[CQ-Contest] CQ WW Participation?

[David Thompson]

All of the reasons given so far really only apply to recent years say 1990 
and later.  I remember calling CQ for hours on phone in 1962-3 with no 
replies.  There were much fewer contesters back then as the current 
population of hams has tripled.  When a DX station answered he said I was 
loud and often was his first Mississippi.

Jump forward to 1970 and Single band 10 in the CQ SSB Contest (Now called 
the WPX Contest).  Band conditions were similar to this year.  My score was 
High NA and was the record for 8 years.
SM5BLA told me he got tired of hearing me call CQ.  20 hours of operation 
netted just over 500 Q's.  The world population of hams has jumped  and the 
USA had about 400K hams.
I ran the Drake Line, NCL-2000, and a Razor 7 El beam designed by VE3BMV.

I was K5MDX before 1973 and my first Contest as K4JRB was the CQ WW SSB in 
1974.  My score was the High USA Operating SB 10.  I made 274 QSO's and was 
pushed by another local.  Doc W5PQA operating ZM7DA said he heard the two GA 
stations for hours on end.

With fewer stations on a lot of contesters got bored.  I remember talking to 
W1PDF (RI) and WA2 (can't remember his call) who became W2PV.  They both 
said why make the effort with activity so low.  Once you had worked the 
first group of stations pickings were very slim on SSB.

What made the difference?   The rise of JA activity (W7RM could run them for 
hours including the thousands of low power operators).  Clubs in the USA and 
Europe got hams interested in contesting and actually on the air.  Many got 
on to work new states or DXCC entities and got hooked.  This has continued 
today.

You can work more stations in 6 hours than a winning CQ WW effort (40 hours 
plus) in 1967.

Moving to computer logging and getting rid of the cumbersome hand logging in 
the early 1990's allowed contesting to make a quantum leap (mostly thanks to 
CT).

That is my take
73 Dave K4JRB   Ex K5MDX