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Welcome to the chaotic, thrilling world of the HF pileup. Whether you are the one calling CQ from a park in Nebraska or the one hunting a rare DX station, success relies on rhythm, frequency management, and a deep understanding of human behavior.

Here is a proper look at how a pileup appears on a modern display, followed by a complete guide on how to survive it.

A “pileup” on shortwave amateur radio frequencies. The main station is at the low frequency, and stays put. The hunters spread out, above, and call on a single frequency somewhere in the calling window of frequencies (I.e., up five to ten).

Over my decades of working Morse code (CW on amateur radio), I have learned a few critical things about how to navigate the chaotic, thrilling world of the HF pileup. When a rare station or a Parks On The Air (POTA) activator goes on the air, dozens or even hundreds of operators might try to make contact at the exact same time. Working a pileup is an art that takes time to master. Whether you are the one calling CQ from a park in Nebraska or the one hunting a rare DX station, success relies on rhythm, frequency management, and a deep understanding of human behavior.

One of the most important strategies is to determine the operating style of the DX station, specifically discerning how that operator scans the pileup for the next station to work. With modern waterfall displays, that process is MUCH easier. As an example, I worked the Temotu DXpedition (H40RH) that had just started a few hours prior to my attempt. I broke through with only five calls into the pileup, and it took me a mere 60 seconds to call and get an answer. Of course, I first listened and watched the waterfall for about five minutes to get a hang of the operating style of H40RH. This was on 10 Meters where 28.026 MHz was the DX frequency. We callers spread out five to 15 kHz UP in frequency from the DX station because we never want to cover up the DX station with our own signals. Even with a long carrier of intentional interference visible on the waterfall, the visual aid of the SDR made the catch possible. Temotu was a new country for my DXCC, so I am incredibly pleased to have made the contact!

When You Are the Hunted (The Activator)

A Guide To Survive The Pileup

When you are the station that everyone wants in their logbook, you are the conductor of the orchestra. If the pileup senses hesitation, chaos ensues. You must dictate the pace, for both CW and SSB operations.

Controlling the Pileup on CW

Establish a Predictable Rhythm: Your CQ, your exchange, and your QRZ should follow a strict pattern. Consistency allows hunters to time their calls perfectly. If you change your cadence, the pileup gets messy.

Run Split for Large Piles: If the pileup merges into a single continuous drone, go split immediately. You might send “UP 1” to tell callers to transmit one kilohertz above your listening frequency. This spreads the callers out. Send your “UP” frequently enough that the self-appointed pileup police do not take over your transmit frequency. I suggest sending “UP” after each successful logged contact (QSO).

Own the Partials: If you only pull “NW7” out of the noise, send “NW7?”. Do not send “QRZ?” immediately. Stick to that partial call until that specific station finishes the exchange. If they fade out, clearly send “QRZ?” to reset the pile.

Adjust Speed to Control Volume: A slight speed increase (bumping up 3 to 5 WPM) will naturally thin the pileup down to the more experienced operators. Dropping your speed will invite the newer operators back in.

Receiver Management: Back off your RF gain and use a wider filter than you might expect (around 400 to 500 Hz). A filter that is too narrow will cause you to miss the operators who are smartly calling slightly off-frequency.

Controlling the Pileup on SSB

Command with Your Voice: Speak clearly and maintain a steady, authoritative tone. Avoid shouting. Just like in CW, a predictable rhythm helps callers know exactly when to key their microphones.

Use Standard Phonetics: Stick strictly to the standard NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie). Cute or custom phonetics confuse operators who do not speak English as their first language.

Acknowledge and Isolate: When multiple voices blur together, listen for the last phonetic letter you can understand. If you hear “Sierra,” say “The station ending in Sierra, go ahead.” Ignore everyone else until that station completes the contact.

My POTA / Portable HF station (a low-power, or, QRP, station).

When You Are the Hunter (The Chaser)

When you are trying to break through a massive wall of sound, raw output power is secondary to timing and sharp observation.

Breaking the Pileup on CW

Listen First, Key Second: Before touching the paddle, listen to three or four complete exchanges. If the activator is working split, figure out their pattern. Are they tuning from the bottom up? Top down? Find where they listened last, and place your transmit frequency just above it.

Use XIT (The Golden Rule): Never perfectly zero-beat the DX station if others are calling. To the activator, three zero-beat stations merge into a single tone. Use your Transmitter Incremental Tuning (XIT) to shift your transmit frequency by 30 to 50 Hz. This slight difference in pitch makes your signal pop out of the receiver passband.

Time the Tail-End: Wait for the massive wall of sound to begin fading, and send your call exactly as the main group finishes. A perfectly timed tail-end call lets your suffix ring out in the clear.

Send Once: When the DX sends “QRZ?”, send your callsign exactly once and listen. Sending your call multiple times just causes interference and slows down the entire operation.

Follow Instructions: If the DX sends “NW7?”, and that is not you, keep your hand off the key. Transmitting over the station they are trying to work only prolongs the pileup for everyone.

Breaking the Pileup on SSB

Study the Cadence: Just like with Morse code, listen to the activator to find the rhythm. Wait for the exact moment the activator stops speaking before you key up.

Drop Your Call and Wait: Say your full callsign once using standard phonetics, then unkey and listen. If you are tail-ending, you might just drop the last two letters of your callsign precisely as the noise floor drops.

Adjust Your Pitch: If you have equalization controls on your radio, boost the mid-to-high frequencies on your microphone audio. A slightly punchy and higher-pitched voice will cut through the bass-heavy rumble of a dozen other stations calling at once.

Working a pileup tests your patience and your ear. Whether you are tapping out Morse code or speaking into a microphone, the operator who listens more than they transmit almost always makes the contact first.

Propagation and the Pile-Up

As many of you know, I was the space weather and radio propagation columnist in CQ Amateur Radio Magazine from 2001 through its demise. I strongly advocate for all HF radio operators to understand the basics of radio wave propagation on shortwave frequencies. There are a lot of myths and frankly, horrific theories on how radio waves propagate.

Understanding how the ionosphere refracts radio waves is a crucial tactical advantage. The behavior of a pile-up changes dramatically based on the frequency band you choose and the current mood of our sun.

The Sun Dictates the Rules

The ionosphere is charged by solar radiation. When solar activity is high, higher frequencies become usable for long distances.

Solar Flux Index: The SFI is a great indicator of overall ionization. A higher SFI means better conditions for the higher HF bands. When the SFI climbs, bands like 15, 12, and 10 meters open up globally.

Geomagnetic Storms: Measured by the K-index, these storms can disrupt communications entirely. A high K-index often absorbs signals crossing the polar regions. This can suddenly mute a massive European pile-up for North American operators.

Fading: The ionosphere is always shifting. Signals will constantly rise and fall in strength, which is known as QSB. A smart chaser listens for the rhythm of this fade and throws their callsign into the pile-up exactly when the band peaks for their specific location.

How Bands Shape the Pile-Up

Every amateur radio band has its own personality. The pile-ups you encounter will reflect these differences perfectly.

10, 12, and 15 Meters: These high bands are daytime frequencies that thrive on high solar activity. When 10 meters opens up, signals can be astonishingly loud with very low atmospheric noise. Pile-ups here can ignite suddenly and stretch very wide across the frequency spectrum.

20 Meters: This is the traditional workhorse band for global communication. Pile-ups on 20 meters are massive, sustained, and densely packed. You will often compete with high-power stations and massive beam antennas on this frequency day or night.

40 and 80 Meters: These low bands come alive at night. They are heavily affected by atmospheric noise and static crashes. Breaking a pile-up here requires an exceptionally well-tuned ear and the ability to pull faint CW tones or muffled voices out of a very high noise floor.

The Skip Zone Effect

The propagation of radio waves.

One of the most confusing aspects of a pile-up for a new operator is the skip zone. Radio waves bounce off the ionosphere and return to earth far away, which means they skip right over the geographic areas in between. You might hear the DX station perfectly, but you might not hear the hundreds of other operators calling them because those callers are inside your skip zone. This phenomenon is exactly why you must rely on the DX station’s cadence rather than waiting to hear the pile-up clear.

While raw power is often cited as the key to breaking a pile-up, your antenna system plays a far more decisive role in your overall effectiveness. A directional antenna, like a Yagi or a hexbeam, not only focuses your transmitted energy directly toward the DX station but also actively rejects interfering signals from other directions. However, do not be discouraged if you are running a simple wire antenna. A well-placed dipole or end-fed half-wave can still break monumental pile-ups if you leverage good timing, exploit the skip zone, and listen closely to the DX operator. Ultimately, the best antenna in the world cannot compensate for poor operating habits.

Over to You

Working a pile-up is one of the most rewarding challenges in amateur radio. It tests your patience, refines your ear, and forces you to understand both the science of radio wave propagation and the psychology of your fellow operators. Every massive wall of sound is a puzzle waiting to be solved.

Now, I would love to hear from you. What was your most memorable pile-up experience? Do you have a specific tactic that consistently helps you break through the noise, or perhaps a frustrating moment that taught you a valuable lesson? Drop your stories and questions in the comments below, and let us keep the conversation going.

From my shack to yours, 73 de NW7US.

I’ve been whining about the fact that for many years the 2m FM calling frequency, 146.52 MHz, was prohibited for use in VHF contests and Field Day. See The One Frequency You Should Never Use on Field Day. Well, the ARRL removed this restriction in 2015, so that issue has been resolved.

The CQ WW VHF contest also prohibited the use of 146.52 MHz, and up until now stuck with it. During the reconfiguration of this contest into two separate contests:  analog contest (CW/SSB/FM) and digital contest (FT8, FT4, etc.), the 146.52 rule was dropped. The rules now say:

Use of commonly recognized repeater frequencies is prohibited. Recognized FM simplex frequencies such as 146.49, .52, .55, and .58, and local-option simplex channels may be used for contest purposes.

Of course, this change is only relevant to the analog contest, as FM is not allowed in the digital contest.

This is a relatively minor change, not earth-shattering at all, but it cleans up an outdated rule in the CW WW VHF contest. This eliminates the need for me to explain to new VHF contesters that you can’t use the calling frequency.

73 Bob K0NR

The post CQ WW VHF Contest Allows 146.52 MHz appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Lately, I’ve been getting questions about whether a ham needs to log radio contacts, whether they need to submit a log, and how to do it. Logging is a complex topic that can require a long and detailed explanation, but I am going to focus on the questions I’ve been hearing lately. I’ll also provide some links for further investigation. For starters, the ARRL has a good introduction to logging.

Why Keep A Log?

The FCC does not require you to log your amateur radio contacts. Many radio amateurs, especially if they just operate casually on 2m and 70 cm, don’t bother to keep a log. Probably the most common reason for having a log is to have a record of your radio contacts, in terms of stations worked, on what band and what conditions. This might be just for your own personal satisfaction or you might want to keep track of these contacts so you can get credit for an award, such as the ARRL Worked All States award.

Paper or Electronic?

The Old School way of keeping a log is on paper as shown in the figure above. This approach is simple and reliable technology but is quite limited in the information age. These days, most hams that record log information store it electronically. Imagine that you log thousands of contacts over time and then want to find a particular callsign or location. Much better to do this electronically. There are many good software programs available, too many to list here. I currently use Amateur Contact Log from N3FPJ. The good news is that there is a standard file format for storing and moving ham radio contact information: Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF). If you want to change logging software, you export an ADIF file and import into the new program.

I Worked a Contest Station, Do I Have to Submit a Log?

Sometimes radio ham works a few stations that are active in a particular contest and they wonder if they must submit a log to the contest authority for these these stations to get credit for the contacts. The almost universal answer to this is: No. Don’t worry about submitting a contest log if you aren’t really “in the contest.” The stations you work still get credit for your contact with them. (This is true for all major contests…I am still looking for a contest where this is an issue.) Contests are designed to encourage activity, so they want everyone to join in, even if they aren’t all that serious about contesting. (The contest sponsors will appreciate any and all logs submitted, so consider that.)

If I Am Actively Working a Contest, What Do I do?

If you are actively participating in a contest, you should use a logging program that is tuned for that particular contest. This is important because the contest logging software knows about the scoring for the contest and lets you know if you have already worked a station you hear. The most popular logging software for contesting is the N1MM Plus software. There are other programs you can consider. Typically, you would use N1MM during the contest and then export the info into an ADIF file, which is imported into your “main” logging program.

What is a Cabrillo File?

While the ADIF file format is most universal in ham radio logging, there is another file format used for contesting. This is the Cabrillo file format. Your contest logging software can generate a Cabrillo file for submitting to the contest sponsor. You may also want to generate an ADIF file for your normal logging program.

I Worked a POTA Station, Do I Have to Submit a Log?

Parks On The Air (POTA) is set up such that only the activator station submits a log. If you are working an activator station, you are a hunter station. The POTA scores are all based on the activator logs and hunters cannot submit a log. What you can do is register on the POTA website to see the contacts that the activators have submitted for you.

I Worked a SOTA Station, Do I Have to Submit a Log?

Summits On The Air (SOTA) is set up so that both activators and chasers submit logs to the SOTA website. However, the SOTA system operates on the honor system, so an activator can claim a contact with you without you submitting a log. So if you hear a SOTA station, go ahead and work them. You don’t have to submit a log. On the other hand, if you want credit for chasing a summit, you need to submit a log. So that activator is fine not having you submit a log but you may want to do that to get credit for you.

How Do I Get Credit For Working A Country?

The gold standard for chasing countries, I mean entities, is DX Century Club (DXCC). If you are interested in DX, you should register with Logbook of The World (LoTW) with the ARRL. To get credit for working an entity (country), you need to submit your log and it must match the log submitted by the DX station. This is a higher level of confirmation because both parties must submit the log info and it must match within reasonable error limits.

There are other award systems for working countries, offered by QRZ, eQSL, etc.

How Do I Get Credit For Working a Grid on VHF/UHF?

The VHF UHF Century Club (VUCC) is the VHF/UHF equivalent to DXCC. Here the emphasis is on working maidenhead grid locators on the bands above 50 MHz. Again, Logbook of The World is the database that authenticates confirmed contacts on these bands. Both parties must submit the log info and it must match within reasonable error limits.

What If Someone Needs My Log Submitted?

Most of the time, us normal hams are not considered DX. That is, that other station in the Cayman Islands doesn’t really need our contact confirmed. But there are exceptions. You might be in a state the other station needs confirmed. Or maybe it’s your county they need. In such a case, you might want to make a special effort to provide your log information to the right database. It will depend on what the other station needs…if they are going for an ARRL award, then Logbook of The World is the right place to upload your log. But they might be after a QRZ award or eQSL award, it which case you would need to provide your log to those websites.

Wrap Up

These are some of the questions I’ve been hearing.
What did I miss?
Anything else to add?

73 Bob K0NR

The post Should I Submit A Log? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

SOME INFORMAL THOUGHTS ON WORKING CW DX

Recently, I came across some questions another amateur radio operator posed to a group of CW enthusiasts. Since I have an interest in Morse code, I thought I would explore these questions:

— begin quote —

1. When chasing some particular CW DX station needed for my DXCC punch-list, what are some things(s) that one can do to improve one’s chances of snagging that DX contact amidst a congested pileup? Is it truly the luck of the draw or roll of the dice? Or are there some time tested methods, less than obvious, that the experienced CW DX chasers have used that seem to improve one’s chances of snagging the DX contact? Yes, I’m aware that there are many variables to consider. I’m just looking for some general suggestions to improve my odds of success based on the experience of others.

2. If, let’s say, a DX station appends “UP 1” or “QSX 2” to his CQ call or just “UP” appears in a DX cluster spot listing, what is considered an acceptable amount of “UP”? I’m amazed sometimes at the amount of “UP” that I hear. LOL. Does a hefty amount of “UP” actually improve one’s chances? What does the DX op expect?

3. After a DX station sends their callsign how long should one wait to reply with one’s callsign? I hear stations respond immediately. But sometimes I hear others wait just a “bit”, and then respond to DX. And sometimes when the DX station is responding to a chosen station, other callers are STILL calling the DX op. What do most DX operators expect with regard to the response of a reply? Immediate? One-Mississippi …?

4. I hear stations reply to DX with their callsign once. Others sometimes twice. If I send my callsign twice I run the risk that the DX station has already begun his reply back to me with my sig-report while I’m still in the midst of sending my 2nd callsign reply. So … I should send my call just once?

— end quote–

Great questions!  And, the answers translate over to working DX pileups on voice, too.

Here are some of my off-the-cuff remarks, based on my limited experience DXing since 1990:
(I am an avid DXer, with 8BDXCC, etc.)

1. Listen, Listen, Listen: The DX station typically does work split – the DX station on, say, 14.023 MHz, and the DX station is listening anywhere from 14.028 to 14.033 (up 5 to 10). You first, of course, need to listen to the DX station, but, also to hear the stations that are calling the DX station! The trick is to be able to hear some of the stations that are piling up on the DX, and to determine if the DX is working a station, then tunes up a little, or down a little, from the frequency on which the last caller was chosen.

Once you know this, you want to position your signal so that the DX operator tunes to or very near where you are transmitting your signal. If the DX station does not call you but continues in the same tuning direction, you reposition your transmit frequency (always in the pileup window) and try again. If you do not know where the DX station is listening next, and especially if you cannot HEAR the DX station, you are calling blind and are in for a long effort.

If you have a way to see the waterfall at and around the DX frequency, you can often see the general spread of “UP” where the callers congregate. When listening (and, let me tell you, listening is key) to the DX station, watch the waterfall for the responding caller (the station in the pile-up calling the DX), as sometimes it is very obvious who is answering the DX. Watch this exchange for a number of new callers – and get a sense of HOW the DX operator is moving through the pile-up. Anticipate where the DX might listen next. Choose that “next frequency in the pattern of movement” and use that as your calling frequency.

2. Timing your call: this takes a bit of effort. I typically listen to my chosen transmit frequency, trying to call never at the exact same time as others, on or near my calling frequency.

3. I always send my callsign TWICE… something like this:

DX: DX1ABC UP
ME: NW7US NW7US
DX: NW7US 5NN
ME: R R NW7US 5NN TU
DX: NW7US TU, DX1ABC UP

There are some fine CW-oriented DXing books, PDFs, and websites that talk about this. For instance:

http://sota-dl.bplaced.net/articles/cw_chasing_tips_for_newcomers.pdf

https://www.cadxa.org/getting-started-in-dxing.html

I hope this personal observation of mine about working a Morse code pileup is helpful in some way.

73 de NW7US
https://NW7US.us

..

This weekend the LZ dx contest was up and running, I have never taken part in this contest and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of activity. It's a 24-hour contest that started at 8 am out my way and it gave me a nice workout for the upcoming weekend for the CQ World Wide DX CW contest. I took part for about a total of 4 hours and made 120 contacts for a score of 13,110. 

Midway into the contest I was taken down a side road for a pleasant surprise. At some point on Saturday afternoon calling CQ contest was slowing down on 20m. I decided to make a left turn and head down the 10m side road. There were very few LZ contesters there but I did notice a commotion on the waterfall. When I went to investigate it was H44WA DXpedition in the Soloman islands calling CQ North America (CQ NA) and he was all alone. I put the Icom 7610 in split and dual mode (hearing both VFOA and VFOB) and made the mental change from CW contesting to CW DXpedition. After a few short tries, I was in the log. I was glad I made a left turn and took a side road from the contest.

I was happy to contribute an article to the recent ARRL Parks On The Air (POTA) book. This piece is based on my Pikes Peak mountain topping article that appeared in the June 2023 issue of QST. This book is a collection of articles about POTA from 14 different authors, each writing about a different aspect of the program. The articles are all easy to read and generally provide a first-hand account of how the author has experienced POTA operating. There is plenty of beginner information and operating tips sprinkled throughout the book. More experienced POTA enthusiasts will probably pick up a few new ideas as well.

The Table of Contents below lists the articles and authors, giving you a good idea of the material covered. The meat of the book is only 118 pages long and it is quite easy to read.

My piece covered the triple activation I did from the summit of Pikes Peak, combining POTA, SOTA, and the June VHF Contest into one mountaintop adventure. For POTA, the park was the Pike National Forest (K-4404). I’ve done this type of combo activation in the past, sometimes just SOTA + POTA or just SOTA + VHF Contest. This time I did all three.

The book is available directly from the ARRL or from the usual book outlets such as Amazon.

73 Bob K0NR

The post ARRL POTA Book appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

The FT8 mode was first released as part of the WSJT-X software in 2017. This new digital mode was adopted relatively quickly and is now a major force in amateur radio. You’ve probably heard the praises and complaints about it. On the plus side, it enables radio contacts under very poor conditions while detractors say that it is not real ham radio because the computer is making the contact. FT8 is an excellent example of a disruptive technology, impacting daily ham radio operations. This summer, I had two operating experiences (VHF contests) that really drove this point home.

My temporary station setup on the porch for the VHF contest.

ARRL June Contest

In the ARRL June Contest, we had very good sporadic-e propagation on 6 meters (and even 2 meters). I used my IC-7610 for 6 meters and usually had one receiver listening on the SSB calling frequency and the other sitting on the FT8 frequency. My strategy was to operate FT8 while keeping an ear on the SSB portion of the band. If signals were present on SSB, I switched over to that mode. The idea is that the run rate on SSB is inherently faster (and more fun), so it is my preferred way to make contacts. 

There was definitely activity on the SSB portion of the band, but it came and went throughout the contest. There were times that I was able to run on a frequency, calling CQ and having a steady stream of stations to work. Other times, I had to search and pounce, tuning around the band to find a new station to work. The FT8 story was different: most of the time there was consistent activity and new stations to work, but at a slower rate.

The FT8 operators tended to stay on FT8, even when the signals were strong. If they wanted to maximize their score, they probably should have switched over to SSB to make contacts at a faster rate. But they didn’t and that is their choice. (One thing I’ve come to accept is that I don’t control the choices that other radio hams make in terms of operating mode and band.) On 6 meters, I made 428 contacts with 80% of them on FT8. Radio operator decisions affect the types of QSOs made and if I focused only on SSB, I would surely have had more SSB contacts (but how many?)

CQ WW VHF Contest

In July, the CQ Worldwide VHF Contest was even more striking. While I was hoping for a repeat of the band conditions from June, the CQ WW conditions were not very good. However, I did manage to make QSOs using FT8 on 6 meters. The run rate was low and I often struggled to complete the exchange before the band shifted. Again, I listened on 6m SSB and picked up contacts there whenever possible. My QSO total for 6m was 164, with 90% of them via FT8.

After the contest, I heard from contesters that used only analog modes (SSB and CW) who reported that the contest was a complete bust. Even with hours of operating time, some folks only made 10 or 20 QSOs. This clearly tees up the choice: if you don’t want to work digital, you can severely limit your number of contacts. On the other hand, if you use FT8, you can make contacts under weak conditions, but at a slower rate with a computer in the loop.

Like many contesters, I would much rather have a nice run of QSOs on SSB filling up my log. It is just way more fun than sitting there watching the computer screen report the slow progress of FT8. But in the end, we all have the same choice when conditions are poor: actually making contacts using FT8 or sitting there hoping that band conditions improve enough to support SSB.

2 Meter Band

I did make some FT8 contacts on 2 meters, but found only a small number of operators using that mode. I expect that FT8 activity will increase on that band as people figure out they can squeeze out a few more contacts & grids using that mode.

73 Bob K0NR

The post FT8 Dominates VHF Contests appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.