RD3AF Back To Defend CQ WW CW Title From EF8M; Low Power Shootout Likely As AA3B Defends

By Jamie Dupree NS3T  radio-sport.net 
Posted November 22, 2010

After an active CQ WW SSB Contest at the end of October, organizers are expecting another big turnout as the CQ WW CW Contest returns for 2010, with Valery Komarov RD3AF looking to win for a second straight year from EF8M in the Canary Islands.

Komarov will have a series of major challengers around the world, including Andy Blank N2NT, who will be back at his V47NT contest station in St. Kitts, now that antennas there have been repaired, and are back in service.

"We lost 2 out of 3 towers," Blank told radio-sport.net. "I wasn't sure I would go down this year since I did not expect it to be ready."

Blank finished second overall last year.

Also back for another big operation will be Jose Nunes CT1BOH, who will again be on the Madeira Islands as CR3E, where he finished not far behind Blank in third place.

The Single Operator Low Power category may be even more of a shootout than the High Power, as defending champ Bud Trench AA3B will have his hands full in a bid to repeat from V26K in Antigua.

Among those ready for a big outing, Robert Kasca S53R, who will be on again from Sudan as ST2AR.

From his station there, Kasca already has the top low power claimed score from CQ WW SSB this year.

Another challenger is Didier Bironneau FY5FY, who ran FY5KE to the fourth highest claimed score in the High Power category in CQ WW SSB - now he'll switch over to low power to see what he can do in the CW leg.

Others with a chance to make a low power impact include HR2DMR from HQ2W, E70A from J28AA in Djibouti and NV7E from 5Z4EE in Kenya.

The Bands Have Been Bubbling A Bit

There was hope a month ago that the bands would break open - especially 10 meters - but that didn't come to pass in CQ WW SSB, though there were more signs of life.

In recent weeks, 15 meters has especially been more active between North America and Europe, which would be a welcome development after years of depressed solar conditions have left 15 and 10 meters on the sidelines for many.

10 meters remains a puzzle, sometimes showing signs of life in terms of East-West propagation, but still nowhere near where it was 7-8 years ago.

In CQ WW SSB, 10 meters opened for Europe to both Asia and South America, but North America did not see much, other than the usual North-South DX path.

Still, the delay in the start of a new solar cycle has not hurt participation in CQ WW SSB or CW, which continues to swing upward.

In 2009, there were over 12,000 logs submitted from CQ WW SSB & CW, an all-time high for the contests - and up 16% from 2008.

No Clear Answer on CQ WW Observer Program

A year ago, three different observers were sent around the world to play the role of an on-site referee during the CQ WW CW Contest, all to address issues of cheating that have plagued the CQ WW test in recent years.

Observers kept an eye on EF8M, CR3E and 8P5A, but the contest checks turned into a public relations embarrassment afterwards, as the ham who had paid for the trips blasted the work of the three referees.

As for this year, "In 2010, we will again employ observers," CQ WW Director Bob Cox K3EST said in October, though he did not say how many or what contesters might be targeted this year.

In a webinar sponsored by the Potomac Valley Radio Club, Cox was directly asked if the observer program was still active - his response was that "CQ WW is still trying to sort things out."

Last week, radio-sport.net tried to clarify the status of the observer program, but CQ WW Contest Spokesman Gene Zimmerman W3ZZ had little to offer.

"Bob Cox tells me that it is our intention to visit a few stations if the logistics work out properly," Zimmerman told radio-sport.net. "I wish I could give you more information but it’s not clear that I will have any further details until it actually happens."