CQ WW DX CW 2025

In the CQ WW DX CW contest 2025 I used my new FT-818 for the first time.

I had great fun with low and very low power. 
To work with very low power I use the PA1B 10 dB attenuator behind my QRP set.

I made a total of 83 QRP QSO's.
On Saturday, I started late and made 6 QSO's in half an hour, using an output power from 98 mW to 5 watts.

On Sunday I started on 7 MHz with 5 W. Then I went to 20 m.
Propagation on 14 MHz was good, so I started a series of QSO's with 98 mW.
Later I used 98mW, 250mW and 980 mW alternately.
In the last half hour of my activity, I returned to 7 MHz.
There I made 6 QSOs at 5 watts.

The Table


The DXCC countries in the table are partly in alphabetical order. At the top are the DXCC countries with the lowest power (98 mW from 9A till YU). Followed by DXCC countries with more power.

The QSO with Kazakhstan (UN) is special, because of its low power.

Patience and perseverance
I sometimes have to call 5 times before I am heard.
Especially when it's busy on the band.
Then it's very tempting to increase the power, when I am not heard.
I often must wait until the frequency is absolutely clear. Hi.

CQ WW DX CW 2024

 

At first I wondered, wheter I would join the CQ WW DX CW contest. Late in the afternoon I turned on the RIG and I listened for a minute.
When I heard the strong signals, I was immediately excited.

Very low power QSO's 
The first 5 QSO's were made in just 20 minutes with a power of 36 mW (1), 80 mW (3) and 3.6 mW (1), on Saterday afternoon.

Two digit milliwatting
On Sunday afternoon I used 80 mW to make an other 6 QSO's with S&P.

QSB

Then the QSB kicked in. So I had to use 360 milliwatt. And on occasion I made one QSO with 80 mW and one with 36 mW. 

Activity in the contest
A major contest offers a great opportunity to make QSO's with low power.
I had great fun with QRPp with 3.6 mW to 800 mW. All with S&P.
I also made 2 more QSOs with 2.7 W on 40 m, but the emphasis was on working with low power.

CQ WW DX CW 2020 Worked DXCC's

Table of worked DXCC's
In CQ WW DX CW contest of 2020 I worked 33 DXCC's, all with search and pounce. A contest gives an excellent opportunity to work many stations in many DXCC countries. When the signals that I receive are  strong, I will reduce my power. 

1000 Miles per Watt
When I work with very low power, I often make more than 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's. The red numbers in the table are QSO’s that are made with more than 1000 Miles per Watt. 

Time Diagram
In the time diagram you can see the used power from QSO to QSO.
This diagram is gives only the QSO's that were made on 20 meter. Because 20m was the only band where I could wordk with very low power. You can see that the Saturday was the better day, to work with less than 100 mW. When I use less than 100 mW I make use of the PA1B attenuator.

PA1B Time diagram 20 m CQ WW DX CW 2020

CQ WW DX CW 2020

My shack has a new ceiling. 

So before I could start in the CQ WW DX CW 2020, I placed all the gear back in the shack.

Delayed start

But when I started, I could not get a good SWR. In the end it took me an hour to figure out what was wrong. Unfortunately one of the PL259 connectors of the cable between the set and the SWR-meter was NOT screwed, in a decent way of course. After I found out, I could start. But then my wife asked my to make a label for a return packet. This took less than an hour.

CQ WW DX CW 2020

I enjoyed the contest. I was looking forward to participate. I made a total of 139 QSO's, all with search and pounce. The Rig is a FT-817 with a maximum power of 4 watts. My antenna is an end fed sloping down to the east. 

I worked on 40 m, 20 m and 15m.
On 20 m I used a power of 4 W down to 36 mW, using the 10 dB PA1B power attenuator.

Very low power
I started on 20 m with 800 mW to 4 W and then after 6 QSO’s the S-meter went up to S9+10 dB. So I could make the first QSO with 36 mW. With 360 mW from the set and the attenuator on 10 dB. Only on Saturday I could make a 7 QSO's with only 36 mW and just one on Sunday.

It was great to make a QSO with TA3ST with his excellent ears. I first tried with 360 mW, but when my signal was not heard, I increased the power (with 3 dB) to make the QSO. I could barely hear him, but he could hear my 800 mW. Hi. FB.  

CQ WW DX CW 2015 - Overview

When I use the lowest possible power, I don't call CQ myself. I answer a CQ of stations with strong signals, with a power that is about strong enough to be heard. When my signal is not heard I increase the power with a step of 3 dB, until my signal is heard and the QSO is made. I use the PA1B Fast and accurate attenuator to reduce the power below 360 milliwatt. When the S-meter goes up, my power goes down.

Here is an overview of DXCC countries, that I worked in the CQ WW DX CW contest 2015.
On Saturday I made 24 QSO's in which I used 2.7 W or 3.6 W. One QSO was made with 800 mW
On Sunday conditions were much better. Then I used 36 mW to 3.6 W, using the lowest possible power from QSO to QSO. In this contest I used the inverted V.

CQ WW DX CW 2015 - Overview   PA1B

The values in red are QSO's, that were made with more than 1000 Miles per Watt.

CQ WW DX CW contest 2015

On Thursday before the contest, a fellow HAM helped my to repair the inverted V. The whether was sunny with no wind, so it was nice to work on the roof. We replaced a part of the 300 ohm ribbon, where it was broken and we checked the connections in the top of the Inverted V.

I decided to repair the inverted V, in stead of using the 15 inch cylinder dipole. The dimensions of the Monster cylinder dipole and it's height 4 m above the ground, allow the antenna work on frequencies of 21 MHz and higher. But now I wanted to use not only 21 MHz, 14 MHz and 7 MHz.

It was great. On Saturday I could make a total of 24 QSO's, all with S&P. The inverted V was working very well. Most QSO's were with European stations on 40 m, 20 m and 15 m. Later I made 4 QSO's with North America. In all the QSO's on Saturday I needed the full power of the FT-817, which is 3,6 W on 20 m and 2,7 W on 40 m and 15 m. That I needed "full power", was only a matter of propagation.

On Sunday morning I immediately noticed that the propagation was better. The signals were stronger than on Saturday. After about 10 QSO's with 2.7 W, the signals became stronger. The S-meter went up, so I could make QSO's with 360 mW. In the first QSO with 36 mW the received signal was S9 + 10 dB. This QSO was a DUPE, but I took my change and really enjoyed that OM7M gave a report, so we made the QSO with QRPpp. I very much enjoy this friendly attitude. 

After this QSO, I came on a quiet part of the 20 m band and I made QSO's all over Europe and two QSO's with North America all with just 360 mW. Then I heard a station from Japan. Luckily it was very quiet on the band (20 m) and with the 3th call, the QSO was made with 3.6 W. I did not dare to go lower. 

The next 30 QSO were made all over Europe, with 360 mW, except when I needed 3,6 W. When the signals incidentally went up to S9 + 10 dB, it was possible to reduce to 36 mW.

It was great. I very much enjoyed to work with the lowest possible power from QSO to QSO on Sunday.

CQ WW DX CW 2014

I had great fun in the CQ WW DX CW contest of 2014.
I had my inverted vee repaired just in time for the contest.

But most of all, I was very curious, how fast the
PA1B Fast and Accurate 40 dB Power Attenuator
would be in a large contest with enormous activity.

I am very happy with the attenuator.
As I mentioned before, the fast attenuator can be switched instandly.
So I am immediately ready to answer a CQ.

I started on 10 m and went to a lower frequency each time a band closed.
At times when the signals were getting stronger, I tried to use a lower power in the next QSO's.
On 40 m the band was too busy to use a very low power.
When I was on 40 m, the other bands were closed, so all other operators were also on this band.
So I made most QSO's on 40 m with 3.6 W. (Category less than 5 watts)

The inverted V works fine.
Since a long time I could make a few QSO's with less than 10 mW.
I used a power of about 4 watts down to 1.6 milliwatts.
The two QSO's in the column of  2.5 mW in the table were made with 1.6 mW and 1.8 mW.
(500 mW means more than 250 mW and less than 500 mW)

The start of the CQ WW DX CW contest

23 dB   Click to enlarge

After repairing the Inverted V, I took part in several contests.
The first contest was the CQ WW DX CW contest.

I was eager to use the 

"PA1B Fast and Accurate 40 dB Power Attenuator" 

in a contest with a large activity.

In the first 5 QSO's were made with 3 watt to 400 mW.
After 5 QSO's the signals were getting stronger, so I could use the attenuator. With signals over S9, it was possible to make QSO's with a power of 72 mW and 36 dB.

The 18^th QSO, with RM5A, was the first QSO below 10 mW with 7.2 mW. So this was very promising.

YZ7Z - 1.8 mW       RM5A - 7.2 mW 

The 19^th QSO with YT7Z was made with 1.8 mW with the attenuator switched to 23 dB and the set on 360 mW.
An attenuation of 23 dB gives a power ratio of 1/200.

Math:
23 dB is 10 dB + 10 dB + 3 dB
The power ratio is 10 * 10 * 2 = 200
So the power is 360 mW / 200 = 1.8 milliwatts.

With one hand on the keyer and one hand on the switches of the attenuator, I can switch the power in a "milli"second.  Now I never miss an opportunity to answer. hi.

Immediately after each QSO I note the power of the set and the position of the attenuator in dB.
Further I calculate and note the power.

PA1B Power Attenuators for QSO's

In the CQ WW DX CW contest, I used the PA1B fast and accurate 40 dB power attenuator for QSO's. During the contest I experienced that the attenuator is even faster than I expected.
I am very happy with this fast attenuator.

The attenuator has sections of 20 dB, 10 dB, 7 dB and 3 dB.
In most situations one switch is switched OFF and an other is switched ON, to increase the power with an step of 3 or 4 dB. Which makes the attenuator easy to operate, with one hand.
I experienced that with this attenuator, the power can be increased instandly.
So I am immediately ready to give my call again, with slightly more power.

PA1B Fast and accurate 40 dB power attenuator for QSO's            

Until now I used an attenuator of 10 dB or 20 dB and the adjustment of the FT-817 to set the power for QSO's with very low power. E.g. 50 mW. When I must increase the power of the FT-817, because my signal was not heard, I must push the botton of the menu to set thepower 3 times to double my power.
The time to change the power of the FT-817 is too long to be ready to answer the next CQ, when my signal is not heard.
But now I never miss an opportunity to answer.

Fast attenuators (click)

You find more, interesting  info on attenuators 
on my website: PA1B QRPp page (Click)

HB9STEVE with 1000 MPW

HB9STEVE is a special event station to commemorate the life of Steve Jobs.
The station was active during November 2011.
Check out the info of HB9STEVE on QRZ. (click)

I received the special QSL via eQSL. To check the locator, I have sent a e-mail to Fulvio HB9DHG, who quickly responded.

Fulvio wrote back, how he enjoyed operating with the special call HB9STEVE:
It was a fantastic experience. One month and more than 8200 QSO's,
especially the 3600 QSO's in just one weekend (the CQ WW CW).
I'm happy you're in the log.

When I heard HB9STEVE in the CQ WW DX CW contest on 14 MHz, it I took my a while to figure out the "long" Call. Since I try to use the lowest possible power in any QSO, I reduced to 360 mW, before answering. The border of Switzerland is only 330 miles away, but luckely Fulvio (HB9DHG) and his team were located in the southern part of Switzerland, so we breached the 1000 Miles per Watt boundary. With a distance of 446 miles and a power of 360 milliwatts, this QSO is good for 1240 MPW. Thank you, dear Fulvio and team.

CQ WW DX CW 2011

I started Saturday morning at 0015 UTC and stayed on until 0140 UTC, to make 18 QSO's on 80 meters. It was terrible. I felt it for a few days and the next day I could not wake up. I should have gone to sleep before midnight, to start early Saturday morning.

On Saturday the 26th, I went back on the air, as late as 1100 UTC, to find good propagation on 21 MHz. I used the Lowest Possible Power in each QSO, with a power of 18 mW to 800 mW, with stations in Europe and later in North America. (See table 21MHZ 26th).
At first I used 360 mW, but later the S-meter went up and I was very pleased to work N2NT and VO1TA, with a QRPpp power of 80 mW.
I also made a few QSO's on 28 MHz.

When 21 MHz and 28 MHz closed, I went to 14 MHz, to make a few QSO's with 80 mW to 800 mW and then continued on 3.5 MHz. Most of the time, I use the maximum power of 2.7 watts on this band.
On Sunday morning I continued on this band and even made a QSO with KC1XX. The propagation on 7 MHz was bad, so all QSO's with Europe were made with full power. A few years ago it was possible to make QSO's with 100 mW or even less, on this band. After half an hour, I switch to 14 MHz, to work stations from Europe and a few stations from north America. Over time the propagation got better, so I could reduce the power gradually.
Later in the afternoon I shifted the emphasis from the Lowest Possible Power to the highest QSO rate.

On Saturday I had to glue myself to my chair. Many times I walked out of the the shack to go down stairs after a few QSO's. On Sunday I could stay on the air for long periods of time.

QSO's per continent

After making this analysis per continent, I realized that all QSO's to North America, South America and Asia are more then 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's.
A quick count revealled another 70 "1000 MPW"

QSO's in Europe, so I estimate that the total of 1000 MPW QSO's will be around 170.
Since I did not use the lowest possible power in each QSO this number would be lower, if my FT-817 could give 5 watts, instead of the current maximum of 2.7 watts. hi

Other 1000 Miles per Watt hunters
It is great to see, that other Bloggers also have used QRPp in the CQ WW DX CW contest. More FUN with lower power.
Steve MW0BBU hunted for new DXCC entities with just 500 mW. Click here to visit the QRP Pembrokeshire Blog. Steve noted in the Blog that he noticed that despite the low power, his call was copied immediately correct. hi
Mike VE3WDM also used 500 mW with an indoor attic fan dipole. Click here to check out the list of 1000 MPW QSO's, made with 500 mW.
Well done, gentlemen.

PA1B CQWW CW 2010 Log Checking Report

This morning I received the
Log Checking Report ofthe CQ WW DX CW contest of 2010.

Contest: 2010 CQ WW DX CW CONTEST
Call: PA1B
Category: Single Op All Band QRP
************************** Summary ***************************

327 Final QSO after checking reductions - - - 333 Claimed QSO (no duplicates)
375 Final QSO points - - - - - 399 Claimed QSO points
110 Final countries - - - - - - - - 110 Claimed countries
24 Final zones - - - - - - - - - - - - 24 Claimed zones
134 Final mults - - - - - - - - - - - 134 Claimed mults
50250 Final score - - - - - - 53466 Claimed score
-6.0% Score reduction
4 (1.2%) duplicates
3 (0.9%) calls copied incorrectly
3 (0.9%) not in log
0 (0.0%) band change violations - 0 (0.0%) calls unique to this log only (not removed)

Only 3 Calls I copied incorrectly. With the data of the report I can correct the calls in my log.
In 3 QSO's my call is not in the log of the other station (Not in Log).
All 3 QSO's made with 5 watts.

Stations Copying PA1B Incorrectly
From all QSO's (10), in which my call was reveived incorrectly, only 1 was made with QRPp. The rest (9) were made with 5 watt.
Since nearly all QSO's with an incorrect received Call for PA1B, were made with 5 watts, it clear that the power is not the cause. hi

The calls that were received for PA1B incorrectly are:
PA1BX - PA1D - JA1B - PA1H - PA3B -
PA0B - PA1G - PA1MR - PI1X - PA9B

In the contest I made just more than 250 QSO with 5 watts,
3 QSO's with 2.5 W,
about 74 with QRPp, thus less than 1 Watt
and 14 with less than 100 mW. (QRPpp)