Happy 250th, USA!

 

 

Today we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our request for Independence.  May the idea that all men are created equal with the God given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness thrive for another 250 years.

Both the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt and the Flight of the Bumblebees are doing well with sign ups. Each event has over 100 QRPers signed up. Please keep in mind that these are separate events and you must sign up for each, individually. Signing up for one, does not get you entered for Both.

Having so many Hams signed up is a hopeful indicator as to the health of these two events. QRP Afield and QRP To The Field have gone the way of the Dodo. The QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint only had 9scores reported this year.

It seems thar between POTA and the K1USN Sprint held each Sunday evening,, QRP Sprints are becoming an endangered species.Going out and operating portableIis not as special as it used to be,

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRPTTF a bust?

 Until Paul NA5N starts posting some claimed scores it will be difficult to definitively  gauge participation in QRPTTF 2026. However, if chatter on the QRP reflectors is any indication ..... not so great.

I've seen e-mails which seemed to imply that there were very few stations calling CQ QRP or CQ TTF.  Most stations worked seemed to be either POTA or Florida QSO Party participanrs 

This is kind of troubling as QRPTTF has always been a cornerstone QRP event. I don't know why participation seems to be dropping off. Possibilities might include that there are fewer CW operators around than there used to be, or perhaps the QRP Community is getting older and less likely to take to the field. There's also the possibility that FT8 has grown so popular as to become the preferred mode of choice now. As a rule, FT8 and other digital modes are prohibited in the QRP Sprints.

Which brings to mind another matter. Jody K3JZD has announced that photos and comments from FOBB 2025 have been posted to https://ars-qrp.com/ for your viewing pleasure.

Jody also announced that signups for FOBB 2026 will begin on June 21st.. As that's the First Day of Summer, it's also the date that signups for the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt commence. Just a friendly reminder that you'll have to sign up for both, individually. Signing up for FOBB does NOT automatically sign you up for the Skeeter Hunt and visa-versa.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRPTTF Today

 Sorry for the late notice. QRP To The Field is today, Saturday Aptil 25th. All thr rules can be found at zianer.com/qrp/qrp/qrpttf/himzianer.com/qrp/qrp/qrpttf/him.

I will not be heading out to the field for various reasons, some of which I will go into a bit later. The forecast for my QTH is rain all day.

You may have noticed that a while ago, I removed my retirement countdown clock. I had originally planned for my last day to be this coming Friday. I bumped that up to February 1st. I'd had enough and called it quits a tad early. They say that when you retire, you get your chance to travel. For me, it was a trip to the hospital five days later on February  5th.

I woke up that morning with really bad stomach cramps. I thought it was a case of food poisoning, as I've gone through that twice before, when I was much younger. The cramping got so intense that I dialed 911. I was taken to the emergency room and underwent a CAT scan. Turns out that an 18.5 inch section of my lower intestine got knotted up and had to be removed via emergency surgery.

I spent February in the hospital between recovery, physical therapy and some time spent while they had to put my A-fib under control. I am home now, but am depending on using a walker to get around. That means no going down to the basement for now to get to the main shack. I'll be using the KX3 and the AX-1 antenna or the Alex Loop from the main floor for now.

In addition, my 80 - 10 EFRW came down during one of our two snowstorms this past winter. I will need help replacing that once I start getting around better.

While 2026 has been a rough go so far, things could be a lot worse. It's going to take some time to get back to "normal" and I'll deal with each day as it comes.

This is what happens when you don't shave for a month. I've decided to keep it for now .... my badge of honor.

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!