Posts Tagged ‘Contesting’
New Year’s Day 2015
January 2nd, 2015 | 
Author: I participated in the QRP ARCI New Year's Day Sprint as planned, but was disappointed in the lack of activity. I guess everyone was sleeping off a night of merry-making and partying. In the 2 & 1/2 hours that I was on the air, I made only over just a dozen QRP ARCI contacts. It's a good thing that it's SKN, as the bands were busy and I was able to fill in with a couple rag chews in between to keep me from falling asleep at the key.
15 Meters seemed to be the good band for the Sprint. It was less noisy than 20 Meters, and it seemed that it was there that I was hearing the most activity. Towards the end of the Sprint, 40 Meters perked up with some local QRP activity.
After dinner, I came down to participate in a little more SKN, garnering a few rag chews using my refurbished Vibroplex Original.
I was pleasantly surprised that for not having used it in a while, that my fist wasn't all that bad! I cleaned the contacts by rubbing them using a spare QSL card and re-adjusted the spacing and tension. Pretty soon I was sounding almost as good as my keyer and paddles. Notice I said almost, not quite as good as that but not horrid, either. I guess using a bug is like riding a bicycle - once you become comfortable at it, you never forget how.
I finished up the evening by tuning across 30 Meters to hear 1A0C from the Sovereign Order of Malta (Thanks for the clarification, Karl DK5LP) running a pileup. It was a pretty good pileup but he was quite strong - about 579 and getting stronger. I stayed with him for about a 1/2 hour, trying with 5 Watts. As this is a special one for me, I ended up turning up the juice to 85 Watts and nabbed him on my third attempt after that. The DXpedition is there for about five more days, so I will try again over the weekend using QRP - if I hear them.
The Sovereign Order of Malta is a charitable arm of the Catholic Church. They have been in existence since around 1050 and are dedicated to helping the sick and poor throughout the world. Recently, Raymond Cardinal Burke was named patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a man whom I admire greatly. It was a special treat to have worked them.
So Amateur Radio-wise, 2015 is off to a flying start. I hope it keeps going that way all year long! Let's see if I can work both Foxes in the 80 Meter Fox hunt tonight. ( I did. Yay! )
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Start off the New Year with a QRP Sprint
2015 QRP-ARCI NEW YEAR’S SPRINT
A) Date/Time: 1500Z to 1800Z on 1 January 2015.
B) Mode: HF CW only.
C) Exchange: Members send: RST, State/Province/Country, ARCI member number Non-Members send: RST, State/Province/Country, Power Out
D) QSO Points: Member = 5 points Non-Member, Different Continent = 4 points Non-Member, Same Continent = 2 points
E) Multiplier: SPC (State/Province/Country) total for all bands. The same station may be worked on multiple bands for QSO points and SPC credit.
F) Power Multiplier: >5 Watts = x1 >1 - 5 Watts = x7 >500 mW - 1 Watt = x10 >200 mW - 500 mW = x15 >55 mW - 200 mW = x20 <55 mW = x25
G) Suggested Frequencies:
160m 1810 kHz
80m 3560 kHz
40m 7030 kHz (please listen at 7040 kHz for rock bound participants)
20m 14060 kHz
15m 21060 kHz
10m 28060 kHz
H) Score: Final Score = Points (total for all bands) x SPCs (total for all bands) x Power Multiplier + Bonus Points
Bonus Points: If you are operating PORTABLE using battery power AND a temporary antenna, add 5000 points to your final score. (You can NOT be at your shack operating from battery power using your home station antenna to qualify for this bonus.) This is to help level the playing field for contesters who work from the field against contest stations with 5 element yagis at 70 ft.
I) Categories: Band: Entry may be All-Band (AB), Single Band (e.g., SB-160, 80,40,20,15 or 10), High Bands (HB); 10m, 15m and 20m) or Low Bands (LB); 40m, 80m and 160m Antennas: Entry may be A1 or A2 A1: Single Element Antenna If you are using a single element antenna such as a dipole, inverted V, loop, or a vertical you can enter the A1 category. ( Note that with a vertical you can have as many radials as you want but only one “vertical” element. ) A2: Multiple Element Antenna If you are using a multi element beam, vertical array, or any antenna that has more than one driven element or uses reflective or directive elements you are in the A2 category.
J)How to Participate: Get on any of the HF bands except the WARC bands and hang out near the QRP frequencies. Work as many stations calling CQ QRP or CQ TEST as possible, or call CQ QRP or CQ TEST yourself! You can work a station for credit once on each band.
K) Email Log Submission: Submit Logs in plain text format along with a summary stating your Call Sign, Entry Category, total # of QSOs with members, total # of QSOs with non-members on different continent, total # of QSOs with non-members same continent, total # of SPCs worked, Actual Power and Station Description, along with score calculation to [email protected]
L) Snail mail Log Submission: Submit Logs in plain text format along with a summary stating your Call Sign, Entry Category, total # of QSOs with members, total # of QSOs with non-members on different continent, total # of QSOs with non-members same continent, total # of SPCs worked, Actual Power and Station Description, along with score calculation to:
ARCI NEW YEARS SPRINT
C/O Jeff Hetherington
139 Elizabeth St. W.
Welland, Ontario
Canada L3C 4M3
Deadline: Entries must be postmarked on or before 8 January, 2015.
M) Results: Will be published in QRP Quarterly and shown on the QRP-ARCI website.
N) Certificates: Will be awarded to the top scoring entrant in each category. Certificates may be awarded for 2nd and 3rd place if entries are sufficient in a category.
Thanks, Jeff!
An idea of my own - maybe participate in this sprint with a straight key? A little SKN and QRP to boot? Just a thought!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
FISTS / SKCC Joint Sprint this Saturday
Looks like I'll have to get some bug practice in before the weekend. This is going to be a toughie, though - a Saturday afternoon before Christmas. I definitely won't be able to put in a full four hours, but I am a member of both organizations and I do need to start working on my SKCC Tribune award. I've been treading water as a Centurion for years now.
Skeeter Hunt Certificates
If you earned a certificate, it has been noted on the Scoreboard spreadsheet, in the "Notes" column:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmnlTAnQST7FgsEnsItHaT_ZO0e8yZpzLqxcsyGRkY/edit#gid=1768430587
Thanks for your patience, and I apologize profusely for the delay - but hey, like John Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
Look for the Skeeter Hunt to be making an appearance on Facebook in the near future! Oh ..... and there will be at least one change in the rules for next year. Look for that announcement in the Spring of 2015. (Hey, I gotta give you something to look forward to!)
BTW, I want to take an opportunity to mention something about the "QRP - When you care to send the very least!" and the "Skeeter Hunt" items that I offer through Cafe Press. There's no big markup there - each item is offered at $1 above Cafe Press cost. The proceeds (which ain't much - believe me!) go towards the purchase of ink, paper, envelopes and postage for the Skeeter Hunt certificates. Next year, I am hoping to offer plaques to the top three finishers.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Zombie Shuffle Recap – 2014
2014 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt
First off, I don’t know who was hunting who. I thought I was hunting Skeeters, but I think they had other ideas – and I was the hunted:
And that was nothing compared to my legs! I didn’t think the little buggers would be so active during the day, so I didn’t bring my OFF wipes with me. I’ll remember this for next year!
I set up in my favorite park here in South Plainfield – Cotton Street Park. There are plenty of 50 – 60 foot trees which just beg to have wire strung through them. It’s a quiet park and there’s not the overwhelming amount of traffic that Spring Lake Park (our Field Day site) gets. There were people walking through and playing, but no one came over to investigate what I was doing. I guess I’ve become a fixture – “Hey, it’s that crazy guy with the radio again!”
Off to the right, you can see the coax going up , up , up. Here’s a better shot:
Today, I ended up using the PAR END FEDZ. I stayed on 20 and 40 Meters only, so it turned out to be the ideal antenna for the event. The antenna launcher worked flawlessly again, and I would dare say that the end of the wire was up at the 60-65 foot level. I don’t know if it was just me, but there was bad QSB and it seemed like one second, a station would be 599 and ESP the next second. As far as stations worked per band, I ended up with almost a 50/50 split between 20 and 40 Meters. I listened briefly on 15 Meters, but it seemed like it was dead.
The equipment was the usual, but you might take notice of the new paddles. That’s a set of Pico Palm paddles that I recently bought from Rick K7MW. The magnets hold the paddles securely to the Velamints tin that I use to store my earbuds. They worked flawlessly! If there were any CW mistakes (and there were) it was my fault, not the paddles. They feel and work just as nicely as any full sized set of paddles.
I ended up working 41 different stations. 35 Skeeters, 6 Non- Skeeters, no DX, 19 different S/P/Cs, and I did work enough stations to spell out “SKEETER” for the 100 point bonus. I ended up with 5,876 points. The loudest stations I heard were K3LRR, KX9X, N0SS and WA0ITP. I worked my bud, Bob W3BBO and he was about 569. Later in the day, I heard him again on the same band, this time working WB3T. Bob’s signal had increased to an honest 589/599. Tha bands seemed a little crazy today.
I’d like to thank not only the stations I worked, but ALL of you who participated. This is so much fun for me – not only the event itself, but the planning and the corresponding back and forth with all of you. You guys really make this event worthwhile. My mailbox is already filling up with log summaries and I will work on those during the coming evenings.
There WILL be a Skeeter Hunt in 2015! Hey, what better way is there to spend a beautiful Summer day than by being outside with your radio, making contacts with all your friends?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
FOBB 2014
I ended up staying home, working from the shack and forgoing my bumblebee number. The weather was partly a factor as one minute it was sunny and five minutes later it looked like it was going to downpour.
The real issue was my back. I woke up this morning with a stiff lower back. Nothing incapacitating, but sore enough that hiking to my FOBB destination while carrying all my gear, and then setting up would have been no fun. Added to that was the fact that my sore back has also slowed me down somewhat, so if I would have had to dismantle the station in a hurry, it would have been a problem.
Even from home, on the good antennas, band conditions seemed to stink. I didn’t hear a lot of FOBB’ers, and those I did hear were pretty weak. Giving out a 559 was generous today. I managed to work 15 stations.
I sure hope band and weather conditions and my back are better for the Skeeter Hunt!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
