Category: Scores

The dust is settling on the official contest season and it’s time to announce the winners (based on preliminary results). First, let’s look at the results of the ARRL DX Phone Contest:

Conditions were a mixed bag for the contest. Great conditions mixed with periods of mediocrity. Among all the lessons learned, Al, K0AD, summed it up best – “Don’t put a handful of peanuts in your mouth and then hit F1!” It’s nice to see a seasoned contest veteran still learning new tips!! Despite lower participation, the MWA club score ended at 17,962,253 points, up 14.85% over last year!

The team competition really divided the teams. Here are the teams by score:

• Team 7 – 3,866,878 Points – 10 Pts
• Team 9 – 3,322,223 Points – 9 Pts
• Team 8 – 2,050,370 Points – 8 Pts
• Team 10 – 2,025,146 Points – 7 Pts
• Team 2 – 1,894,818 Points – 6 Pts
• Team 4 – 1,482,476 Points – 5 Pts
• Team 5 – 1,353,294 Points – 4 Pts
• Team 3 – 1,076,613 Points – 3 Pts
• Team 1 – 454,290 Points – 2 Pts
• Team 6 – 336,045 Points – 1 Pt

Team 7 roared to a first place finish and the top 10 Points! They entered the weekend in 5th place and needed a big finish to end in the medals for the year. They sure delivered!!

The top team for the year is Team 9! COngratulations to Team 9 for an outstanding year! They won four events and came in second three times! Consistency was key to winning the Gold Medals! Congrats Team 9!! Team 1 came in second place for the SIlver Medals! Team 1 won twice during the year and took second place once. Being “middle of the pack” most of the year kept them high in the standings. Team 7, with a strong finish, took the Silver Medals! Team 7 finished first twice and in second place twice. Not too shabby! Here are the results for the year:

• Team 9 – 96 Points (Gold Medals)
• Team 1 – 81 Points (Silver Medals)
• Team 7 – 72 Points (Bronze Medals)
• Team 8 – 71 Points
• Team 2 – 70 Points
• Team 5 – 65 Points
• Team 4 – 63 Points
• Team 6 – 58 Points
• Team 10 – 48 Points
• Team 3 – 36 Points

Congratulations to everyone in MWA! We worked hard as a club and had a 28% increase in our club score for the year! Incredible!

Summer is getting close. Let’s get those antenna/station improvements made and get ready for the 2025/2026 Contest Season!

73,

Rich NØHJZ

A few of you asked me to share how to get to a million points in the contest season. You need to make an effort to be active in all 11 contests in our contest season. I think that, with a minimal station, and some BIC time, everyone in MWA could do this. Here is the formula:

• CQWW RTTY – 300 QSO’s x 75 mults (average QSO worth 2 pts) = 45,000 points
• CQWW DX Phone – 400 QSO’s x 200 mults (average QSO worth 2.5 pts) = 200,000 points
• Sweepstakes CW – 350 QSO’s x 75 mults (QSO’s worth 2 pts) = 52,500 points
• Sweepstakes Phone – 350 QSO’s x 75 mults (QSO’s worth 2 pts) = 52,500 points
• CQWW DX CW – 400 QSO’s x 200 mults (average QSO worth 2.5 pts) = 200,000 points
• ARRL 160 Meter Contest – 250 QSO’s x 50 mults (QSO’s worth 2 pts) = 25,000 points
• ARRL 10 Meter Contest – 300 QSO’s x 60 mults (average QSO worth 2.5 pts) = 45,000 points
• ARRL RTTY Round-Up – 400 QSO’s x 50 mults (QSO’s worth 1 pt) = 20,000 points
• Minnesota QSO Party – 400 QSO’s x 60 mults (QSO’s worth 2 pts) = 48,000 points
• ARRL DX CW – 350 QSO’s x 150 mults (QSO’s worth 3 pts) = 157,500 points
• ARRL DX Phone – 350 QSO’s x 150 mults (QSO’s worth 3 pts) = 157,500 points

FULL YEAR TOTAL = 1,003,000 points

You’ll need to work all three modes. You can go with low power or high power. You can run assisted to add to your multiplier count. You just need to get on the air and spend some time making QSO’s! If anyone needs more help getting their station ready for the contest season, let me know.

I hope this helps more stations earn their certificates at next years meeting and enjoy the contest season more!

73, Rich NØHJZ