05/06/2026
๐ก๐ CQ WPX CW 2026 | The SZ40A Grand Finale โก๐
CQ WPX CW 2026 is now behind us, and with it we officially close the special anniversary activation of SZ40A, celebrating 40 years of the Radio Amateur Association of Western Greece and the SZ1A contest station.
This was the final contest weekend for SZ40A, and Team SZ1A returned with a solid Multi-Two effort in one of the most demanding CW contests of the year.
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Here are our claimed results:
Callsign: SZ40A (SZ1A)
Category: Multi-Two
Operators: SV1DPJ, G0PZA, SV1DKD, SV1CIB, SV1JG, SV1BJW
Support Team: SV1CQG, SV1CQK, SV1HKH, SV1HLB, SV1RLC, SV1RRX, SV1TBW, SV1CDN and more
Location: KM08qr
QSOs: 4,007 (3,910 without dupes)
Prefixes: 1,269
Operating Time: 48 hours
Claimed Score: 10,308,087
๐ Full statistics:
https://www.qsl.net/sz1a/sh5/2026/2026_cq-wpx-cw_sz40a/index.htm
๐ก Contest Recap:
Conditions were moderate to good overall, with some very interesting propagation along the way. We had long and sometimes unusual openings toward the Far East, followed later in the contest by useful openings toward North America.
The low bands were not easy, but there were several openings to NA that gave us opportunities to maximize the score where possible. As always in WPX, those low-band intercontinental QSOs are extremely valuable, so we tried to make the most of every opening we could find.
One especially encouraging sign was the increased activity from BY stations. We noticed much more traffic from China-based stations this year, especially on CW, with better signals and stronger participation. It was great to hear that part of the world more active in contests. ๐
Compared with the SSB leg, the special callsign SZ40A was copied much better this time. The addition of SZ40A into the Super Check Partial database clearly helped, and the number of incorrect callsign copies was much lower than what we experienced during SSB.
The result was a decent one. We managed to beat our SSB leg claimed score and prefix count, finishing with more than 10.3 million claimed points and 1,269 prefixes. ๐
At the same time, this was a demanding 48-hour effort with only six operators available. The long shifts made it difficult to keep every position fully staffed, especially the in-band station, which limited our ability to chase every multiplier throughout the contest.
We also had intense interstation interference this time, something we will need to investigate carefully, especially compared with the much cleaner SSB leg. On top of that, we had a failure on the Run 1 radio, our Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark V, which went silent on 15 meters during the contest. Time was lost replacing it with another operational FT-1000.
๐ ๐ป Our radio fleet is clearly showing its age. If we want SZ1A to remain competitive in major international contests, the time has come to start modernizing our operating positions with latest-generation radios. This is a big step for the station, and any support from members, friends, and the wider amateur radio community would make a real difference. ๐โ๏ธ
Still, the team kept pushing, finished the activation on a strong note, and gave SZ40A a worthy final contest appearance. ๐ชโก
๐ Closing the SZ40A Anniversary Activation:
This contest marked the completion of the SZ40A special anniversary callsign activation.
For three months, SZ40A represented 40 years of radio activity, teamwork, friendship, station building, technical work, and contesting spirit in Western Greece. Across SSB, CW, and Digital modes, it gave stations around the world the chance to work a special prefix and take part in our anniversary celebration. ๐๐ป
The SZ40A Anniversary Award remains available for those who worked us during the activation period. If SZ40A is in your log, make sure to check your contacts and claim or upgrade your award. ๐
๐ SZ40A Award:
https://awards.sz1a.org
โค๏ธ Final Thanks:
A huge thank you to all stations who worked SZ40A during CQ WPX CW and throughout the entire anniversary activation. ๐
Thank you for calling us, spotting us, waiting in the pileups, correcting the call when needed, and helping us make this special callsign part of thousands of logs around the world.
A special thank you also goes to every operator, support team member, cook, technician, visitor, friend, and club member who helped make this final weekend possible. These efforts are never just about the score. They are about the people behind the station. โค๏ธ
CQ WPX CW 2026 closes the SZ40A chapter, but the story of SZ1A continues.
73 from all of us at SZ1A ๐ปโจ
