Results of the 2021 CQWW DX Marathon
A year of transition. The beginning of 2021 saw more Covid, low sunspots, and no DXpeditions. But the second half of the year exploded with great band conditions and plenty of DX. Once again, the DX Marathon set new records for participation with the highest number of participants ever and most QSOs in its history. In addition, three times as many all-time records were broken in 2021 compared to 2020. The DX Marathon kept us busy concentrating on DX and was a great way to reduce stress from the pandemic.
Table 1 shows the amazing growth of the DX Marathon in 2021 as the total participants increased to 18,720. That is the highest total in DX Marathon history and a 14% increase over 2020.
We also had a record number of logs submitted and the highest ever number of total QSOs as shown in Tables 2 and 3.
DX signals are weaker during low sunspot periods, but the multitude of digital modes has allowed anyone to work DX. The weak-signal capability of the digital modes has kept activity high as they accounted for 79% of all QSOs in the Marathon — an incredible increase from less than 20% in 2015 and a 21% increase over 2020. The FT4 and FT8 modes accounted for most of those digital contacts. Table 4 shows the change over the last few years.
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