Tine Brajnik S50A

"D4, CT3, EA8, PJ2 and 6Y cannot be compared to (Europe) and they will always make better scores," - Philippe Lutty LX2A.

"European stations will never be able to beat 3 point Caribbean or African locations," - Tonno Vahk ES5TV

While conventional contester wisdom is that the Caribbean and Northern Africa are the CQWW sweet spot, recent CQWW history shows something a bit more complex, especially when it comes to the Single Operator All Band High Power category.

In the last six years, there have been three SOAB HP winners from Zone 8, one from Zone 33, one in Zone 35 and only one from Zone 9, last year's victory by John Crovelli P40W/W2GD (P40W log.)

Bullish on Zone 33 is the last high power winner from there, Jim Sullivan W7EJ, who won at his Moroccan contest station CN2R.

"This year will require a good station on 40m and 80m," says Sullivan. "Staying awake when the rates are down will be the challenge."

If you are looking for a winning formula from Zone 8 in the Caribbean, then you would be smart to see how Tom Georgens W2SC notched two much different victories from Barbados (8P.)

"You must be loud at least in Europe and USA on all bands," argues Georgens, who won in 2005 as 8P1A and in 2001 as 8P5A.

"Being a 2-point QTH (to the US and Canada) it is necessary to optimize EU points per QSO and mults against the higher rate to the US," said Georgens. He adds that there is a difference between the SSB and CW contests from Zone 8.

"On CW, the rates (Europe vs W/VE) are comparable, so it is generally best to run EU. On SSB, US rates can be much higher and can overcome the mult per QSO advantage," says Georgens.

One key for Zone 8 seems to be whether 10 meters is open. "The only chance is to have a lot more QSO's and mults," says Blank N2NT, who pushed V47NT to a close second place finish behind P40W in the 2006 CW contest.

"Without 10 meters, there just isn't enough high rate available, not to mention multipliers."

The two 8P wins of Georgens though came at clearly different times in terms of propagation. In 2001, W2SC chalked up 3,354 contacts on 10 meters, with 34 zones and 113 DXCC.

Compare that to 2005, when his totals at 8P1A were down to 877 Q's, 14 zones and 20 DXCC.

Trying again from Zone 8 this year will be Teddy Jimenez HI3TEJ, who finished second last year in World low power to P40A. Jimenez (HI3TEJ log) agrees that he needs a 10 meter opening from Zone 8, even a short one.

"I only need four hours of opening and that's all," said Jimenez, who will use the call HI3T this year from the Dominican Republic. "If I am going to beat P40A for sure I just need good propagation."

John Bayne P40A/KK9A is the man to beat in the single op low power category (P40A log) which he has won the past two years.

Zone 9 in fact has provided the World CQ WW SSB #1 in four of the last seven years. The other there winners were all from Africa, twice in Zone 34 and once in Zone 35.

The Single Op Assisted category shows an ever greater bias to the Caribbean, as Zones 8 and 9 have produced the Assisted winner each of the past five years.

The QRP title has been much more spread out, with winners the last five years in Zone 7, 14 (twice), 9 and 20.

For those in North America, the last time a US or Canadian station finished first in the world was in 2001, when N5TJ powered the VE3EJ station to a first place in single op Assisted.

Scott Robbins W4PA came close in the high power category in the 2005 CQWW SSB when he finished third in the world as VY2PA.

"VY2PA was a superhuman effort made by a GREAT operator," says Jeff Briggs K1ZM, who hosted Robbins. "That is about as high a finish as one is ever going to make outside Caribbean North America in a CQWW phone contest."

This year, Robbins is again outside the US for CQ WW SSB, but this time he's picked a destination that might give him the #1 SOAB HP spot.

Robbins will be P40PA in Aruba.

That's CQ Zone 9, the right zone in the minds of many who will face off on October 27 and 28.