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In a record setting year for public DQ's in the CQ WW DX Contests, a Russian contester who had the top CW single operator claimed score in 2008 was disqualified, as the CQ WW Contest Committee continued its crackdown on cheating.
"Disqualified: EF8M (RD3AF), RG3K (UA3QDX), YU2A," read the standard terse description in the September 2009 CQ Magazine at the end of the CW results. "Log results deemed incompatible with category of entry."
Also, several other top scores, including the world's highest claimed Multi-Single score disappeared from the final CW results.
Of the three public DQ's in the CW contest, the EF8M entry of Valery Komarov RD3AF took most of the attention of the CQ WW Contest Committee, though much effort was also spent evaluating the log of Hrane Milosevic YT1AD, who operated 3V8BB to a final victory.
"We can spend another 1000 hours on this log or we can look for impossibilities," committee member Eugene Zimmerman W3ZZ wrote to others in an email.
Zimmerman noted for the CQ WW CC one section of the EF8M log, where Komarov made 63 contacts in 43 minutes - all of it search and pounce - in which 62 of the QSO's were of recently spotted stations on the packet cluster.
"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE without packet and perhaps without a second op because of that 90/hr rate," Zimmerman added.
"This is one mighty strange log," primary log reviewer Doug Zwiebel KR2Q told his colleagues. "I barely know where to begin."
"For starters," Zwiebel wrote, "there is only running for the first 16 hours of the contest."
"Must be nice to have 240 hour rates and still be able to tune on your running band, work the new mult and just keep your rate going," KR2Q observed at one point.
In his review for fellow committee members, Zwiebel noted 10 different sections of the EF8M log that had almost 100 percent "hits" for packet spots while Komarov was S&P'ing.
"Probably nobody is more S+P than I am," said Zwiebel, who is a top QRP operator, "and my rate NEVER approaches those rates. And I am only calling the LOUD guys (more likely to be spotted)."
One DQ tool that is used by the CQ WW Contest Committee is to determine the rate that un-assisted entries contact multipliers that have just been spotted on the DX cluster, compared to overall multipliers.
EF8M's rate of four percent was much higher than the normal rate of an "honest log" of less than one percent.
This was not the first time that RD3AF has been under scrutiny for packet use in CQ WW. In 2007, Tonno Vahk ES5TV publicly accused Komarov of using packet during his 2006 CQ WW CW bid, as Vahk argued that Komarov should have been DQ'd.
This year's review of RD3AF's 2008 log from EF8M showed what one committee member called "a similar pattern of extensive use of packet."
Another came to the "conclusion that this log was deliberately and massively manipulated to hide both packet cheating and multiple operators."
In the end, radio-sport.net was told that CQ WW CC Director Bob Cox K3EST was reluctant to officially disqualify the entry of EF8M/RD3AF, instead favoring the idea of re-classifying his score.
But that was rejected by members of the contest committee.
"EF8M needs to go, and not a reclassification," argued Steve Bolia N8BJQ in an email to fellow committee members.
As for Komarov RD3AF/EF8M, he strongly denied in early August that he had anything to hide or that he had cheated during his operation from the QTH of OH1RY/EA8AH.
"I worked fairly, one radio, did not use the second transceiver and it was observed by all my friends who were present during my work," said the Russian contester.
"Certainly I heard that they wish to disqualify me for work in CQ WW CW 2008," he added.
In the end, the EF8M DQ was only mentioned in the very small type at the end of the CQ Magazine article on the 2008 CQ WW CW results.
There was not "one word about EF8M" in the CQ Magazine writeup complained one person involved in the CQ WW Contest Committee log check effort.
"There is no penalty" without a "public mention," he added.
One question about Komarov's contest effort in CQ WW is whether it will raise extra scrutiny in two other contests where he has a top score - the 2009 CQ 160 CW and the CQ WPX CW tests.
One final note about Komarov's effort in the 2008 CQ WW CW contest is that he posted his UBN file on his website.
You can see that UBN file at http://rd3af.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=71
After being privately DQ'd in the 2004 contest, Milosevic rejects accusations of cheating, and you can read his letter to the CQ WW CC and radio-sport.net on the right.
Those with suspicions about YT1AD's operation - as with RD3AF - focused on the possibility of other operators being involved in his Single Operator effort.
"HYPOTHESIS: 3V8BB is using 2nd operator and/or spotting network," read one document circulated among CQ WW committee members.
"ANALYSIS: The operating strategy is hectic and non-consistent. Not characteristic to typical SO2R," it continued.
"The obvious conclusion is that he is using definitely 2nd operator and with very high probability also packet cluster, at least when 2nd operator is not present," reads the internal review.
"From his log we see that there was only 1 (!) break of longer than 10 minutes and that is 13 minutes exactly at 0000 after 24h."
That lack of time off was a central part of discussion into the final log reviews in mid July for KR2Q.
"If he is cheating, it has to be with two ops, because there is no advantage that I see that might be due to what I'll call "current" technology," Zwiebel said in an email to committee members.
"Other than for the received comments, and the total LACK OF OFF TIME, this looks like a world-class op to me," he added.
"Effectively, the guy never sleeps and never naps."
Log checkers focused a great deal on second radio QSO's made by Milosevic, looking for any hints that a second operator might be involved.
"He probably has 2nd operator helping out with those QSYs as some of them are done in very high rate situation and would be very hard to pull off even with fully efficient SO2R system," said one CQ WW CC review.
Also raising eyebrows was evidence that 3V8BB made many second radio contacts which correlated to spots on the packet cluster, and then made none at all for lengthy periods.
"In the second day there are no SO2R QSOs before 0627 and then suddenly active SO2R activity begins," the review states.
Normally (the) operator should be able to make more SO2R QSOs in the hours of lower rate. Why does he not make any from 0000 to 0600 when rates are low?? "
Despite all the internal questions, in the end, the 3V8BB log was accepted, and the 2008 SOAB HP title was won by YT1AD.
One thing is for sure at this point, if YT1AD is back in Tunisia to defend his title this year, it would seem logical that he would be at the top of the list for a possible in-contest visit as outlined under the new 2009 CQ WW DX Contest rules.
All five DQ's in the 2008 CQ WW SSB were multi-ops; All three DQ's in the 2008 CQ WW CW were single ops.
Those dwarfed the DQ's handed out since 2000:
But members of the CQ WW Contest Committee say each year, there are a number of other entries that simply "disappear" from the final results, which are viewed as basically "private" DQ's.
In analyzing the SOAB HP log submitted by Valery Komarov RD3AF, some on the CQ WW Contest Committee charged that Komarov was most likely aided by other operators, who filled his band map and possibly at times worked some QSO's as well.
That concern also existed with the 3V8BB operation of Hrane Milosevic YT1AD, and was a main reason that a new rule was created, which allows for third party visits to certain stations during the CQ WW DX Contests to check for rules violations.
What follows is some of the internal CQ WW CC review of the EF8M log, which can be accessed here for further review.
What follows is part of the official log review by CQ WW Contest Committee member Doug Zwiebel KR2Q, who observed that "This is one mighty strange log." The numbers referred to are the QSO numbers in the CQ WW check.
"For starters, there is only running for the first 16 hours of the contest (except for around 6 qsos)."
"Another thing...there are essentially no off times! There is a single break of 8 minute duration at minutes 2495 - 2502. There is one 6 minute break at minutes: 2610 - 2615. And there 4 minute five minute "breaks" at : 1740-1744, 1801-1805, 1823-1827, and 2446-2450....
"The log looks like SO1R. Most of his S+P is literally that: stop running and tune the band. However, there are some QSO's where is picks up SPOTs in his running band..."
"6930 - 6942: Pretty high rate here. 4/min at 2332z (day 2). 4/min at 2333z (day 2). One of the Q's at 2333 is with LN5O. Through careful investigation, it is clear to me that LN5O called EF8M while EF8M was running on 40m. Look at the LN5O log and EF8M is a dupe on 40. LN5O needs EF8M for a mult on 80, so he asks him to move. At 2334z, EF8M not only continue to work 4/minute on 40 but also works LN5O on 80 (same minute), bringing the rate up to 5/minute. How do you maintain a rate of 5 per minute including having a guy ask you to move and give you the QRG to move to? I can't do that.
"6910 - 6917: Strange tuning. Appears to be tuning both the TOP and BOTTOM (or near the bottom) of 80 by alternating back and forth (see the log). He logs 8 QSOs between 2323z and 2326z doing this. I guess it's possible, but not by me. Anybody else ever do this ALONE?
KR2Q then details for CQ WW CC members evidence that ties contacts in the EF8M log to spots on the packet cluster.
"Shown below are sections that are almost 100% HITS while S+P..."
"6497 - 6503: 8 QSO in 6 minutes, 100% HITS, 5 mults.
"6363 - 6400: 35 Q's in 45 minutes on 4 different bands. Only 3 non-HITS. 17 new Mults (HITS).
"5993-6010: 18 Qs in 13 minutes. 100% HITS. 5 new MULTS.
"5834 - 5895: 63 Q's in 43 minutes, 62 HITS. 15 new Mults.
"5072 - 5076: 5 Q's in 3 minutes, 4 HITS, 3 mults.
"4659 - 4727: 69 Q's in 78 minutes, 57 HITS, 17 mults
"3815 - 3817: 3 Q's, 3 minutes, 3 MULTS.
"3776 - 3780: 5 Q's in 4 mintes, all HITS, all MULTS.
"2803 - 2804: 2 Q's, 2 minutes, 2 hits, 2 mults
"2710 - 2725: 15 Q's, 10 minutes, 14 HITS, 10 Mults...
"And in the OUT OF THE BLUE category: QSO 6939 with CU2AF. This is interesting because (a) the guy was never spotted and (b) is a NOT IN LOG qso..."
"Sure enough, at exactly this time, he has a qso with the Canary Islands - but with EC8OT, which is not in QRZ.com and was worked by NOBODY else."
Mr Bob Cox K3EST,CQ WW DX Contest Director
Subject: CQ WW CW 2008
Some members of CQ WW Contest Committee and NS3T at radio-sport.net are writing lately inflammatory texts exercising pressure on final decisions before 2008 published CW results.
I am asking CC and NS3T to publish complete information about these anonymous sources giving classified information. They include laptop weekend contesters travelling to rented locations expecting to be first in the world.
3V8BB station is evolving since October 1995 when I was #2 SSB. Nobody cares until one reaches first place 14 years later with over 300.000 QSO made! I respect hamspirit and my logs are open. I am successful businessman and professor of University and hamradio is only my hobby since the age of 15, more than 44 years! Wooden plaques are not important to me; having a lot of fun on the radio is my satisfaction.
Access to 3V8BB station within Youth University is properly regulated.
I have few questions to CC:
1. Do you work on the facts and contest rules or sick persons suspicions?
2. Are the rules made for rich RD3AF and YT1AD or for the whole world?
3. How could N5TJ with 6 OH support crew make more QSO and mults than M/S?
4. How could HC8N, D4B, CT1BOH and others have more mults and even QSO then
M/S? I never managed to achieve that!?
5. What caused D4B quitting in CQ WW CW 2004? Sickness, radio failure or
else? I offered him 100.000 $ for that location bit it was quickly
dismantled!
Suspicions come from CC members who compete but can't be first all the time. I do hamradio contests and DX-peditions for my own satisfaction and on my own expenses. It is immoral for me to compete and judge at the same time!
I received few sick emails from anonymous addresses with personal threats and warnings. Lot of clans think that only they and their friends could win!
This is my first and last mail about this problem. I personally support all HAMRADIO activity according HAMSPIRIT. My Contest activity as according rules.
73 Hrane YT1AD, YT5A, 3V8BB.....
