CQ WW DX SSB 2008

Score Table
Results
Objectives
Equipment
Write-Up
Videos
QSL Info
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Score Table

Contest         : CQ World Wide DX Contest
Callsign        : M4A
Mode            : PHONE
Category        : Multi Operator - Single Transmitter (MS)
Overlay         : ---
Band(s)         : All bands (AB)
Class           : High Power (HP)
Zone/State/...  : 14
Locator         : JO02AF
Operating time  : 47h59

 BAND   QSO  CQ DXC DUP  POINTS   AVG 
--------------------------------------
  160    90   6  48   2      98  1.09 
   80   679  19  86  10    1165  1.72 
   40   597  30 110  10    1256  2.10 
   20  1398  37 133  21    3269  2.34 
   15   352  32 109   3     888  2.52 
   10    19   5  19   0      22  1.16 
--------------------------------------
TOTAL  3135 129 505  46    6698  2.14 
======================================
       TOTAL SCORE : 4 246 532

Dupes are not included in QSO counts neither avg calculations

Operators       : DL5RB, G3ZAY, G4AXX, G4EAG, G7VJR, M0BBB, 
		  M0BLF, M0DEG, M0FFX, M0HSW, M0MLG, M0RLM, M0SCH 
Soapbox         : A very successful contest for a large team of operators 
		  of various experience levels from the Cambridge 
		  University Wireless Society.  For once this year, we had 
		  no major problems and even the weather was kinder than 
		  in previous years.  A pity that 15m wasn't anywhere near 
		  as good as last year. Thanks for all the QSOs.


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Results

After log-checking, our score was reduced by about 8.2% to give a final score of 3,896,655 points. With no competition from G6PZ in the Multi-Single category this year, however, we still managed to get 1st place in England in the category and came 20th in Europe.

Objectives

Last year we came 2nd in the M/S category in England. Can we do the same or better? Yes!
Can we break the 3 million points mark, which has eluded us for the last few years? Yes!
We have extra equipment this year, which we last used in 2004, when we scored 4.2 million points. Sunspots are lower now, but can we get near this total again? Yes!

Equipment

Run station: FT-1000MP, DVK, Quadra linear, Dunestar band-pass filter
Mult station: FT-1000MP, Tokyo Hi-Power linear, Dunestar band-pass filter
Antennas: For 160m: Dipole; For 80m: 3x slopers; For 40m: 4-square array; For 20m: 4 element monoband yagi at 80ft and TH3 triband yagi at 40ft; For 15 & 10m: Stepp-IR 3 element yagi at 50ft and TH3 triband yagi at 40ft
Computers: Win-Test for logging, networked via cross-over cable with packet cluster link on 4m.

Full write-up

The Cambridge University Wireless Society's annual entry in the CQ WW DX SSB contest using the special contest callsign M4A has two principle aims. Not only do we aim to maximise our score, but we also aim to encourage newly-licensed and inexperienced students by introducing them to contesting at a fairly well-equipped station alongside more experienced contesters. This is the reason that we always have very large numbers of operators and this year was no exception with thirteen people on the rota, of which seven are current students.

We are especially grateful this year to Mark G4AXX for providing use of his 85 foot mobile tower, to Andy G4KNO for the loan of the Granta Contest Group's 80m slopers and to Martin G3ZAY for supplying a 4 element 20m monobander to mount on Mark's tower. Our increased score this year (up from 2.7M claimed, 2.3M checked in 2007) is probably mainly due to this extra equipment and indeed our 20m QSO total is up over 50% on last year.

On the downside, it was disappointing not to have good runs on 15m this year because of propagation and we made less than half of last year's QSO total on that band. Our more experienced operators were, however, able to take advantage of the prevailing conditions, with one 7 QSOs/minute minute and ten 6 QSOs/minute minutes. These were rates never achieved in recent years at M4A.

After loosing many points last year due to the M/S band-change rule not being understood by all of our operators, I am very pleased to note that we have a clean log in this regard this year.

We were also fortunate that (in the South-East of England at least!) the weather for the contest was much better than in recent years and the winds gusted less strongly than initially forecast. This allowed us to have the towers slightly higher than usual. Our commiserations to those in the North of England who were affected by storms.

The only problem encountered can, as usual, be put down to the fact that the station is rather hastily assembled on Friday evening. Such is the nature of a student club! We did not have a gender-changer for the serial CAT control lead (whose idea was it to use a male on the back of the FT-1000MP?!) and so rig control on the mult station was done through more leads than would otherwise have been necessary. This, of course, proved susceptible to RF, meaning that the mult occasionally lot rig-control. Hopefully, we will remember that we need to check the cables next year!

The quick installation of the station also meant that ergonomics could certainly have been improved. As it was, the mult operator had to lean past the run operator to change antennas and the run operator had to reach across the mult operator to change direction on the 80m slopers, which was less than ideal. We also found ourselves lacking a PTT footswitch on the mult station, and so the 'dah' side of a CW paddle was wired in for the purpose. Another thing to consider in the future.

I (M0BLF) am grateful to Robert 2E1EVJ who was an observer rather than an official operator but who made a couple QSOs for me on the mult station in the final hour after I lost my voice! Apologies to those I worked while sounding very husky. Again, hopefully we'll have a DVK next year!

Finally, thanks to everyone for the QSOs — See you next year!

G4AXX's write-up and photos

SH5 analysis