When engineering, antennas and contesting became one integrated system
In the history of contesting, some stations are remembered for their records, others for the sheer size of their antenna farms, and still others for the operators who gathered around them.
W2PV, the station of Dr. James L. “Jim” Lawson, belongs to a rather special category.
Its importance cannot be measured simply by the size of its antennas or by the scores it achieved. Lawson approached the construction and operation of his station with a strongly engineering-oriented philosophy in which antennas, propagation, radios, amplifiers, filters, switching, operators and information were all parts of one integrated contest system.
Many concepts that we now take for granted at a major Multi-Multi station were already clearly visible at W2PV more than four decades ago.
A scientist before he was a contester
Jim Lawson had an extraordinary professional background.
During World War II he worked at the MIT Radiation Laboratory, one of the world’s leading centers for the development of microwave radar. He later spent much of his professional career with General Electric in the Schenectady area of New York, working in fields that included radar, nuclear instrumentation, particle accelerators, military communications, electronics and research planning.
He eventually retired from General Electric in 1981.
At the same time, amateur radio remained one of his great passions.
Over the years Lawson held several callsigns, including W9SSP, W8QUI and WA2SFP, before receiving W2PV in 1968.
By the 1960s and early 1970s he was already a highly competitive DXer and Single Operator.
But during the 1970s something began to change.
From Single Operator to Multi-Multi
Lawson progressively moved from Single Operator competition toward Multi-Operator Multi-Transmitter contesting.
W2PV developed rapidly into one of the important American Multi-Multi stations of the period.
Success was not based simply on adding more transmitters or larger antennas. Lawson was progressively building a station in which every component had a specific role within the overall contest strategy.
The antenna system was perhaps the most visible part of this philosophy, but it was only one part of it.
The station at Niskayuna
W2PV was located at Lawson’s home in Niskayuna, Schenectady County, New York, on a property of approximately three acres.
That is a surprisingly limited area when compared with the size and complexity of the antenna system that eventually occupied it.
Yet Lawson managed to develop one of the most sophisticated contest stations of its era.
This is where the difference between W2PV and a simple collection of large antennas becomes apparent.
Lawson designed the station as a system.
Studying the Yagi scientifically
Beginning in 1979, Lawson published an extensive series of articles in Ham Radio Magazine dealing with Yagi antenna design.
Computer analysis was used to investigate parameters such as gain, front-to-back ratio, impedance, element spacing, boom length, element dimensions, taper correction, stacking and the effects of ground.
But the computer model was only the beginning.
For Lawson, calculated performance had to be compared with the performance of the real antenna.
W2PV therefore became, in many ways, a large experimental laboratory.
One example involved commercial three-element 40-meter Yagis whose actual performance was not what Lawson expected.
His analysis indicated that the physical construction and taper of the elements had to be properly accounted for when determining their electrical length.
The antennas were re-evaluated and modified.
This illustrates a method that appears repeatedly in Lawson’s work:
calculate → build → measure → correct → verify.
That philosophy influenced much of W2PV.
The W2PV antenna system
A contemporary description of W2PV was published in September 1982 by John Dorr, K1AR, and Bill Myers, K1GQ.
Their article provides a particularly valuable record because it describes the station as it existed around the final years of Lawson’s life.
The HF antenna system included:
160 meters
An inverted V at approximately 170 ft was used for transmitting.
Receiving was supported by Beverage antennas shared with the 80-meter position through separate matching networks.
Even here Lawson encountered an unusual engineering problem: strong nearby broadcast stations could produce enough voltage on the Beverages to saturate conventional toroidal matching transformers and create intermodulation.
His solution was to use alternative matching networks together with filtering to reduce broadcast-band interference.
80 meters
The main antenna was a 2-element quad at approximately 160 ft.
The station also had high and low dipoles.
The quad could be switched between different directions, while a high dipole at approximately 140 ft was broadside toward South America.
This was not simply redundancy.
Different antennas provided different radiation characteristics and geographic coverage.
40 meters
The station used a 3-over-3 element Yagi stack at approximately 180 and 90 ft, together with another three-element Yagi at approximately 85 ft.
The stacked antennas could be used in different combinations, providing different vertical patterns.
20 meters
The main system was a formidable:
7 / 5 / 5 element stack
at approximately:
150 / 100 / 50 ft.
A second system consisted of:
6 / 6 elements at approximately 106 / 42 ft.
W2PV could therefore select between different antenna systems and heights according to propagation and operating requirements.
15 meters
The station used an:
8 / 8 element stack at approximately 99 / 49 ft
together with an additional:
4 / 4 element system fixed toward the south.
10 meters
The antenna system included:
10 / 10 elements at approximately 91 / 57 ft
and another:
6 / 6 element system at approximately 70 / 40 ft.
The scale was impressive.
But the most interesting feature was not simply the number of elements.
It was the number of choices available to the operators.
More than maximum gain
This distinction is fundamental to understanding W2PV.
Lawson was not simply asking:
“How can I build the antenna with the highest gain?”
A contest station faces a much more complicated problem.
The optimum elevation angle changes with distance, frequency, ionospheric conditions and time.
An antenna that works exceptionally well toward Europe at one moment may not be the optimum choice several hours later.
Multiple antennas at different heights therefore allowed W2PV to select different radiation patterns as conditions changed.
The objective was not simply maximum theoretical gain.
The objective was:
maximum effectiveness under real contest conditions.
Big Bertha
One of the best-known components of the W2PV antenna farm was the large rotating structure commonly known as “Big Bertha.”
The contemporary station documentation describes several towers, including Rohn structures and the large Telrex rotating installation.
Big Bertha has understandably become one of the visual symbols associated with W2PV.
But focusing only on its size misses the more important point.
It was one component of a much larger antenna architecture consisting of fixed arrays, rotatable antennas, stacked systems and antennas at different heights.
The real achievement was the integration of all those systems.
The extraordinary 20-meter system
The 20-meter installation perhaps best illustrates Lawson’s philosophy.
The main stack consisted of:
7 elements at 150 ft
5 elements at 100 ft
5 elements at 50 ft
while another antenna system provided:
6 elements at 106 ft
and
6 elements at 42 ft.
The station therefore had several possible vertical radiation patterns and could select different antenna combinations according to the opening.
Today this concept is familiar at major contest stations.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the extent to which W2PV implemented it was remarkable.
W2PV and the technological race between superstations
W2PV was not developing in isolation.
American Multi-Multi competition was becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Stations such as the K2GL/N2AA operation at Tuxedo Park and W3LPL were also developing huge antenna systems and increasingly advanced operating techniques.
The competition was no longer simply between operators.
It was increasingly a competition between complete station systems.
Antennas, propagation strategy, transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, interference control and operator organization all contributed to the final score.
This technological competition would continue through the 1980s and 1990s and eventually lead to the modern generation of stations such as K3LR and others.
Inside W2PV
A large Multi-Multi creates another problem that is less spectacular than a giant antenna but equally important:
how do you operate several high-power transmitters simultaneously without destroying your own receivers?
W2PV paid considerable attention to interstation interference.
Band-pass filtering was used, and the station’s amplifiers and receiving systems were configured to cope with the exceptionally strong RF environment produced by several transmitters operating from the same property.
The 1982 K1AR/K1GQ description makes clear that interference management was an integral part of the station design.
This is another area in which W2PV looks surprisingly modern.
A large contest station is not simply a group of independent radios.
Every transmitter affects every other receiver.
The entire RF environment has to be engineered.
Information was part of the station
W2PV also understood another fundamental element of Multi-Multi contesting:
information has value only if it reaches the right operator quickly.
Long before modern computer networks, DX Clusters, the Reverse Beacon Network or synchronized contest databases, the station had systems for distributing multiplier information between operating positions.
Local two-meter activity provided useful spotting information, while internal communications allowed that information to reach the relevant band position.
The technology was primitive by modern standards.
The concept was not.
In functional terms, the flow already resembled:
external spotting information → central collection → internal distribution → band operator.
Today we accomplish the same thing through Ethernet networks and contest software.
The objective has not changed.
The final CQWW
The 1981 CQ World Wide DX CW Contest became the final great chapter in the W2PV story.
By then Lawson was seriously ill.
Nevertheless, the station was prepared for another full Multi-Multi effort.
Shortly before the contest, a problem was discovered with the 80-meter quad.
According to later recollections from the W2PV team, Lawson’s detailed technical records helped diagnose the problem.
The fault was traced to the switching system at the antenna.
With the contest approaching, Andy N2NT climbed the approximately 160-foot structure in difficult late-November conditions and corrected the problem.
The antenna was returned to service in time for the contest.
The episode perfectly captures the engineering culture of W2PV:
documentation → measurement → diagnosis → solution.
“Seize every opportunity”
One recollection from that final contest has become particularly associated with Lawson.
His health meant that he spent relatively little time around the operating positions.
At one point, a discussion developed because a band capable of producing QSOs had temporarily been left without an operator.
Lawson’s response was brief:
“Seize every opportunity.”
The phrase is remembered by operators who were there.
It is difficult to find a better summary of serious Multi-Multi contesting.
A contest lasts only 48 hours.
An opening may last minutes.
A multiplier may appear only once.
Every opportunity matters.
W2PV wins the world
The official results of the 1981 CQWW CW Contest confirmed an extraordinary achievement.
W2PV finished with:
10,431,729 points
and captured the top World Multi-Multi score.
The official CQ results described the competition between W2PV and N2AA as the “battle of the Goliaths” and noted that W2PV had broken the previous U.S. record by more than one million points.
N2AA finished close behind, demonstrating just how intense the competition had become.
For an American station to capture the top world Multi-Multi position was itself a major achievement, something explicitly noted in the official CQ contest report.
The 1981 result became the final major contest victory of Jim Lawson’s life.
The plaque
There is also a remarkable human story connected with that result.
Lawson’s health was deteriorating rapidly, while official contest results normally took many months to appear.
Later first-hand recollections from members of the W2PV team describe efforts within the contest community and at CQ to establish the outcome early enough for Lawson to receive recognition for the victory.
The winning plaque was presented to him at his home shortly before his death.
This detail is important because it should be told carefully.
It was not simply a later legend surrounding W2PV: the story is preserved in recollections from people directly involved with the station.
Jim Lawson died on May 25, 1982, at the age of 66.
When CQ published the official 1981 CW results in October 1982, W2PV was already a Silent Key.
The official report remembered Lawson alongside other contesters who had died and confirmed W2PV as the top world Multi-Multi station.
The operators of W2PV
A Multi-Multi station is never only antennas and equipment.
Its real performance depends on people.
Over the years, W2PV attracted a remarkable group of American contest operators, many of whom would later become important figures in their own right.
For younger operators especially, W2PV became a place to learn.
They were exposed not only to pileup operating, but also to propagation analysis, antenna selection, multiplier strategy, station engineering and the organization required to keep several bands productive simultaneously.
Lawson’s influence therefore extended far beyond his own scores.
Knowledge acquired at W2PV travelled with those operators to other stations and into the next generation of contesting.
From W2PV to K3LR
One of the clearest examples of that influence involves Tim Duffy, K3LR.
Duffy visited W2PV as a young operator and later operated from the station.
When he began developing his own major Multi-Multi station, the experience of W2PV remained an important reference.
The connection was not merely philosophical.
Some receiver band-pass filters originating from the Lawson station eventually found their way into the K3LR station.
The relationship:
W2PV → K3LR
therefore illustrates how contest technology and station-building knowledge can pass from one generation to another.
W2PV was not simply dismantled and forgotten.
Part of its engineering philosophy continued through the operators who had experienced it.
Yagi Antenna Design
Lawson’s antenna research also survived him in another form.
In 1986, the ARRL published:
Yagi Antenna Design
by James L. Lawson, W2PV.
The book was published after Lawson’s death and developed the work he had previously presented in his Ham Radio Magazine articles.
Its importance lies not merely in particular Yagi dimensions.
Lawson’s broader contribution was methodological.
He treated the Yagi as an engineering problem that could be analyzed computationally, optimized, constructed, measured and then compared with theory.
That same approach had been visible throughout W2PV.
CQ Contest Hall of Fame
Lawson’s contribution to contesting was formally recognized again in 1993, when he was inducted posthumously into the CQ Contest Hall of Fame.
By then more than a decade had passed since his death.
The world of contesting had already changed significantly.
Computer logging was spreading.
Station automation was increasing.
Packet spotting was transforming multiplier hunting.
Yet many of the fundamental ideas demonstrated at W2PV remained relevant.
The W2PV legacy
Looking at W2PV from today’s perspective, what is most striking is how familiar many of its concepts appear.
Stacked antennas.
Antennas at different heights.
Fixed arrays toward strategic directions.
Separate receiving antennas.
Band-pass filtering.
Independent operating positions.
Interstation interference control.
Internal multiplier distribution.
Detailed antenna measurements.
Technical documentation.
Specialized operators for individual bands.
The technology has changed completely.
Signal/One and Kenwood radios have given way to modern SDR transceivers.
Internal voice communication has given way to Ethernet.
Two-meter spotting networks have evolved into DX Clusters, CW Skimmers and the Reverse Beacon Network.
Paper logs have become synchronized databases.
Manual antenna switching has become automated matrices.
Propagation prediction can now be integrated directly into station software.
But the underlying principle is remarkably similar.
A station engineered as a system
The most important lesson of W2PV was not simply that bigger antennas produce stronger signals.
Lawson demonstrated something more sophisticated.
A serious contest station has to work as one integrated system.
The question is not merely:
“Which antenna has the highest gain?”
The real question is:
“Which combination of antenna, height, direction, propagation, radio, amplifier, filter, operator and information will produce the greatest number of QSOs and multipliers at this particular moment?”
That is still one of the central questions of modern contest station design.
More than forty years later, the equipment is different.
The software is different.
The information arrives faster.
But the basic problem remains remarkably similar.
And that may be the most important legacy of Dr. James L. Lawson, W2PV.
W2PV
Schenectady, New York — CQWW CW 1981
10,431,729 points
#1 World Multi-Multi
But perhaps the most enduring achievement was something that cannot be expressed by a contest score:
W2PV helped demonstrate what a contest station could become when it was engineered as a complete system.
Sources
John Dorr, K1AR & Bill Myers, K1GQ, Station of the Month – W2PV, The Scuttlebutt, Yankee Clipper Contest Club, September 1982.
Matt Power, KA1R & Doug Grant, K1DG, To Win the World from Schenectady – 25th Anniversary of the Last W2PV Contest Operation.
CQ Magazine, 1981 CQ World-Wide DX Contest – CW Results, October 1982.
James L. Lawson, W2PV, Yagi antenna series, Ham Radio Magazine, 1979–1980.
James L. Lawson, W2PV, Yagi Antenna Design, American Radio Relay League, 1986.
CQ Contest Hall of Fame, historical inductee records.