K5ZD Commentary

CQ WW 2013 Operating Stats

Mark ZL3AB posted the following to the cq-contest mailing list.

I was wondering what the average operating time in the CQ WW 2013 CW and SSB contests were for single operators. But although the operating hours were listed in the results database you could not sort on it.

Therefore I dropped the Single 2013 Operator All Band and Single Op All Band Assisted HP/LP/QRP results into a spreadsheet to figure it out. I left out the single band entrants as I felt it would distort the figures since many would have to stop when the propagation did.

Average hours

        Single Op   Single Op(A)  Overall
CW       17.4        18.1          17.8
SSB      14.7        13.8          14.2

Also 73% of operators operated for less than 24 hours in the CW contest with 79% doing so in the SSB contest. I did a break down on 6 hourly intervals:

CW 2013
Hours     SO     SO(A)     Overall
42-48    2.8%    3.2%       3.0%
36-41.9  4.0%    6.3%       5.0%
30-35.9  6.1%    8.2%       7.0%
24-29.9  11.5%   12.3%      11.8%
18-23.9  17.7%   16.8%      17.3%
12-17.9  20.2%   19.9%      20.1%
6-11.9   23.4%   20.0%      21.9%
0-5.9    14.3%   13.2%      13.8%

SSB 2013
Hours     SO     SO(A)     Overall
42-48    1.6%    2.0%       1.7%
36-41.9  2.4%    4.6%       3.2%
30-35.9  4.9%    6.8%       5.5%
24-29.9  9.3%    10.6%      9.8%
18-23.9  15.2%   15.0%      15.1%
12-17.9  19.7%   19.7%      19.7%
6-11.9   25.7%   23.4%      24.9%
0-5.9    21.2%   18.0%      20.0%

Interestingly there seemed to be no material difference in time operated in each category between single ops and single ops assisted in both contests.

 

Thanks Mark!

K5ZD Announcements, Rules

Final Rules Released for CQ WW 2014

The rules that will be used for CQ WW DX Contest 2014 have been released for publication. View the 2014 rules in English at http://cqww.com/rules.htm

There are only a few changes in the rules for this year.  Highlights of the changes include:

  • Addition of a low power class for the MULTI-ONE category. This will make it easier for small DXpeditions to compete without the need to carry amplifiers.
  • Minor changes to the club competition rules to change “DXpeditions” to “expeditions”.  This allows a club member to travel to other stations in the same country to count for the club score. This formalizes a practice that has been allowed for multi-operator entries for some time.
  • Specifies Web upload as the preferred method to submit logs. The web upload method has proven to be extremely reliable and it allows errors to the flagged immediately instead of waiting for the robot email response.
  • Added ‘not identifying in a timely manner’ to the list of unsportsmanlike conduct. It is strongly recommended that stations identify at least once per minute.

The rule changes were in response to requests that had been made over the past year. There were many other requests or suggestions that were not approved by the CQWW Contest Committee.

Translation of the rules into other languages should be completed before the contest in October.

Any questions or feedback about the rules should be sent by email  at: https://cqww.com/contact.

K5ZD Announcements

Preview of 2014 CQ WW Rule Changes

The CQ WW Contest Committee is pleased to provide a preview of the rules for the 2014 CQ WW DX Contest SSB/CW. This is a public review period to invite any comments before the final rules are announced on July 3, 2014.

Proposed changes:

  • Addition of new low power category for Multi-One
  • Minor clarifications to club rules to better explain the DX Club distance and also to not require expeditions to be to other DX countries
  • Web upload is now the preferred method for log submission. Email is still supported.
  • Added timely identification to the unsportsmanlike section

Click here to download the draft rules in Adobe pdf format:  cqww_rules_2014_draft_v3 (209Kb)

Please send any feedback  at: https://cqww.com/contact before July 1, 2014.  Thanks to everyone for their participation and support of the CQ WW DX Contest!

K5ZD Announcements

Overlay Category Results and Certificates

A number of people have asked where to view the results of the Overlay categories. Because the Classic Overlay can have a different score than the traditional entry, we have moved all Overlay category results to a separate database.

You can view the results for the Rookie Overlay and Classic Overlay at http://www.cqww.com/overlayscores.htm

This page allows you to select the year, mode, overlay category, and other filters. The certificate links will produce the appropriate certificate for the Overlay category score/result.

There were two new Overlay categories introduced in CQ WW for 2013.  The Rookie Overlay is limited to entrants that have been licensed for less than 3 years at the time of the contest. The Classic Overlay is for single operators, using only one radio, no assistance, and limited to 24 hours of operating time. Both of these Overlay categories will be continued in 2014.