With Defending CQ WW SSB Champs On Sidelines, Top Single Operator Categories Wide Open

By Jamie Dupree NS3T  radio-sport.net 
Posted October 25, 2010

The top two single operator prizes in the CQ WW SSB Contest are wide open affairs this year, as the defending High Power and Low Power champs won't be trying to repeat their victories of 2010.

In the High Power category, Rich Smith N6KT has decided not to try for three wins in a row - and what could be his record-setting 10th CQ WW win - even though he will be going back to the Galapagos Islands for this year's SSB test.

"Yes, I plan to be back at HC8A for the CQWW SSB contest, however I plan to do a Single-Band entry, probably 15 or 20 meters," Smith told radio-sport.net.

Smith already owns the world record on 10 meters, which he set from HC8A back in 2001, when he tallied 3.9 million points.

If Smith is shooting for another single ban record, the mark to beat on 20 meters is held by Peter Sprengel PY5CC, who set it in 1994 from PY0FM.

The 15 meter Single Band mark is also from the 1994 contest, set from ZD8Z by Jim Neiger N6TJ.

This year, Neiger will be in Hawaii as WH7V, operating on 40 meters. If the 6-time SOAB CQ WW winner wants to set a new record on 40, that mark is currently held by Jim Sullivan W7EJ, who ran up 1.59 million points from CN2R back in 2005.

As for Sullivan, he will be on again from CN2R this year, and must be considered one of the Single Op High Power favorites this year, after finishing second to HC8A a year ago.

"My first CQWW all band effort in 5 years," Sullivan said on 3830 after last year's contest, where he said he was a "little rusty."

A lot of contesters would probably be happy to take CN2R's "rusty" score from 2009, which was 13.5 million. HC8A won the overall crown with just under 15 million points.

No Sixth Straight LP Win For P40A

For the last five years, the CQ WW SSB Low Power crown has gone to the same person, John Bayne KK9A, who ran up an exceptional contest record from his P40A station in Aruba.

But after selling his vacation home in April of 2009, Bayne took down his antenna farm, and basically ended his operations from P40A.

"After operating from Aruba for the previous ten CQ WW Phone contests in the SB 20 and SOABLP categories, I decided to take a break," Bayne told radio-sport.net last week.

"Owning this vacation home was a fantastic experience," Bayne wrote on dxwatch.com.

As for those who will be on the air, Bayne said he doesn't "expect fantastic propagation, but this is the biggest DX phone contest and there will be plenty of activity on all of the bands."

Bayne had made a habit of crushing his competitors from P40A in CQ WW SSB. So, without him in the mix, it leaves the worldwide battle for the Low Power crown much more open than in the past five years.

In 2009, for example, Bayne scored 7.1 million points - the second place 6V7Q finished with 2.8 million.

An African or Carribean location could be crucial to a top worldwide finish in SOAB LP, bringing announced operations like 5C2P, 5Z4EE, CQ3L, TE8I, VP9/N1SV, ST2AR and others into the equation.

ST2AR, operated in Sudan by Robert Kasca S53R has already put some points on the board in recent weeks, as he has the highest claimed low power score in CQ WW RTTY.

An Eye On Other Top Single Operators

As is usually the case, a small group of top operators aren't really tipping their hand as yet on which category they will operate.

In Aruba, Robert Wood W5AJ will operate as P40P, while John Crovelli W2GD will be back at his post as P40W.

"Haven't been back to P40W since last November, so I'm hoping the station is reasonably intact," Crovelli told radio-sport.net. "Just putting up the wire beams for 40 and 80., and fixing the beverages will keep me busy I'm quite sure."

As for those ready for High Power category action, top 2009 SSB finisher Tom Georgens W2SC, who will be back at his 8P5A post, from where he finished he finished in third place in the High Power category.

Georgens has won CQ WW SSB three different times, the most recent in 2007.

In Europe, fourth place finisher Tonno Vahk ES5TV will be back at the QTH of Ranko Boca 4O3A, from where Vahk was able to outpoint Toni Linden OH2UA @ CR2X.

"Definitely better than expected," was how Vahk described last year's operation. Boca has spent the past year improving his station, and we'll see if Vahk is able to squeeze out more points in 2010.

There is also one major wildcard in the mix, that being Jeff Steinman N5TJ, who is re-appearing after years on the sidelines of ham radio contesting, as Steinman will be at CR2X.

While stations in Zone 14 are able to make the Top Ten in CQ WW SSB (as is showin in the graphic on the right sidebar), Steinman knows the history of a European trying to win this contest.

"The last time a European won CQWW SSB as a SOAB was over 50 years ago, when the winning scores were under 1M," Steinman said, downplaying his chances to win. (That EU winner in CQWW SSB was F8PI in 1958.)

"With the sunspots starting to come back...it seemed like a good time to get back in the game," said Steinman, who holds the world records for both SOAB HP in CQ WW SSB and CQ WW CW.

"I'm looking forward to my first operation from EU and the different strategy needed from there based on the QSO point rule."

If history is any guide, Steinman may well be up to the challenge.

Stay with radio-sport.net for all the contest stories about the 2010 CQ WW DX Contests!