K7RL · Camano Island, Washington
Contesting at K7RL
Building a competitive contest station takes more than hardware. Here are the scores, station milestones, and records earned at K7RL — including our multi-operator efforts with Tony, N7DX, under N7DX, WZ7F, and KW7Y.
Verified record highlights
Mitch K7RL and Tony N7DX · Multi-Two
Mitch K7RL and Tony N7DX · Multi-One High
Mitch K7RL · Classic High overlay category
Multi-Single High Power · K7RL and KL2A
Historic W7 record entry, as documented in the original K7RL contest archive. 2011 official CQ WW SSB results ↗
Multi-Two High Power · K7RL and KL2A
W7 Multi-Two record listed in K7RL’s historical contest records. 2014 official CQ WW SSB results ↗
Record notation: W7 = U.S. 7th call area; Zone 3 = CQ WW Zone 3 (W6, VE7, and relevant W7 states). WPX and NAQP do not publish Zone 3 record categories, so those entries are assessed for W7 records only. A dash means no current record claim has been verified for that entry; it does not mean the result was not notable. Record status reflects published results checked in October 2026.
Mitch K7RL + Tony N7DX
All 25 joint entries below were operated at the K7RL station. Select a contest to expand its published scores; click any score to open the organizer’s results. Blue labels in Record status show verified NA and world placements.
Placement key: For CQ WW, NA and World positions are score rankings within the same year, mode, and entry category. NA # on NAQP scores is the Multi-Two placement in NCJ’s published results; NAQP has no world placement.
A standalone version of the team results is also available: K7RL + N7DX results page. Team entries were verified from the official CQ WW and WPX score databases and NCJ NAQP results.
Earlier station & single-operator highlights
Selected additional scores from K7RL, including the KW7Y and WZ7F calls. Earlier achievements are preserved in the historical archive below.
Historical results archive
The station’s original write-up, 2003–2018 CQ WW results, CQ WPX rankings, NAQP finishes, and ARRL Sweepstakes achievements are retained below for reference. Some old “current record” claims were written years ago and may have since been superseded. The verified badges above take precedence.
Open original K7RL contest results and station story (2003–2018)
Original station photograph
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
-
- 2018 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,148,259 points
-
- 2009 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,557,412 points
-
- 2008 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,394,040 points
-
- 2007 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 1,650,724 points
-
- 2006 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,654,568 points
-
- 2005 K7RL SSB SOAB HP Top Score Zone 3 – 2,511,519 points
-
- 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.) |
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
-
- 2018 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #5 Finish
-
- 2015 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #5 Finish
-
- 2014 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #2 Finish
-
- 2012 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #4 Finish
-
- 2011 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #1 Finish
-
- 2011 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #1 Finish
-
- 2007 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #3 Finish
-
- 2006 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #3 Finish
-
- 2005 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #1 Finish
-
- 2004 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, January #3 Finish
- 2011 K7RL CW SOAB LP, January #7 Finish
NAQP Combined CW & SSB Finishes
-
- 2018 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #2 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 2015 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #5 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 2012 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #2 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 2011 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, January #1 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 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
-
- 2018 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
-
- 2017 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#5 Finish
-
- 2015 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#8 Finish
-
- 2014 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
-
- 2013 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
-
- 2012 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#1 Finish
-
- 2011 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#1 Finish
-
- 2008 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#3 Finish
-
- 2007 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#2 Finish
-
- 2005 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#2 Finish
- 2004 K7RL SSB SOAB LP, August#4 Finish
NAQP Combined CW & SSB Finishes
-
- 2018 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#3 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 2017 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#5 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 2014 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#3 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 2013 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#1 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 2012 K7RL SSB & CW SOAB LP, August#2 Top Ten Combined Finish
-
- 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
-
- 2013 K7RL CW HP Unlimited #3 Finish
-
- 2013 K7RL SSB HP #4 Finish
-
- 2012 K7RL CW HP Unlimited #2 Finish
-
- 2012 K7RL SSB HP #6 Finish
-
- 2011 K7RL SSB HP #7 Finish
-
- 2010 K7RL SSB HP #2 Finish
-
- 2009 K7RL SSB HP #8 Finish
-
- 2008 K7RL SSB HP #4 Finish
-
- 2007 K7RL SSB HP Unlimited #1 Finish
- 2006 K7RL SSB HP Unlimited #1 Finish
Reference archives: CQ WW Zone Records · CQ WW Records · CQ WPX Records · CQ WPX Overlay Records · NCJ NAQP. Only confirmed record categories are labeled above.