Creating a Contest/DX Station
Creating a competitive contest/DX station is no small or easy endeavor. Considerable resources go into planning, implementing, and fabricating a station that can hold its own on a crowded band while making contacts around the world. The same goes for DX’ers, ragchewers, or anyone else striving for radio excellence.
Antenna modeling, tower placement, radios, amplifiers, switches, power supplies, and other hardware are all important elements in a competitive station. This is a prerequisite to, “Getting in the game.” Oh, and that work is never done, by the way. I’ve never met a contester that said, “My station has reached a point of perfection. I don’t need any more improvements.” It sounds laughable as I let that phrase rattle around a bit.
In contesting, most competitive operators are shooting for the biggest score possible. That’s the measuring stick, to a degree. Location, propagation, skill level, and putting in the hours to make a great score also play major roles.
The station is mostly set-up for a single operator, but M/S and M/2 are possible. Remote operations are currently SO1R, but plans for a full SO2R remote station are in the works. With that in mind, here are a few contest scores from my station over the years.
CQ World Wide
Arguably the biggest worldwide contest on the planet. Here are some scores I’m proud to list from previous years:
Current Zone 3 records
| Year | Mode | Category | North Am. | World | Score | Op |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SSB | SOAB HP | #15 | #34 | 5,386,460 | K7RL |
| 2013 | SSB | SOAB(A) HP | #6 | #12 | 6,576,900 | K7RL |
| 2013 | CW | M/2 | #11 | #44 | 8,662,115 | K7RL/KL2A |
| 2014 | CW | SOAB(A) HP | #13 | #31 | 6,158,080 | K7RL |
Current W7 Records
| Year | Mode | Class | North Am. | World | Score | Op |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | SSB | M/S HP | #14 | #68 | 5,761,270 | K7RL/KL2A |
| 2013 | SSB | SOAB(A) HP | #6 | #12 | 6,576,900 | K7RL |
| 2014 | SSB | M/2 | #7 | #38 | 6,615,180 | K7RL/KL2A |
| 2014 | CW | SOAB(A) HP | #13 | #31 | 6,158.080 | K7RL |
| 2015 | CW | SOAB LP | #14 | #32 | 2,846,028 | K7RL |
| 2017 | CW | SOAB HP Classic | 1,489,540 | K7RL |
Honorable Mention
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- 2018 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,148,259 points
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- 2009 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,557,412 points
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- 2008 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,394,040 points
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- 2007 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 1,650,724 points
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- 2006 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,654,568 points
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- 2005 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,511,519 points
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- 2004 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 3,524,400 points
- 2003 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 1,999,830 points
CQ World Wide WPX
| Year | Mode | Cat. | Z3 | USA | NA | World | Score | Op |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | SSB | SOAB HP | #1 | #4 | #9 | #20 | 5,150,394 | KW7Y (K7RL op.) |
| 2018 | CW | SOAB HP | #1 | #11 | #19 | #33 | 5,376,392 | KW7Y (K7RL op.) |
| 2011* | SSB | SOAB HP | #1 | #9 | #7 | #23 | 10,838,960 | KW7Y (K7RL op.) |
*This is the highest score currently achieved from W7 as single op. in any mode.
North American QSO Party
Okay, these are essentially DX contests, so how does the station play domestically?
NAQP SSB & CW January
2004 K7RL SSB SOAB LP Current Record Score Washington – 412,100
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- 2018 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #5 Finish
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- 2015 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #5 Finish
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- 2014 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #2 Finish
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- 2012 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #4 Finish
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- 2011 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #1 Finish
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- 2011 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #1 Finish
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- 2007 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #3 Finish
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- 2006 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #3 Finish
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- 2005 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #1 Finish
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- 2004 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #3 Finish
- 2011 K7RL CW SOAB LP, January #7 Finish
NAQP Combined CW & SSB Finishes
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- 2018 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #2 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2015 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #5 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2012 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #2 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2011 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #1 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2010 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #8 Top Ten Combined Finish
- 2007 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #3 Top Ten Combined Finish
NAQP SSB & CW August
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- 2018 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
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- 2017 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#5 Finish
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- 2015 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#8 Finish
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- 2014 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
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- 2013 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
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- 2012 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#1 Finish
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- 2011 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#1 Finish
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- 2008 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
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- 2007 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#2 Finish
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- 2005 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#2 Finish
- 2004 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#4 Finish
NAQP Combined CW & SSB Finishes
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- 2018 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#3 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2017 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#5 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2014 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#3 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2013 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#1 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2012 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#2 Top Ten Combined Finish
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- 2008 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#4 Top Ten Combined Finish
- 2007 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#4 Top Ten Combined Finish
ARRL Sweepstakes
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- 2013 K7RL CW HP Unlimited #3 Finish
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- 2013 K7RL SSB HP #4 Finish
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- 2012 K7RL CW HP Unlimited #2 Finish
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- 2012 K7RL SSB HP #6 Finish
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- 2011 K7RL SSB HP #7 Finish
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- 2010 K7RL SSB HP #2 Finish
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- 2009 K7RL SSB HP #8 Finish
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- 2008 K7RL SSB HP #4 Finish
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- 2007 K7RL SSB HP Unlimited #1 Finish
- 2006 K7RL SSB HP Unlimited #1 Finish