Then and Now – A Perspective of a Half Century of Operating the CQWW

I’ve been operating the CQWW DX Contest for 50 years. Needless to say, the CQWW has undergone quite a metamorphosis during the past half century. What follows are some of the more fundamental changes that I’ve observed. Maybe you share some of the same experiences:

• Calls are now much shorter in most countries. WA6EPQ is now N6AR. WD8LLD became W8AV — sorry. SM5AJV turned into SE5E. Calls used to be issued as “the next one from the list”. But now, you can choose — or buy — the call you want. Only Japan continues rigorous sequential call issuing.