Short answer: The CQ 160-Meter Contest is held on one band only, and that changes almost everything about how you plan and log it. Signals are weak, noise is high, openings are short and the best hours are in the dark. The CW and SSB parts are separate weekends in winter, and the exchange is a report plus a location element that depends on where each station is. Read the current rules for the exact exchange, work on copying every call properly, and check the log before you send it.
Why topband contesting is a different game
In most large contests you move between bands during the weekend. On 160 meters you do not. The CQ 160-Meter Contest uses only the topband, which means that you have no band to run to when conditions turn bad. Success depends on the hours of darkness at your location and at the locations of the stations you want to work, and on the quality of your antennas, both for transmitting and for receiving.
That is why 160 meters has a special place among contesters. A modest hourly rate can be a very good result, and a single contact with a distant continent can feel like a win. For that reason, each contact is worth the effort of getting right.
How the contest is organized
CQ organizes the contest in two parts, one in CW and one in SSB, held on separate weekends during the winter. Each part runs for 48 hours, and you can often work a large part of the weekend because 160 meters is mostly a night-time band. As always, confirm the dates, the categories and the exchange in the current rules, which you can find at the official CQ site. The rules of this contest in particular define the location element of the exchange, and the multipliers, in a way that depends on where you are in the world.
Because the location element depends on the station, the main task for a new participant is to understand exactly which part of the exchange they send and which part they receive from each of the stations they work. Write it on a card by the logger before the start.
Propagation and timing: working with the dark
On 160 meters the signal usually travels well only when the whole path, or at least the parts that matter, is dark. The sunset and sunrise at both ends are the interesting hours, and the time around them is sometimes called the gray line. Many operators have a clear pattern: a good rate for the first few hours after local sunset to nearby stations, then a gradual opening to more distant ones, and a final burst around the sunrise at the other end of the path.
You do not need exact theory to plan this. Use your own experience and the statistics from last year’s contest: which hours gave you the best rate and the most new multipliers? Our article about band strategy hour by hour shows how to read these figures. Even in a one-band contest, the hour-by-hour pattern is the plan.
Antennas and receiving: hearing is half the work
On topband, the signal you want to copy is often weaker than the noise. For that reason, many serious participants use separate receiving antennas, in addition to the transmitting antenna, because a receiving antenna with a better signal-to-noise ratio lets them copy a station that cannot be heard on the main antenna. You do not need to reach that level to enjoy the contest, but you should understand why it matters: a call that you can barely hear is a call that you can easily copy wrongly.
If you have more than one receiving option, spend some time before the contest comparing them on real signals and learn how to switch quickly. Noise levels vary during the night, and the best antenna at 22:00 may not be the best at 03:00.
Copying weak signals without logging guesses
Weak-signal contacts are where most of the errors in a topband log come from. A callsign copied from a barely audible signal, a zone or state heard once through QSB, a report you filled in automatically: each of these is a place where the log can differ from what was really sent.
- Ask for the part you missed. A repeat of the suffix, or the location element, is faster than a second full exchange.
- Confirm before you log. Send the call you copied in your reply. If it is wrong, the other operator will correct you, and you will have the right call before you press the key to log it.
- Do not fill in what you did not hear. If the logger suggests the location element from the callsign, check that it matches what was sent.
- Be patient with weak callers. It is better to take another 15 seconds and complete the QSO properly than to leave a doubtful log line that will cost both of you later.
The general habits are the same as for any contest, and we describe them in more detail in our article on busted callsigns.
Logger setup for a one-band contest
A single-band contest is simple for the logger, but there are still points worth checking:
- Choose the right contest and the right mode, CW or SSB, in the logger. Different parts of the contest have different entries.
- Set your own exchange: your location element must be correct.
- Set the category to match what you will do. Power, assisted or unassisted, and any other category fields appear in the Cabrillo header. If you are not sure what counts as assistance, read our guide to assisted and unassisted categories.
- Synchronize the PC clock, since time stamps in a night-time contest that crosses midnight UTC need to be right. See UTC clock errors in contest logs.
- Run a few test QSOs and export a Cabrillo file, so that you know the structure is correct.
Rate and multipliers on one band
With only one band, the multiplier structure works differently from CQ WW. You cannot count the same country again on another band, so each new multiplier is worth finding once, and the time between multipliers is spent making ordinary QSOs. A balanced plan is to run when you have a steady flow of callers and to switch to search-and-pounce when the rate falls and you can hear new stations.
Statistics help to find that balance. After the contest, compare the hours when you were running with the hours when you were searching, and see which produced more points per hour. Our article on running and search-and-pounce explains how to separate these in your numbers. Because the log is small, a few lost minutes matter more than in a large 10-band contest, and so does a long gap without a QSO. It is useful to see exactly where those gaps are, and the report shows breaks and off time.
Preparing the week before
Topband stations need more preparation than most. Walk the antenna and check the connectors, since a poor connection will show up as noise or a higher SWR only when the weather is wet or cold. Test the receive antenna, the preamplifier if you use one, and the switching. Check the power supply and the amplifier for the long hours, and make sure that the logger, the keyer and the headphones work together. Prepare food and a warm room, because you will be sitting for hours at night, and attention is what holds a topband log together.
After the contest: send a log you have read
Low rates mean that every QSO matters, and the log is short enough to read through. This is a good approach for 160 meters: take the time to go through the log line by line and look for calls or locations that seem unlikely. Check the header, check the first and last QSO times and confirm the deadline in the rules, because it is set for each contest.
Contest Analyzer can speed up this step. It checks every callsign and every zone against official license databases and several independent reference sources and shows only the few QSOs worth a second look. You can edit calls and zones in the report and download a corrected Cabrillo, and the statistics include QSOs by hour, countries, continents and breaks. Serial numbers are not checked and dupes are not errors. The full list of contests is on the contests page.
Related reading
- Band strategy hour by hour
- Assisted vs unassisted categories
- Busted callsigns in contest logs
- How to check a contest log before you submit it
The bottom line
The CQ 160-Meter Contest is a test of patience, antennas and listening. Plan around the dark hours, learn the exchange for your own location, copy carefully and confirm what you are not sure of. When the log is small and every QSO is hard-won, a careful read-through is well worth the time.
FAQ
Which bands are used in the CQ 160-Meter Contest?
Only 160 meters. This is why the contest is also called a topband contest.
Are CW and SSB the same contest?
They are separate parts, held on separate weekends, with their own logs. Check the current rules for dates and details.
What is the exchange?
A signal report plus a location element that depends on where the station is. The rules explain who sends what, so read them before the start.
Why is copying harder on 160 meters?
Signals are often weak and the noise level is high, particularly during thunderstorms or on poor nights. That raises the chance of wrong characters in callsigns.
When should I submit the log?
Before the deadline in the current rules. Do not wait until the last day, as you will want time to check and correct the file.
