The weekend of October 11th and 12th

I did not post the weekend events for last week. Marianne and I went down the Jersey shore to celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary.  Yet again, I had the chance to sit for a bit and train my gaze upon the Atlantic Ocean and marvel about how our RF energy travels that great distance.

It was a beautiful day, not only was it our Annicversary, but also the weather was prefect at Asbury Park.

Unfortunately, it's looking like the weather is not going to hold true for this weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, but Sunday into Tuesday we're staring down the gullet of a major Nor'Easter. Who knows? Rain totals anywhere between 2 and 5 inches, but more importantly we may see some pretty high wind gusts. The antennas have been through it before, I think they'll be okay again, but that worry is always on the mind of a Ham Radio Operator

Anyway, here's what to expect to be heard on the CW HF bands this weekend:

Contests:

QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party - http://qrparci.org/contest/fall-qso-party

Arizona QSO Party - https://www.azqp.org/

Nevada QSO Party - http://nvqso.com/contest-rules/

Oceania DX Contest, CW - https://www.oceaniadxcontest.com/

Pennsylvania QSO Party - http://paqso.org/pa-qso-party-rules.html

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/

South Dakota QSO Party - http://www.sdqsoparty.com/

4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf

And for those who like to hunt Special Event Stations:

10/10/2025 | PCARS 60th Annual Ham fest

Oct 10-Oct 11, 0915Z-0914Z, W4MLB/60, Melbourne, FL. Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society. 14.245 14.265 14.325. QSL. W4MLB, P.O Box 1004, Melbourne, FL 32902-1004. This is the 60th annual PCARS Ham fest special Event station. Too late for October QST https://pcars.org/wp/#

10/11/2025 | 234th Anniversary of Columbus Day

Oct 11-Oct 13, 0000Z-2359Z, NJ2KC, Bridgeton, NJ. New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club. 7.234 14.234 21.234 29.234. Certificate & QSL. NJ2KC C/O Thomas M. Perrotti, 785 Vineland Ave, Bridgeton, NJ 08302-4822. NJ2KC.org

10/11/2025 | 4th Annual Scratching Post QSL Party in the Lucedale City Park

Oct 11, 0300Z-1300Z, K5K, Lucedale, MS. George County ARES-Lucedale, Mississippi. 7.074 7.265 14.325 28.390. QSL. Brent Albrecht, 2088 Will Pet Rd., Lucedale, MS 39452. see website for instructions gcmsares.org

10/11/2025 | Collins Radio 92nd Anniversary

Oct 11, 1400Z-1700Z, W0CXX, Cedar Rapids, IA. Collins Amateur Radio Club. 14.263 MHz. QSL. Brice AntonJensen, 1110 Lyndhurst Dr, Hiawatha, IA 52233. www.qrz.com/db/W0CXX

10/11/2025 | Ike Eisenhower's Birthday

Oct 11, 1330Z-2100Z, K3S, Port of Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah Amateur Radio Club. 7,14,18,21,28. QSL. Ulis Fleming, 980 Patuxent Rd, Odenton, MD 21113. Check spotting networks for frequency. See QRZ.com info for Savannah Award

10/11/2025 | US Navy Birthday

Oct 11, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 14.320 7.250 14.070 PSK31 DSTAR on Papa System Repeaters. QSL. USS Midway Museum Ship COMEDTRA, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. www.qrz.com/db/ni6iw

Have a great weekend!

72 de Larry W2LJL

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party this weekend.

The Skeeters have been hunted, and the Bumblebees have buzzed TWICE! The Zombies won't Shuffle for another couple of Fridays. So what do you do to keep your QRP muscles in shape? You participate in the QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party, of course - this coming Saturday (don't forget - Saturday UTC is Friday evening!) In fact, it's ALWAYS held on the second Saturday of October.  

Image courtesy of Gemini

Here's "the particulars".

Date/Time: 0000Z to 2359Z on 11 October

Mode:  HF CW only.

Exchange: 

Members send:  RST, State/Province/Country, ARCI member number

Non-Members send:  RST, State/Province/Country, Power Out

QSO Points:

Member = 5 points

Non-Member, Different Continent = 4 points

Non-Member, Same Continent = 2 points

Multiplier:

SPC (State/Province/Country) total for all bands.  The same station may be worked on multiple bands for QSO points and SPC credit.

Power Multiplier:

>5 Watts = x1

>1 - 5 Watts = x7

>250 mW - 1 Watt = x10

>55 mW - 250 mW = x15

55 mW or less = x20

Suggested Frequencies:

160m1810 kHz

80m3560 kHz

40m7030 kHz (please listen at 7040 kHz for rock bound participants)

20m14060 kHz

15m 21060 kHz

10m28060 kHz

Score:

Final Score = Points (total for all bands) x SPCs (total for all bands) x Power Multiplier.

BONUS POINTS: None available for this contest.

Categories:

Entry may be All-Band, Single Band, High Bands (10m-15m-20m) or Low Bands (40m-80m)

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. You can work a station for credit once on each band.

Log Submission:

Submit your entry online at https://www.qrpcontest.com

Deadline for posting logs will be Nov 1 

As that old venerable and  time tested saying goes - "A day making QRP Contacts is better than a sharp stick in the eye OR raking leaves!" So if you 're into contesting, please join us - and even if you're not, fatten up your log book and hand out some points - who knows, you might just have more fun than you thought possible!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP -When you care to send the very least