CQWW SSB 2013 – Entry Counts

The table below lists the number of entries for each category in the CQ WW DX Contest SSB 2013.

1500 W 100 W 5 W Total
Single Op All Bands 960 2104 118 3182
Single Op Single Band
(160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10)
489 1049 134 1672
Single Op Assisted All Bands 974 765 24 1763
Single Op Assisted Single Band
(160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10)
472 396 49 917
Overlay – Rookie (All Bands) 29 227 256
Overlay – Classic (All Bands) 295 500 795
Multi-Op Single-Transmitter 375
Multi-Op Two-Transmitter 115
Multi-Op Multi-Transmitter 68
Checklog 376

There were a total of 8,468 logs submitted this year – a new record.

This is the first year for the Overlay categories.

 

Scoring 7O2A

It was an exciting surprise when Dmitri, RA9USU, appeared in the CQ WW DX Contest SSB 2013 from 7O2A in Socotra Island in Yemen. This was a rare one!

The country files used by the most common logging software have Yemen in Asia and zone 21.  The operator at 7O2A was sending zone 37.

As the logs came in, we needed to make a decision on how to score contacts with 7O2A. Is it zone 21 or 37? Is it Africa or Asia?

A little research about Socotra revealed:

  • WAC says Asia, based upon an RSGB request in 1954
  • RSGB Prefix Guide (2012, G4BWP) says Africa
  • RSGB IOTA says Africa, AF-028
  • Wikipedia says it ‘may be considered to be in Africa’

Given the above, we have decided to score Socotra island as zone 37 in Africa.  The country files used to perform the log checking have been set to score 7O2A this way.

Since the operator sent zone 37 for every QSO, anyone logging 7O2A in zone 21, will have an exchange error and lose the contact.

If you are interested in learning more about the unique environment found only on Socotra, please see this article by National Geographic (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/06/socotra/white-text) and accompanying photographs (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/06/socotra/melford-moffett-photography).

 

Socotra Island

 

 

CQ WW Historical Score Database

We are pleased to announce a new searchable score database containing all CQ WW DX Contest entries from 1989 to 2012! There are 104,078 SSB entries and 96,139 CW entries in the database. You can view the database here: http://www.cqww.com/score_db.htm

The historical database project has been lead by John Golomb, N2NC. John recruited a team of volunteers to help with the data entry. The CQ WW database would not exist without their time and effort. The data entry team includes: AA4NU, AD1C, JK3GAD, K1EA, KB9OWD, N3RD, N5DX, NO5W, OH6NIO, ON7SS, PD2R, W2JU, and N2NC.

Data from the past 5 years were obtained directly from the log checking output. Data for the prior 4 years came from files provided by K3EST. Anything earlier was typed in by hand from the magazine results. That represents many hours looking at very small print while typing in thousands of call signs and numbers! We owe these guys a round of applause.

The on-line score database will be the official record for the CQ WW Contest. Despite our best efforts, with 200,000 line scores, there are sure to be some errors.

Step 1 – Check our work

You can help us by taking a few minutes to check that all of your own scores are correct.

  1. Go to http://www.cqww.com/score_db.htm
  2. Type your call in the search box and click Go.
  3. You will see a list of every contest entry where your call sign was used or listed as an operator. Please check that the country (call area) and zone is correct for each entry.
  4. If you find any errors or have questions, contact us at: https://cqww.com/contact.
  5. If you were involved in a multi-op, are all of the operator call signs included?

Step 2 – Enjoy

We have come up with a few tools to help you look back through the history of CQ WW entries.

View the number of log entries for each year by country: http://www.cqww.com/stats.htm

All time records by world, continent, or country: http://www.cqww.com/records.htm (These records are automatically generated from the score database.)

Zone records: http://www.cqww.com/recordsbyzone.htm

Yearly winners for any category and country: http://www.cqww.com/winners.htm (Its fun to look back and see who has stood at the top of the podium.)

Download a certificate. All entries received by the deadline in 2012 have the option to produce an Adobe pdf file participation certificate.

One fun thing to do before the contest is to filter the database to show all scores in your target entry category. Then use this information to set a goal. For example, see if you can reach the top ten all time scores in your zone or country. Look at the band breakdowns to get an idea of how conditions change as we progress through the solar cycle.

Notes

Band breakdowns are only available for scores in 2007 and later. We have also entered breakdowns for some of the world top scores from the magazine writeups. If you would like to have band breakdowns included for your scores, dig up the UBN report that you received for your entry and send it  at: https://cqww.com/contact. We need the UBN report because it has the QSO and multiplier totals that were calculated during the log checking process.

John and his team will continue adding more years to the database. If you would like to help, please contact us at: https://cqww.com/contact.

Editorial on Cheating

A recent thread on CQ-Contest email reflector asked why keep the 1500W power limit if it is not being obeyed.  Below is my personal opinion, but I feel all CQWW participants should be thinking about this topic so I will share it here.

 

Contesting is a game.  Games have rules. The rules create barriers or constraints that equalize the competition or create strategic choices. If we ignore the rules we don’t like, the game is no longer meaningful.

Those stations that run more than 1500W are cheating. Much the same way users of performance enhancing drugs in bicycle racing, Olympic sports, baseball, etc. are cheating.

The temptation to cheat is strong.  “It doesn’t hurt anyone.” “It makes up for my poor location.” “Everyone else is doing it.” These are all justifications to make the cheater feel better. They do not make it right.

The cheaters are hurting the contest. Their loud (wide) signals drive other contesters off the bands. Participants lose faith in the integrity of the game and decide not to play. New contesters see the cheaters make big scores and think that they must cheat or that cheating is “OK”.

Power cheating happens all over the world. Temptation and lack of control is a human condition. In ham radio contesting it seems to happen much more in some places than others. These areas are so invested in cheating that they ask for the rules to be changed to make it OK.

In the end, it is a personal choice. For those that follow the rules we respect their integrity, their effort, and their achievements.  For the others, we see their scores, but we know they are dirty.  Maybe they are not disqualified (because there is not the oversight of professional sports), but we do not have to respect them.

Fair play means following the rules.  All of them.

Randy, K5ZD