#CQWW DX SSB 2024 contest review

 

Event: CQWW DX SSB contest 2024
Section: SO Low Assisted 10M
Logger: N1MM+ 
Station: Icom IC-7300 @100W
Antenna 1: 10m LFA @14m
Antenna 2: Gainmaster 1/2 wave vertical for 11m @16m
Antenna 3: 2x20m inverted-V doublet @12m

If you like contesting or not. The CQWW is one of the largest contests in the amateurradio community. Almost everyone within this community knows about it but not everyone is participating. However if you like to work interesting DX or even complete 100 DXCC in one weekend this is the contest you need to do. 

My goal this year was to work at least 1000 QSO and try to beat my 2022 score. It went well, I made 1050 QSO and stopped early. In the end I could make a lot more QSOs on the low bands but I was tired and there was no need to. I was primarily on 10m and will send my log in for the 10m SO LOW Assisted section. I missed my multiband halo and it was hard to make contacts on 15m and 20m, it would be a lot easier with a good antenna but I had to use my inverted-V. It was also hard to make contacts on 160m. No propagation? Much noise? I don't know but a lot of stations were not able to hear me. 80m and 40m was easy, instant pile ups, I did not spend a lot of time on those bands but it was interesting at night to get a lot of USA/Canada back on my CQ on 80m. Personally I found the 10m in good shape on both days. Incredible propagation from all directions. It was hard to work some really nice DX while others, especially in Africa, were relatively easy to work. At times I didn't use the beam but my vertical because propagation was even from both east as west and turning the antenna 180 degrees costs too much valuable time. Just kidding about time.... I was off the contest for an hour Saturday morning because of incredible F2 propagation on 6m. DX, especially on the 6m band, is always more important for me. I am and will always be a DXer in the first place.

Well, some stats from the analyzer. I operating time was 25 hours and 51 minutes. That is much shorter as 2 years ago. I also made a lot more contacts on 10m compared to 2022. You can see that I worked dupes. So far I know that one is my own fault. But there is one station I worked on 80m that called on and on even after I logged him 3 times. He kept calling till I told him that he was already 3 times in the log and told him to not call anymore. He apologized and was gone, still this was a strange experience. I also had some fun contacts like with fellow bloggers VE3VN Ron and OQ5M Franki. I also had a brief contact with OY1R Regin who personally brought his QSL here 8 years ago. Always nice to work people in the contest that you can have a small chat with because you have the feeling that you know someone.

Some contesters like to chase zones and DXCC. I checked the stats in N1MM and so far I worked 39 of the 40 zones on 10m. I missed zone 31 which is the difficult to reach pacific area with countries like Fiji, Nauru etc. 

124 DXCC in one weekend is of course incredible. On 10m only I worked 121 DXCC. It could be more but I it was not possible to work everything I heard because of the big pile-ups on some rare stations. It will be hard to beat next year although you never know...