By Ed Eyerdom K8NVR
Last December, Fred K8FH, Dudley WA1X, and I K8NVR participated in the ARRL 160 Meter CW Contest. The contest ran from Friday at 5pm to Sunday at 8am and the goal was to contact as many stations as possible in all US/VE sections (point value 2) and DXCC entities (point value 5). Each US/VE section or DXCC entity worked is counted as a multiplier. The final score is the total number of contact points times the multiplier. It is mostly an all-night contest since there is little propagation on 160 meters during the short Winter daylight hours.
All three of us operated single operator, low power (<100 W) stations. In addition to individual competition which has several categories based upon transmit power, number of operators, and the use of a spotting service, the ARRL Club Competition is included. There are three categories of Club Competition, Unlimited, Medium, and Local. Our Club participates in ARRL contests in the Local category which limits all participants to be located within a 35 mile radius of the club’s geographical location (Medina City). The minimum number of participants is three. This year Fred and I were joined for the first time by Dudley WA1X, so we were able to qualify for the club event. The total club score is the sum of the individual club member scores, regardless of the individual category used (high/low power, etc.) by each participant.
Although there were only two entries in the Local category, we still outscored seventeen other larger clubs in the Medium category. If anyone with CW contesting skills would like to join us for the December 2024 contest, please contact me: eeyerdom@gmail.com. We must have your call sign entered in the ARRL club participant list, before the contest which is held on the first full weekend of December.