Welcome to the Web Site for Bill Axelrod and Amateur Radio Station K3WA
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Contesting
K3WA Loves Contesting
And I like contesting....  Got my first real taste of contesting in the 1962 CW Sweepstakes when I was K3DDW and did a multi-op at the Naval Station, Treasure Island, CA club station K6NCG.  I was young, still had hair, and operated mostly 40 meters. 

We were #1 in the San Francisco section, had a lot of fun and I was hooked.  Here's our score from the May 1963 QST.  Click the image to enlarge it.
 
And, BTW, look at the price of a 1963 QST.  Sticker shock today.
Since then I graduated from 100 watts and wire antennas  to an SO2R legal limit station with beams and beverages.  Still haven't won anything beyond the call district level and a few top 10 finishes but I made a dent, however small.  

And it is still just as much fun as it was back then.  Only now, I have branched out, away from the conventional SO2R paradigm and into the world of software defined radio (SDR).  As this newer technology has evolved, I now do SO2R type contesting with only one SDR radio and amplifier.  Now that I have downsized and moved to North Carolina my SO2R days are over since I only have one antenna for now.


Placing
Area
Contest
First Place
North Carolina
2023 NC QSO Party SO HP Mixed Mode
First Place
North Carolina
2020 Illinois QSO Party (Out of State)
First Place
North Carolina
2019 ARRL 10 Meter SOHP
Second Place
North Carolina
2019 IARU World Championship Mixed Mode SOHP
First Place
Illinois
2017 ARRL Sweepstakes SOHP
First Place
Illinois
August 2016 North American QSO Party CW SO
First Place
Illinois
2016 ARRL June VHF Contest SOHP
First Place
Illinois
2014 CW ARRL DX Contest SOHP Assisted
First Place
Illinois
2012 CW Sweepstakes SOHP Assisted
First Place
Illinois
2011 CW WPX Single Operator High Power     
First Place
Illinois
2010 ARRL DX Contest SOHP
First Place
Illinois
2010 ARRL Sweepstakes CW SOHP-A
First Place
Ninth (9th) Call Area
2009 CQ WW RTTY Round Up High Power
First Place
Ninth (9th) Call Area
2009 CW WPX SO Assisted High Power
First Place
Illinois
2009 ARRL CW DX contest SO HP
First Place
West Virginia
August 2008 North American QSO Party CW SO
First Place
West Virginia
2008 SOHP Mixed Mode IARU HF World Championship 
First Place
Eighth (8th) Call Area
2006 CQ WW DX CW SO Assisted
First Place
West Virginia
2006 CW Sweepstakes SO Assisted
First Place
West Virginia
2006 SOHP Mixed Mode IARU HF World Championship 
First Place
West Virginia
2006  SOHP Unlimited ARRL DX Contest 
First Place
West Virginia
2005  CW Sweepstakes SO Assisted
First Place
Eighth (8th) Call Area
2005 CQ WW DX CW SOHP  
Second Place
Virginia
2003 CW WPX Single Operator High Power    
I'm proud to be a member of the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC)  and to also maintain my membership in the  the Society of Midwest Contesters  (SMC).  One of my favorite contest awards is my 5 million point PVRC plaque with 10 million point endorsement.    

My most enjoyable experience in contesting came when I had the  privilege of using Vic Clark's famous call, W4KFC, during the PVRC's sixtieth anniversary reunion on the air. 

Bill Axelrod  3 Jan 2024
Some of my best results are:
After a life time of contesting in places like South Carolina, Rhode Island, Hawaii, etc., coming to the black hole and experiencing the propagation was been a shock.  Now I'm back and learning all over again.

When we downsized in North Carolina I fully expected that my days of being even marginally competitive would be over.  Sure, it is much harder to run stations and even be heard when one's antenna is a meager 20 ft flagpole.  But it turns out I was more competitive than I suspected.  With two new certificates on the wall I can relax and still get all the enjoyment in contesting I have all these years.