CQ WW WPX CW 2018

There was enough activity on the band in the
CQ WW WPX CW contest 2018.
But not as good as last year, because of QSB.

I made 39 QSO's on 14 MHz and 2 QSO's 21 MHz.
I used S&P in all QSO's.
My antenna is an End Fed.

The conditions were to bad for the power levels, that I use to work with.
The signals were not that strong and there was QSB.

Sometimes, by the time no other station called, and finally the frequency was clear. . . the QSB kicked in.
This is obvious a way to improve your operating skills. hi.
In this contest I did not make even a single QSO with less than 360 mW.
And by times 800 mW or 3.6 W was not even enough.
The loudest signal I heard was S9 ^{+10 dB}, but I needed 360 mW to answer, in stead of the usual 36 mW. hi.

Last year I could make 2 QSO's with 3.6 mW.
Well, I did enjoy the contest.

Propagation in the CQ WW WPX CW contest 2017

Looking back at the CQ WW WPX CW contest of 2017, I was even surprised myself. As a milliwatt enthusiast, I often use very low power. I don't use a fixed power, but reduce my power according the S-meter reading. I reduce my power, when the signals get stronger.  The best band was the 20 meter band.

Please look at the interesting tables below. It is my pleasure to show the two tables.

Saturday
At the start of the contest from QSO number 2 to 13, I could use a power of 800 mW or 360 mW to make QSO's. In the first QSO I was too eager to use 80 mW, so the QSO was not completed.
Even  a QSO that is made with 800 mW can be more than 1000 Miles per Watt QSO, when the distance is more than 800 miles.  In QSO 2 to 11 is the distance more than 800 miles.

It is interesting to see that from QSO 18 to 29 the conditions went up. So I could use 36 mW, using the 10 dB section of the PA1B 40 dB Step Attenuator (Click to visit). QSO 19 is also good for 1000 MPW.
Then the  conditions went up further. In QSO 22 and 24  I met two stations from YU with an ear splitting signal, so I reduced to 3.6 milliwatt before answering their CQ.
My FT-817 gives 360 mW on the lowest power setting. With the 20 dB attenuator section switched on, 3.6 milliwatt goes to the antenna. Hi.

QRPpp is the (not official) term that I use for a power of less than 100 mW. hi.

CQ WW WPX CW 2017 - QSO's on Saturday on 20 m - PA1B

After 40 QSO's, all on 20 meters, I went to 40 meter. These QSO's are not in the tables. The next table show the QSO's that I made on Sunday on 20 meters.

Sunday
On Sunday I made most QSO's with 360 mW or 800 mW.
Both tables show that after 18:00 UTC the conditions go up and QSO's with 36 milliwatt are possible.
I could make 4 QSO's with 80 mW and 36 mW. On Sunday I could not make QSO's with less than 36 mW, because I had worked all of the very loud stations before, on Saturday.

CQ WW WPX CW 2017 - QSO's on Sunday on 20 m - PA1B

CQ WW WPX CW contest 2017

Last year I used the cylinder dipole with two Monster cans for 21 MHz.
I am very pleased with the excellent write up on the PA1B cylinder dipole
in the results of the 2016 CQWW WPX CQ contest of last year.
See My Blog post on the article.

This year I used an end fed antenna for 14 MHz, that is sloping down to the east.
In total I made 91 QSO's. I did not use a fixed power.
When the signals go up, I reduce my power.
The power that I used, varied from 3.6 watts down to 3.6 milliwatt.
All QSO's were made with the lowest possible power with search and pounce. S&P.

I started on Saturday on 14 MHz and when I stopped there were 40 QSO's in the Log.
On Sunday  morning I first made 11 QSO's on 7 MHz.
Then I went to 14 MHz to make about 40 more QSO's.

CQ WW WPX CW 2017 - Number of QSO's per power category - PA1B

QRPp   < 1 W
As a milliwatt enthusiast the emphasis of my activities lays on the use of QRPp. On 14 MHz I made 39 QSO's with a power of 360 mW and 22 QSO's with 800 mW. When the signals go up, I reduce further below 100 mW. The table shows 18 QSO's with less than 100 mW, with 2 QSO's with a power of 3.6 milliwatt.

Very low power QSO's on 14 MHz
On Saturday I started after 16:00 UTC. In the first QSO I probably was too eager to use low power, that I am not sure whether the QSO is valid. After 18:00 UTC till 20:00 UTC the signals peaked, with  6 QSO's with 36 mW and two QSO's with 3.6 milliwatt.

S-Meter reading
An important indicator for the power that I can use, is the S-meter. The signals in the  two QSO's with 3.6 milliwatt were ear splitting. To get an indication of the signal strength,  I switched in the attenuator of 20 dB. The S-meter still gave a value of S⁺. This means that the signal strength is  S⁺ plus 20 dB. Hi.

Cylinder dipole in CQ magazine

Cylinder dipole in
CQ Magazine

In the CQ WW WPX CW contest 2016 I used two indoor cylinder dipoles. After I sent in my log for the CQ WPX, Terry N4TZ noticed my soapbox. Terry asked my to send in a picture of my cylinder dipole to include in the write up of CQ Magazine. I thank Terry for the nice and beautiful write up.

Click to read

The CQ WW contests generate a lot of activity.
I use contests to make QSO's with very low power.
And. . it is good opportunity to test your antennas.


Soapbox PA1B in CQ WW WPX CW 2016
X-RADIOS:           FT-817
X-ANTENNAS:    Cylinder dipole
SOAPBOX:            I had great fun with QRP and two cylinder dipoles
SOAPBOX:           On 20m I made 3 QSO's and on 15m 4 QSO's with a 15" cylinder dipole 
SOAPBOX:           On 40m I made 3 QSO's with a 22" cylinder dipole 
SOAPBOX:           The PA1B cylinder dipole consists of two cylinders and a coil
SOAPBOX:           The coil acts as a impedance transformer
SOAPBOX:           The QSB and the good activity, did not make it easy to answer CQ's - hi
SOAPBOX:           Thanks for the activity in the contest

PA1B with cylinder dipole in CQ Magazine

The cylinder dipole shows a large capacity between the cylinders.
Although the coil and the capacity  are tuned to the band of interest, the cylinder dipole can be used as a multi-band antenna. Two taps at the center of the coil provide a low impedance feeding point to connect the twin lead.  Match for a SWR of 1:1 with your symmetrical tuner.

  Energy  Booster  cans or not, a cylinder dipole will radiate better than a wire dipole of the same length.

Thank you, Terry for the very nice write up. 

CQ WW WPX CW contest 2015 with an indoor 15" Cylinder dipole

Monster Cylinder Dipole PA1B

I had great fun in 56 QSO's with my
 Mønster  Cylinder Dipole in the CQ WW WPX 2015.  (Click on the picture to enlarge)

The monster antenna consist of  two
 Mønster Energy Drink Cans  
and a coil of 80 mm with 8 turns.
I determined the number of turns of the coil by experimenting.

This very short antenna has a wingspan of 15" or 38cm. "Indoor" results are best if you place the antenna as high as possible.

By making QSO's in a major contest, I could discover the properties of this very short antenna. All QSO's are made with CW and with S&P (Search and Pounce). As a low power enthusiast, I will reduce my power when the received signals get stronger.

On Saturday I worked with the Monster Dipole in  the shack, on a height of 4 meters above the ground. On Sunday morning I placed the antenna in the dormer window in the attic, on a height of 7 meters above the ground. 

Saturday
On Saturday I started on 14 MHz. Between QSO #3 and #4 we went to a fair. After working 6 stations all on 14 MHz, I went to 21 MHz.
The 15 meter band was open, so I made all QSO's on this band from 12 UTC until 19 UTC. From time to time I went back to 14 MHz, but with NO success.  After 19 UTC I could make just one QSO on 20 mtrs. After this QSO an other 16 QSO's were made on 15 m.
After 19 UTC the signal were stronger, so I could reduce my power. I  could make QRPp QSO's with 720 mW, 360 mW and even one QSO with 72 mW.

Miles per Watt
As a low power enthusiast, I reduce my power before answering a CQ, when the S-meter goes up.
It was great fun to make a QSO with 72 mW with YT6A, over a distance of 851 miles.
This QSO is good for 11820 Miles per Watt.

Thanks to Ranko with his sensitive station with Excellent Ears. FB.

Sunday
On Sunday morning I had time until 10 UTC. The first QSO was made with the Island of Man on 7 MHz. To work on 7 MHz I tune the SWR for 1:1. After breakfast I decided to move the Monster Cylinder Dipole to the attic, just to test whether I could make more QSO's on 14 MHz.The test is not conclusive, because I made the same number of QSO's at the same time as on Saturday.
Between 10 and 18 UTC we visited two birthdays. after 18 UTC I made a few QSO's.

Does it work?
The Cylinder Dipole definitely works.
Because I had limited time on Sunday afternoon, I can not tell whether the antenna works better on the attic on 14 MHz. But I can tell you that it works.

In the interesting table below I show the QSO's from hour to hour.
Please notice the peak in the propagation on Saterday from 19-21 UTC.
I worked 7 stations with  360 mW. But that was not all.

The QSO with 72 mW is years later, still the QSO with the lowest power on the Monster Dipole. Hi.

I am very pleased with results of the Monster Dipole.

CQ WPX CW 2015 with an indoor 15" Cylinder dipole PA1B

When did you make QRP QSO's with 20 DXCC counties on a indoor antenna with a wingspan of 38 cm or 15 inch? Hi.

Worked DXCC's in the CQ WPX CW 2015 with an indoor 15" Cylinder dipole PA1B

CQ WW WPX CW 2012

When I started in the CQ WW WPX CW Contest I was convinced, that I would not get the same high score as last year. But afterwards, it turned out to be better than expected.  I had more time to spent on the air, because this year I had only one birthday during the contest.

Working with the lowest possible power is great fun, but when a running station is answering one station after an other, I have to change my way of operating by increasing the power to a much higher level than is needed for a QSO with the lowest possible power or to come back later. The last is usually the best tactic.

When I hear a strange call, I don't pay much attention to the DXCC or other details, but I try to work him as fast and as accurate as I can.  I first worked ST2AR "from the banks of the river Nile" and later made a dance of joy, after checking the details on QRZ. In the last 10 minutes of the contest I could make a QSO wit HK1NA and BV7S.  

The total of DXCC worked is more than 40. I already received about 27 eQSL cards for QSO's in this contest.  I always try to be accurate, but VK turned out to be an other more common DXCC, when I received the eQSL card.

The FT-817 has a highest power of 2.7 W after a serious mismatch, so QRP here is 2.7 W or less. This loss of 3 dB can not spoil the fun. I spend most of the time on 20 m and 15 m. The conditions on 40 m were not so good. But I had much fun with low power. Many of the QSO's are good for more than 1000 Miles per Watt.