CQ WW CW 2008 Europe: OH2UA The Clear Favorite From CU2X; WRTC Battle Spurs On Others

By Jamie Dupree NS3T  radio-sport.net 
Posted November 17, 2008

After smashing the European single operator record in the CQ WW SSB contest, Toni Linden OH2UA goes back to his newly improved CU2X contest site in the Azores with designs on another top finish in this year's CQ WW CW test.

And unless there is some kind of catastrophe, Linden's rivals expect him to win the European CW title for a third straight year.

"CU2X lives on another radio planet," said Bernd Och DL6FBL, who will be back at SV9CVY in Greece again this year.

"The competition is between “regular” Europeans like 4O3A, ES5TV, M6T and me," Och told radio-sport.net.

Echoing that assessment was Ranko Boca 4O3A, who finished third in Europe behind OH2UA and DL6FBL in the 2007 CW test.

"I expect again to have an exciting contest and battle between top EU stations, without CU2X this time, who left Europe and opened his own world," Boca said.

Despite those glowing reviews of his SSB performance, Linden was not showing any signs of overconfidence, remembering 2007, when he beat SV9CVY by only 500k.

"I'm not expecting it to be easy on CW, as we saw last year," Linden told radio-sport.net from Finland.

"Again all the big European single op stations will be manned by great operators with everyone trying to collect the last possible WRTC points," he said.

"Whoever wins Europe this year wont get it easy!"

Och DL6FBL was not originally planning to go back to Greece for CQ WW CW, but changed his mind earlier this month. He will again fight some bad local QRN.

"Mike (SV9CVY) and me were driving around in the car with a mobile rig after the SSB contest, and we found out that it is not just one single source of noise, which could be addressed somehow, but instead it is the whole (open wire) electrical installation on Crete Island," Och said.

Och is taking several radios to deal with the interference, but says he will only be an old style SO1R operation. DL6FBL is one of many hoping that the high bands will open.

"The SV9 location gives you advantage over most other European stations more in the north, because you have the advantage of a potentially higher MUF in the south meaning a better chance for openings on 21 and 28 MHz," said Och.

"Disadvantage is towards USA, because the signal path must cross the whole European "wall."

Over in Estonia, Tonno Vahk ES5TV should again be prowling the bands, after claiming a solid 7.1 million points in CQ WW SSB, though he also knows catching CU2X may be impossible.

"My more realistic target is to be 1st in our WRTC qualification zone (Scandinavia and the Baltics) and among top 5 in Europe," said Vahk, who strategy is pretty basic.

"The key is to work as much US as possible as the number of JA's is diminishing. That hurts us on the eastern edge of Europe as we lose out to westerners," said Vahk. "The only way to make up that loss is to work more eastern mults that are more easily available for us."

Vahk did very well on the low bands in CQ WW SSB, and a repeat of his 602 QSO, 20 zone, 77 DXCC line score would certainly help carry him to a top placing.

Meanwhile, 4O3A just hopes he can finish the contest, after having to quit the SSB leg after the power suddenly shut off at his contest QTH.

"The power failure in SSB happened because a relay switcher which is switching main power or generator in the house burned," said Boca.

"Now all is working and I hope all will be fine for CW," he added.