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

Evolution

 A brief history of the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt - I've told this before, but it bears repeating.

The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt came about in 2012, when it seriously looked to me like the Flight of the Bumblebees might be in peril. For several years prior, Rich Fisher KI6SN had volunteer Hams, myself included, in charge of handing out Bee Numbers. I had done it for two years, 2010 and 2011.

Come the late Spring of 2012 and there were no announcements being made about an upcoming FOBB. I had sent numerous emails to Rich asking if he wanted me to continue with the number issuing chore, but got no response. At that point, I guess I panicked a bit thinking FOBB was going by the wayside. It was and still remains my favorite QRP event of the year, and the thought of losing it was unbearable.

What the heck to do? As I said, FOBB, or something like it, not occurring during the Summer months was unthinkable to me. That's when I decided to contact George N2APB and Joe N2CX, the brain trust of NJQRP if they would put the club's name behind an idea that I had. I told them the why, when, what and how and they were agreeable. The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt became a thing in 2012.

In the meantime, Rich DID make announcements about continuing FOBB. This made me very happy , but it also gave me a bit of anxiety. Would Hams think of the Skeeter Hunt as competition? Was the Skeeter Hunt trying to dethrone FOBB as THE "Classic QRP Summer Event"? Of course the answer was and always will be an  emphatic "NO!"

In all the years that the Skeeter Hunt has occurred, I still heavily promoted FOBB here on this blog and in my e-mails to Skeeters. I have and still do remind them to sign up for FOBB while they are signing up for the Skeeter Hunt. The two events are similar, but not equal in structure. But both are definitely fun and that's what this is supposed to be all about., and ......... the more the merrier!

Last year, or the year before (my memory fails me) Rich stepped away from managing FOBB due to health concerns  Jody K3JZD stepped up to the plate to take over the reins and has been doing a simply outstanding job! FOBB is thriving under his watch. And in addition, we have been promoting each other. He promotes the Skeeter Hunt in his announcements and I continue and will always continue to promote FOBB in any way that I can. It's all about the fun - nothing more, nothing less.

In my minds (which is a scary place to be)  the QRP year revolves around:

1: FYBO - Freeze Your Buns Off

2) QRPTTF - QRP To The Field

3) FOBB - The Flight of the Bumblebees

4) The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt

5) QRP Afield

6) The Peanut Power Sprint

Sprinkled in between by the QRP-ARCI operating events, the Sasquatch Stomp and the Zombie Shuffle.

May each one thrive and be successful for many years to come!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Some needed promo?

There's a QRP Sprint tomorrow, March 28th, that hasn't gotten a lot of press, so I am going to highlight it here. The Pacific Northwest QRP Group is holding its annual Sasquatch Stomp tomorrow. This sprint is modeled after Paul NA5N's Zombie Shuffle, so if you've participated in that, you should be very comfortable here. You should also know that a bunch of fun is in store for you if you do participate.

The full details can be found here: https://www.pnwqrp.org/sasquatch-stomp, but here are some of the more important ones.

Time: From 19:00 UTC Friday until 03:00 UTC Saturday For those on the West Coast, that translates to 12:00 Noon local to 8:00 PM local. On the East Coast that translates to 3:00 PM local until 11:00 PM local time.

Exchange: RST, SPC (state, province, or country), Sasquatch Number and Name. If you don't yet have a Sasquatch Number, use the last three numbers of your ZIP Code, or, if you are Canadian, the numbers included in your Postal Code. This event is open to all licensed Radio Amateurs. 

Call : CQ STMP

There are more nuances to this sprint that you can read about in the rules.

72 de Larry W2LJ - Sasquatch # 910

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hootowl Sprint

I got on the air last night for the Hootowl Sprint. Activity was not the busiest, but that was probably because the CQ WW PX contest was dominating the bands, especially 20 Meters, I called "CQ QRP" there for a while with no joy. I did hear Mark WB9HFK calling CQ with a FB 599 signal and worked him.

40 Meters afforded me an unoccupied frequency on which to call CQ and I worked another four stations. Not the greatest total, but at least I was on the air. After the fact, I looked up my call sign on the Reverse Beacon Network and this was where I was being heard:

20 Meters was taking me into Europe and 40 Meters was getting me down into the Cayman Islands.

The antenna for the night was my W3EDP. I don't think I've really talked much about how it's set up. My backyard measures only about 50 X 50 feet. Not a lot of real estate back there so I had to get creative. This is how it's laid out:

It's anchored on the side of the house near a second floor window:

The coax runs from the balun down to the window that's on the shack side of the shack side of the basement. From the anchor point, the wire runs out to a mast that I have hose clamped to the chain link fence on the edge of our property.

The wire used to go out to "Ol' Mapely", but the tree which straddled our properties got infested with carpenter ants and became a real cause for concern that given a powerful Nor'Easter or Sandy type hurricane, it could fall on either ours or our neighbor's house, so we had to take it down. We came to that decision after having an arborist come by, who only confirmed our fears. Darn! Trees are an Amateur Radio Op's best friends!

From the "center mast", the wire pivots as per the aerial view and goes to another mast at the far right hand corner of the backyard where it terminates. The masts are military surplus fiberglass.

This photo doesn't show much which indicates that except for that middle mast, which is hose clamped to the fence, the antenna itself is pretty darn stealthy. That really isn't necessary, as at QRP levels, i never get any complaints from the neighbors and I'm not in an HOA situation. 

I would guesstimate that my W3EDP is my weapon of choice probably 75 - 80 percent of the time. It's longer than a classic W3EDP which is about 84 feet long. I had one of those and took it down and replaced it as the wire terminated about half way between the middle mast and the far mast. I constructed this one with about another 25 feet of wire so that it ends just a few inches from the end mast. Even with the additional wire, the KX3's autotuner matches to it quite easily and without any fits. It loads on all bands from 160 Meters to 6 Meters without any difficulty. If you don't have a lot of back yard space, maybe my layout (or something similar) can work for you. Is my solution an ideal solution? Not a chance in a million - but it works and I make contacts with it. So as they say, any antenna is better than no antenna.

On another note, I read where beginning with New Jersey's 2025 fiscal year, which starts on July 1st, that it will cost to get into certain NJ State Parks. This may be a concern for NJ POTA activators. There are several guys who check into the nightly Middlesex County Chat Group Net who often relate their experiences of repeatedly activating Cheesequake State Park and the Spruce Run Resevoir. Starting July1st, it's going to run $5 each time they want to enter those two parks or several other very popular NJ State Parks. The state will offer an opportunity to purchase a 1 year pass for $50. Luckily, the two parks I like to activate - Washington Rock State Park and the Edison Memorial Tower will remain admission free.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hamvention Weekend

Even though the big shebang is taking place in Xenia this weekend, there will still be happenings on the bands this weekend:

Contests:

NZART Sangster Shield Contest - https://www.nzart.org.nz/activities/contests/sangster-shield

His Maj. King of Spain Contest, CW - https://concursos.ure.es/en/s-m-el-rey-de-espana-cw/bases/

Arkansas QSO Party - http://www.arkqp.com/

Baltic Contest - http://www.lrsf.lt/en/

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest/W8DIZ Memorial Sprint - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

Special Events:

05/04/2024 | NJ Knights of Columbus 128th State Convention

May 4-May 18, 0000Z-2359Z, K0C, Brick, NJ. NJKCARC (N2AJO). 7.225 14.240 21.350 28.340. Certificate & QSL. Art Olson, 339 18th Ave, Brick, NJ 08724. For domestic contacts: QSL card, send SASE; for QSL card and certificate, send two dollars. For DX contacts: QSL card, send two dollars; for QSL card and certificate, send five dollars. For more information, visit K0C on QRZ.com or Email: olson339@comcast.net www.qrz.com/db/K0C

05/12/2024 | National Police Week - To Honor Our Fallen Heros

May 12-May 18, 0001Z-2359Z, K3FBI/0-9, Fredericksburg, VA. FBI Amateur Radio Association. 14.275 7.060. Certificate. Jay Chamberlain - NS4J, 27 Fox Run Ln, Fredericksburg, VA 22405-3303. To honor all Law Enforcement members who have died in the line of duty. All bands and all modes. Multiple stations from around the U.S. Downloadable PDF certificate by the end of June at QRZ, https://www.qrz.com/db/K3FBI k3fbi@arrl.net

05/12/2024 | Police Services Week

May 12-May 18, 0000Z-0000Z, N4P, Gainesville, FL. W. Travis Loften High School Amateur Radio Club - K4WTL. 14.335. Certificate. Robert Lightner, 3435 NW 34th Terrace, Gainesville, FL 32605. www.qrz.com/db/k4wtl

05/18/2024 | National Maritime Day

May 18, 1300Z-2100Z, K3S, Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah ARC. 7.1 14.1 21.1 28.1. QSL. K3LU, 980 PATUXENT ROAD, Odenton, MD 21113. Single transmitter SSB and CW aboard N/S Savannah. Please check spotting networks for frequencies. Info on QRZ.com www.qrz.com/db/k3s

05/18/2024 | South Orange Amateur Radio Assoc., 50th Anniversary

May 18-May 19, 1700Z-0100Z, K6SOA, Mission Viejo, CA. South Orange Amateur Radio Assoc.-SOARA. 28.375 21.350 14.250 7.200. QSL. SOARA Special Event, P.O. Box 2545, Mission Viejo, CA 92690. To receive the QSL, send a SASE, or accept eQSL. soara.org

05/18/2024 | W6SFM Bug Roundup

May 18-May 20, 0000Z-0000Z, W6SFM, Fair Oaks, CA. Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club. 3.533 7.033 14.033 28.033. QSL. Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club, 4901 Minnesota Avenue, Fair Oaks, CA 95628. https://w6sfm.org/bug-roundup

05/19/2024 | National EMS Week

May 19-May 25, 0000Z-0000Z, N4E, Gainesville, FL. W.T. Loften High School Amateur Radio Club. 14.335. QSL. W.T. Loften High School ARC, 3000 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32641. www.qrz.com/db/k4wtl

On a humorous note - I came across this video during one of my meanderings across the vast prairies of YouTube:

For a humorous parody type of video - I think it was produced quite well. And make sure to watch it to the very end! And while this video is meant to be taken as humorous satire, I personally know of two instances where this happened in real life. These persons got interested in Amateur Radio, got licensed and got into DX hunting quite heavily. They had the means to be able to afford deluxe stations and very credible antenna farms. Once they earned DXCC Honor Roll, they both basically said "What's left?" and sold all their equipment and allowed their licenses to lapse. What a shame!

Today marks the last "in house production day" at MFJ - interesting that they chose the first day of Hamvention for that. And speaking of Hamvention, I along with the rest of you, wonder what new goodies will be introduced this year - not that I'll be able to afford any of them!

Have a great weekend!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least1

Busy, busy, busy weekend!

And not all that much radio to show for it - oy!

Although I did get on Friday night for a couple hours after dinner to partake of the QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party, which ran from 8:00 PM to Midnight, my local time. There was a decent amount of activity, which was really, really nice to see/hear. I worked 17 stations - all QRP ARCI members. I mainly searched and pounced, but I did call CQ on 20 and 40 Meters, not so much to run a frequency, but to get an idea via the Reverse Beacon Network in order to see where I was being heard.

From the results tally so far, I'm sitting in the bottom third of the pack, which I half as much expected. If I had put in the full four hours, instead of just under two, I probably would have worked a lot more stations. When I decided to pull the plug stations from the West Coast started coming in on 20 Meters and I worked two from Washington state. I was beat because Friday afternoon was an experience in and of itself.

Recently, Marianne and I decided to drop Verizon FiOS TV from our Verizon package. Neither of us watch TV all that much, and pretty much everything we want to watch, we can catch on our Roku device - pretty much everything, expect for local channels. I'll be looking into getting an indoor HDTV antenna as the only thing I don't want to miss is "Jeopardy" and NYC is only about 25 miles away as the crow flies, so I should be able to get WABC TV rather easily. Dropping the TV portion of the bill reduced it .......... dramatically.

However,  when you drop the TV package, Verizon has to come in and install a new router, as that's how the TV portion is transmitted. When I called to make the service appointment, they noted that my internet connection was ancient, and they upgraded that and provided a new router free of charge.  The upgrade in internet speed is quite noticeable Not so much on my phone or laptop, but the data to my Hamclock set up in the basement shack is much faster and I get a lot less fewer drop outs/error messages..

The pain in the posterior aspect of all of this is that re-setting devices for the new SSID and password is akin to going around the house and re-setting clocks for the time change! I didn't have to deal with Cara or Joseph's devices as they're young and computer savvy, and I didn't have any trouble reconfiguring the laptop in the computer room, or Marianne's and my phones and tablets.

The "fun" part came when reconfiguring our Ring doorbell and chime. The instructions they give you on line are there all right, and complete - but they're not the easiest to locate. It's almost like operating the menus on an HF radio where there are multiple sublayers. I finally figured that out and got those working again. Reconfiguring the Rokus was quite easy, because as soon as the Roku couldn't detect the internet via the old SSID, it took you directly to where you had to reconfigure for the new one.

The real pain in the butt one was/is the weather station. I have an Ambient WS-2902. I managed to dig out the instruction manual to refamiliarize myself with the procedure for setting up the wifi connection. it's actually quite simple as you go to the Ambient Tool on your phone and go from there. And that's where things got interesting. My weather station has been out there and running since ........ it was either 2016 or 2017 when Marianne bought it for me as a Christmas gift. The current version of this model weather station is the WS-2902D. The Ambient Tool has gone away and has been replaced by the AWN app.

Not a problem, right? Just go to Google Play, download the new app and reconfigure the wifi, right? That's what you would think, but it turned out to be much more than that. I followed the instructions, which told me to press the "wind" and "pressure" buttons on the console until a little wifi icon popped up in the temperature indicator square. I tried that several times with no result. So I thought maybe I have to unplug the console from its AC adapter, wait a minute and try again. I did that - no wifi icon.

As they say, Google is your friend and I searched on "Reconfiguring wifi for WS-2902". What I found was that the AWN app will NOT work with the original WS-2902 and the old Ambient Tool is no longer available. I had changed phones since I originally installed the weather station, so the old app was not carried over to my current phone. The solution is that I had to purchase a new WS-2902D console. It will work with the sensor package, as that hasn't changed (except that I can now add some fancy new things, like soil moisture detectors and lightning detectors, which I chose not to do). It should be here within the week, and in the meantime the weather station is still working, it's just not reporting to WeatherUnderground and the Ambient Weather Station network for now.

Saturday was our monthly VE Exam session and we had two candidates, with one coming all the way from East Stroudsburg, PA. One got his Technician ticket and our East Stroudsbuger, Jeremy KB3OPJ upgraded to Amateur Extra.  After the exam session, I headed over to a clothing drive for HCT Technologies, the company that finances SPARC, to help with accepting bags of used clothes.

Sunday morning it was back to the clothing drive for a while and then into Plainfield to help out with our parish's Second Sunday Soup kitchen. I did manage to check into the St. Max Net on 80 Meters at 0000 UTC, but the QRN was horrific! The net usually lasts for a half hour to 45 minutes. It was over by 00:15 UTC last night.

Tonight, SPARC members who are also CERT members are going to show up at the monthly Boro Council Meeting. One of the Office of Emergency Management deputies is being promoted from sergeant to lieutenant and we want to congratulate him and show him our support.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least! 

April 12th

If you're a "Space Race Kid" like I am, April 12th holds significant meaning. It was on this day in 1961, that Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Vostok 1 to become the first human being to orbit the Earth.

Exactly 20 years later, on April 12th, 1981,  Astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen were launched into space aboard STS-1, the first manned flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. April 12th is now known as the "international Day of Human Space Flight". A little bit of trivia - John Young had flown on Gemini, Apollo (piloting each the Command and Lunar Modules) and the Shuttle - he holds the record for an American Astronaut flying the most different variety of spacecraft.

How far manned spaceflight evolved in 20 years! 

On to the goings on for the weekend, and as always, we'll start with contests. Lots going on:

QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party - http://qrparci.org/contest/spring-qso-party

JIDX CW Contest - http://www.jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html

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

New Mexico QSO Party - http://www.newmexicoqsoparty.org/

Georgia QSO Party - https://gaqsoparty.com/

Hungarian Straight Key Contest - https://hskc.ha8kux.com/

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

North Dakota QSO Party - https://ndarrlsection.com/2024/2024_ND_QSO_Party_Rule.pdf

New Mexico and North Dakota QSO Parties this weekend! These are two "rarer" states for those of you who are working towards Worked All States (of whatever flavor you might be working on - Basic, QRP, CW, etc.)

Special Event Stations:

04/09/2024 | Sun N Fun Aerospace Expo

Apr 9-Apr 13, 0300Z-1200Z, W4S, Lakeland, FL. Sun N Fun Fly In Inc. 146.685 (127.3) 14.225 7.250. QSL. Geoff Schuck, PO Box 90853, Lakeland, FL 33804. Frequencies will be spotted throughout the day on DX Summit. QSL cards are sent to all HF Contacts.

04/12/2024 | Halifax Resolves Special Event Station

Apr 12-Apr 13, 0000Z-2100Z, N4C, Halifax, NC. N4WFU. 7.180 14.250 21.325 28.350. Certificate & QSL. Barry Evans/N4C, P.O. Box 1533 , Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870. If requested, a certificate and QSL card will be provided to Ham operators around the world that make contact with this special event station; can also request a "QSL" card confirming the contact. Please sent a self addressed stamped envelope to: N4C P O Box 1533 Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 Commemorating the signing of the Halifax Resolves April 12, 1776. Halifax Resolves was the first written instrument, in existence leading to our independence from England. The resolves were unanimously approved at the Fourth Provincial Congress gathered in Halifax, NC. It authorized the NC delegates, being sent to the Continental Congress, to vote for, and encourage other colony's delegates to the support independence.

04/12/2024 | National Library Week 2024

Apr 12-Apr 13, 1600Z-2100Z, K8L, Youngstown, OH. WF8U and KC3GFU. 14.074 7.074. QSL. K8L, 239 Elvira Ct., McDonald, OH 44437. Help us celebrate National Library Week 2024. We will be operating on both SSB & FT8, 20m and 40m. Send us a QSL to be displayed in our local libraries and share the magic of amateur radio! In return you will receive a SES QSL card with this year's theme. Please send QSL to: K8L, 239 Elvira Ct., McDonald, OH 44437. Find more information on QRZ or email kd8ely@gmail.com. www.qrz.com/db/kd8ely

04/13/2024 | Commemorating USS Midway conducting first airship ops on CV (7APR49)

Apr 13, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 7.250 14.320; 140.070 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

04/13/2024 | Venice Shark's Tooth Festival

Apr 13-Apr 14, 1500Z-2000Z, K4S, Nokomis, FL. Tamiami ARC. 14.320 SSB. QSL. Tamiami ARC, PO Box 976, Nokomis, FL 34274. Celebrating the area in Florida known as the "Shark's Tooth Capital of the World". All QSLs with SASE receive custom event QSL and a genuine, prehistoric shark's tooth memento of the contact. tamiamiarc.org

I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get on the air this weekend. Our monthly K2ETS VE Session is tomorrow morning. Then on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, Hadley Communication Technologies, a NJ 501 (c) (3) corporation that helps to fund SPARC events is conducting a clothing drive fundraiser and I have to devote some time to that. This Sunday is also our regular Soup Kitchen Sunday that I try to help at each month. I really hope to join in on the 4 States QRP Sprint on Sunday evening, if I'm not all played out by then.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP -When you care to send the very least!

New Year Weekend

Coming up this weekend:

Contests:

RAC Winter Contest - https://www.rac.ca/rac-canada-winter-contest-2023/

YOTA Contest - https://www.ham-yota.com/contest/

Stew Perry Topband Challenge - http://www.kkn.net/stew/

Original QRP Contest - http://www.qrpcc.de/contestrules/oqrpr.html

ARS Spartan Sprint - http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html

Special Events:

01/01/2023 | Plano Amateur Radio Klub 50th Anniversary Special Activation Jan 1-Dec 31, 0000Z-2359Z, K5PRK/50, Plano, TX. Plano Amateur Radio Klub . 14.160. QSL. Plano Amateur Radio Klub, Box 860435, Plano, TX 75086. Commemorating the klubs 50th Anniversary in 2023, klub members will be activating the klub callsign K5PRK with a /50 suffix, throughout the year. K5PRK.net

01/05/2023 | Vasteras Radio Klubb 80th Anniversary Jan 5-Dec 31, 0000Z-2359Z, 8S80AA, Vasteras, SWEDEN. Vasteras Radio Klubb. All bands, all modes; 2 - 160 meters. Certificate. . This is an operating event. www.sk5aa.se

01/01/2024 | Peace in the World - Jan 1-Jan 30, 0000Z-0000Z, VE2JCW, ST-JEROME, QC. VE2JCW. 14.030. QSL. Jean Charron, 17 rue ELISABETH, ST-JEROME, QC J7Z 2S9, CANADA. To bring a little peace in this upside down world...just a contact and a smile of satisfaction... jeancharron@hotmail.com

And don't forget SKN - Straight Key Night -  ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® Straight Key Night (SKN) is held on January 1, 2024, from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC. Many hams look forward to SKN as one of the highlights of their operating year. Operators participate using Morse code (CW). All you need is your favorite straight key or bug. Many participants dust off vintage radios and keys and put them back into service each year just for this event. SKN is not a contest, so there's no need for quick exchanges. However, all hand keys, regardless of age, are welcome. The number of contacts you make is not important. The reward is meeting new friends as you get together on the air. Send a list of stations contacted, SKN stories and photos, and your votes for Best Fist and Most Interesting QSO to straightkey@arrl.org by January 31, 2024. More information is available at www.arrl.org/straight-key-night

Every morning this week, I thought to myself, "When I get home tonight, I'm going to hook up the AX1 to my KX3 after dinner and see what I can hear."

HA! BIG HA! That last shot I got on December 18th, as the final part of my prostate cancer treatment has really kicked my butt big time! It must have been a double dose or something,  as it was all I could do to eat dinner, watch Jeopardy and then crawl into bed by 8:00 PM each night this week.

The plan is to finally get the AX1 hooked up this weekend and work a few stations. There's not too much going on this weekend other than my weekly grocery shopping trip, and I have to go to the local tire center as it appears that my back driver's side tire has a slow leak. We're not going anywhere or doing anything for New Year's Eve - so hopefully, I'll get a lot of rest in as well as some On The Air time.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Christmas weekend

 Santa Ham image of the day:

I think Santa likes boatanchors! Or is that a space heater? Tell me AI, which is it?  I asked for a boat anchor!

As you might expect - not too much going on this weekend.

Contests:

RAEM Contest - 0000Z-1159Z, Dec 24 - https://raem.srr.ru/rules/

CW QRS Xmas Activity: 0000Z, Dec 24 to 2359Z, Dec 31 - https://cwqrs.it/en/xmas-activity-2023-rules/

Olivia Digital Mode Winter 2023 QSO Party

Dec 24-Dec 31, 0000Z-2359Z, NW7US, Fayetteville, OH. Olivia Digital DXers Club. 28.1225 21.0725 14.0725 7.0725. Certificate. Tomas Hood, PO Box 110, Fayetteville, OH 45118. PDF Certificate for even one QSO in Olivia mode during QSO Party. Frequencies are listed on website. Celebrating 20 years of Olivia. OliviaDigitalMode.org

Special Events

Nada, zip zilch

The 80 Meter Fox Hunt went pretty much as I expected, last night. I was able to hear Drew K9CW in Illinois, quite weakly at first, but stronger and stronger as the evening progressed. I managed to get into his log at 0230 UTC, the 30 minute mark of the hunt.

I never heard Brian K0DTJ in California, and from his submitted log, he didn't hear much of anybody, either.  He reported working only three California Hounds. He had noise problems - severe static crashes due to an active thunderstorm cell in his part of the country. That will kill your ability to copy less than 599 signals, all right.

So I can report that not only was I not shut out this week, but my Batting Average for the week was .250. If I was a Major League Baseball player these days, that would be worth millions.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!-

Weekend doings

On the bands this coming weekend:

Contests: 

 Croatian CW Contest - https://www.hamradio.hr/9a-dx-contest/

ARRL Rookie Roundup, CW - http://www.arrl.org/rookie-roundup

Special Events:

12/16/2023 | Christmas in Bethlehem New Mexico

Dec 16-Dec 23, 1400Z-0600Z, KC5OUR, Belen, NM. Valencia County ARA. 28.383 21.283 14.283 7.183. QSL. VCARA, P. O. Box 268, Peralta, NM 87042. kc5our@arrl.net

12/16/2023 | Edwin Howard Armstrong Commemoration special event

Dec 16-Dec 18, 0000Z-2359Z, W4A, Bluff City, TN. N9EN. 3.540 7.040 14.040 21.040. QSL. Brad Anbro, 1118 WALNUT GROVE RD, Bluff City, TN 37618. Operating all bands from 160 to 10 meters, including the 12, 17 and 30 meter WARC bands. CW-only operation. n9en@live.com

The Rookie Roundups are an excellent vehicle to get the newly licensed in your club or organization on the air. This weekend is the CW event, but there are two more each year - another for SSB and another for RTTY (digital). These are a great way to mentor newcomers into good operating habits and to dispel any microphone or key fright that they might have.

The South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club had a bunch of Rookies a few years back and they placed well enough in the results to earn a certificate of recognition from the ARRL. I know it made a lasting impression on them as they are still active, years later.

Last night was the 80 Meter QRP Fox Hunt. I had a commitment and was not able to participate, and I know that I risk boring some of you with talking about these as much as I do- but if you're not participating .......why not? 

My participation has helped me immensely in breaking up DX pileups. The Fox Hunts are a lot like DXpeditions in a way, as different Foxes handle the pileups in different ways. Once you get used to them, it will help you when working that next elusive island or country.

Most Foxes work split, which in and of itself is pretty standard.  But the way a Fox or a DXpedition can handle split operation can differ. Some just go up to listen a kHz or two in frequency and never vary. To work these, you have to first ascertain that they're listening to just one frequency. If they are, it's not a good idea to zero beat that frequency and call there. Unless the quarry has their filters adjusted to the tightest they can be, you're way better off moving from that listening frequency just the tiniest bit. This will affect the tone of your signal and will make it stand out from the others. If he notices the difference in your signal amongst the cacophony of all the others, you've just given yourself an advantage. This is the same approach to take when working a DXpedition that decides to eschew split operating altogether and instead goes simplex.  In DX hunting, this is kind of rare, but it does happen.

Others who work split like to move around. They may start listening at a frequency, work someone and then move up a tiny bit to listen for the next calling station. They repeat this for a bit, moving up each time after working someone until they reach a certain point - maybe as far as 3 or 4 kHz up. Then, they may go back to where they first started, or they may work their way down to where they first started, lowering their listening frequency after each QSO, until they arrive back at "Point A". It's your job to figure this our, anticipate where they'll be listening next and get in their log. 

It's not as hard as it seems, but it might not be easy as falling off a log either. But nothing worthwhile ever really comes easy, does it? And if it does come easy, it will make you appreciate that contact all the more.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Hunting Foxes and the weekend

I grabbed two furry Fox pelts last night on 80 Meters. This first was Steve WX2S and that should have been no surprise as he lives less than 25 miles south of me.

Don K9DRP was another matter. His signal was constantly up and down, in and out due to QSB. The KX3's APF feature wasn't helping much, so I went "old school". I turned the RF Gain all the way down to eliminate as much of the background hash as I could, while simultaneously turning up the AF Gain. Tightening up the KX3's filters finally put Don in a place where I could reliably copy him and I finally worked him at 0256 UTC. Even at that point, i wasn't sure Don had me, so I threw out my call again a few minutes later. Then it hit me that I should refresh the Fox Hunt map and I saw that he had me in his log, so I knew I was good to go........literally. I hit the sack after working Don.

Both Foxes were working split and no one had to gently "remind" me with an "UP". This time, at least, I didn't goof up and QRM anyone. And both Foxes were excellent ops, dealing with less than deluxe band conditions.

Here are the goings on for the weekend:

Contests:

ARRL 10 Meter Contest - http://www.arrl.org/10-meter

QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Sprint - http://qrparci.org/contest/holiday-spirit-sprint

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

K1USN Slow Speed Test - http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html

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

Special Events:

12/06/2023 | Crossband Activation of Battleship Iowa's NEPM in Memory of Pearl Harbor

 Dec 6-Dec 9, 1500Z-2359Z, J3E/A1A, San Padro, CA. Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association. 14.375 18.1625 21.856 on J3E/USB and/or A1A/CW Do Not Transmit on NEPM Military Frequencies. QSL. See website, for, information. Times are daily. 1500Z to 2400Z. https://biara.org

12/07/2023 | WX3MAS

Dec 7-Dec 10, 1400Z-2200Z, WX3MAS, Nazareth, PA. Christmas City ARC. 14265 7270 3850. QSL. Christmas City Amateur Radio Club, 14 Gracedale Avenue, Greystone Building, Nazareth, PA 18064. Daily operation 1400 to 2200 UTC, may be extended as conditions permit. www.dlarc.org

12/09/2023 | Commemorating Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day

Dec 9, 1700Z-2359Z, 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

12/09/2023 | Ike's Atoms for Peace Speech - Sponsor of Nuclear Ship Savannah

Dec 9, 1400Z-2200Z, K3S, Baltimore, MD. Nuclear Ship Savannah ARC. 7 14 21 28. QSL. ULIS FLEMING, 980 PATUXENT ROAD, Odenton, MD 21113. Operating from the ship. Please check the spotting networks since we may be operating anywhere on 40, 20, 15, or 10m SSB or CW. qrz.com/db/k3s

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Coming up this weekend

The weekend is here! Here are some Amateur Radio events coning up this weekend for your QRP and/or CW operating pleasure.

OK/OM DX Contest, CW - http://okomdx.crk.cz/index.php?page=english

4 States Second Sunday Sprint -  https://www.4sqrp.com/4sqrpOnTheAir.php

FISTS Fall Sprint - https://www.fistsna.org/operating.php#sprints

Lots of Veteran's Day Special Event Stations - to all our Veteran's out there - THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE !!!!! (Yes, I am shouting that out!)

11/05/2023 | Air Force MARS 75 Years

Nov 5-Nov 11, 0001Z-2359Z, W1A-K*, All USA. Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System. Technician and General portion of the 80 - 10 meter bands; SSB, CW, and digital modes. Certificate. See website, for e-certificate, information. Call signs W1A through W1K, K4AF and KE6UEU. See website for updates on bands and modes, and how to receive a certificate. https://community.apan.org/wg/air-force-military-auxiliary-radio-system-afmars/afmars-75-years

11/11/2023 | Commemorating USMC birthday (11/10/1775) and Veterans Day

Nov 11, 1700Z-2359Z, 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

11/11/2023 | Honoring our Veterans and Celebrating Veterans Day, 2023

Nov 11, 1500Z-2000Z, KA4TAL, Conway, SC. Horry Post 111 The American Legion Amateur Radio Club. 14.255 7.264 14.275 7.185. Certificate. E-certificate only, send email to, talarc.ka4tal@gmail.com, SC. talarc.ka4tal@gmail.com

11/11/2023 | National Liberty Ship day; honoring all that served

Nov 11, 0200Z-0800Z, K8JWB, Baltimore, MD. Radio Club SS John W Brown. 14.250 mhz 7.225 MHZ 21.300 MHZ. Certificate. Project Liberty Ship, Inc, P. O. Box 25846, Baltimore , MD 21224-0846. Celebrating all those that served operating, protecting and building the 2710 WW 2 Liberty Ships including the Merchant Marine, Navy Armed Guard and Shipbuilders; including Rosie the Riveters. Mail QSL Card, self-addressed envelope along with required postage to: PROJECT LIBERTY SHIP BALTIMORE INC PO BOX 25846 BALTIMORE, MD 21224-0846 ssjohnwbrown.org

11/11/2023 | NB9QV USS Cobia Special Event

Nov 11-Nov 12, 1400Z-2000Z, NB9QV, Manitowoc, WI. NB9QV Cobia Club. 7.240 14.240. Certificate. Send contact information, information to kc9yl@arrl.net, to receive e-certificate. Please send your call sign, name, band, date and time of contact to kc9yl@arrl.net to receive your PDF certificate via email. https://www.qrz.com/db/NB9QV

11/11/2023 | The Ghost Fleet at Mallows Bay

Nov 11, 1400Z-2100Z, K3SMD, Nanjemoy, MD. Charles County Amateur Radio Club. 7.270; 40, 20, 15 meters, phone and possibly FT8. QSL. Michelle Sack, P.O. Box 1182 , Waldorf, MD 20604. www.k3smd.net

11/11/2023 | Veteran's Day 2023 Celebration

Nov 11, 1500Z-1800Z, W9V, Rochester, IL. Sangamon Valley Radio Club. 14.265 20m (SSB only) 40m (SSB only). QSL. W9V Mitch Hopper, 536 E. Mill St., Rochester, IL 62563. Operating from the Heritage in Flight Museum - Lincoln, IL airport.

11/11/2023 | Veteran's Day Remembrance

Nov 11, 1600Z-2130Z, W5KID, Baton Rouge, LA. Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club. 7.040 7.250 14.040 14.250. QSL. USS Kidd Amateur Radio Club, 305 S. River Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70802. CW, SSB, and FT8 Operation aboard the USS Kidd (DD-661), a World War II Fletcher-class destroyer. www.qrz.com/db/w5kid

11/11/2023 | Veterans Day

Nov 11, 1800Z-2100Z, N3TAL, Lanham, MD. American Legion Post 275 Radio Team. 7.275Mhz +/- LSB. QSL. American Legion Post 275 ART Team, 8201 Martin Luther King Jr Hwy, Glenarden, MD. n3tal275@gmail.com

11/11/2023 | Windycon 49 - Science Fiction Convention

Nov 11-Nov 12, 1500Z-2300Z, W9W, Oak Brook, IL. DuPage Amateur Radio Club. 14.070 14.230 14.274 145.430 (local). Certificate. DuPage Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 71, Clarendon Hills, IL 60514-0071. Times are Nov 11 0900-1700 and Nov 12 0900-1500 local time. www.w9dup.org

Before I close, the December issue of QST came out digitally yesterday. That means Field Day scores! We came in 4th Place out of a field of 8 in our category, nationwide.

Field Day is the only time I care about scores. I like to think that we're getting better at this each year. We made some 200+ more points than last year and we are once again in the middle of the pack in our category 3A Battery.  The tally of all scores in spreadsheet form is not out yet, so I don't know how we fared in NNJ, in the Hudson Division and against all other 5 Watt stations. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.  

What will be even more interesting to see is how the park we've been operating from ends up after renovations. There may or may not be room for us and we may have to consider changing Field Day venues.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

FOBB

I hope everyone did well in the Flight of the Bumblebees yesterday. It was a spectacular day for it here in New Jersey. The humidity was low and there was plenty of sunshine and the temps didn't get much past the low 80s. I wish that I could have been on the air with all of you.

Marianne and I were at my cousin's house for her 50th birthday party. It was actually a "Christmas in July" party, but her children decided to make it a surprise birthday party. When we got the invitation, it didn't even cross my mind that it was the same day as FOBB. She lives a bit downstate from us and getting there wasn't too bad. We got caught up in Jersey Shore traffic heading home, and we didn't reach our house until just before 7:00 PM, even though we left my cousin's house around 5:00 PM. Such are Summer Sundays in New Jersey!

Once home and when I had a few moments, I scanned both Facebook and the e-mail reflectors and I didn't see much chatter - either from before, during or after the event. I saw that Mike KC2EGL and John K3WWP did rather well as did Rick NK9G.  Other than those two, I didn't see much. From their reports, I guess there was a decent amount of activity, which is a good thing. Rick mentioned that all the action seemed to be on 20 Meters and that he didn't hear anything on 40 Meters. John K3WWP mentioned in his online "diary" that he had a tough time making contacts on 40 Meters.

Which leads me to another small pet peeve, of which I must admit, I am as guilty as everyone else! When "we" participate in these QRP events, most of us, but by no means all of us, seem to concentrate on 20 Meters first and foremost. 40 Meters will see some activity, but it seems like 15 and 10 Meters are always a wasteland. As we climb towards the peak of Cycle 25, we should really try to get something going on those two bands. I know 80 Meters is pretty much useless for daytime events, unless you want to get contacts from your immediate area. But 15 and 10 Meters? I often think that those two bands are dead simply because there's no one there! Maybe ....... just maybe if we populated those bands during events like these, we'd be surprised by the propagation and the distance we could obtain.

Gene N5GW always posts before events like these that he's setting aside times where he checks the other bands. Maybe if we all agreed to try 15 and 10 Meters at the 30 minute mark of each hour of the event, we might actually bring those bands to life. It's just a thought, and worth a shot, anyway., IMHO.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Afield tomorrow !

 As always, on the third Saturday of September, the New England QRP Club sponsors QRP Afield.

All the rules and regs can be found here - https://www.newenglandqrp.org/qrp-afield-2018/

I know, I know ....... the hyperlink says 2018, but the page has been updated with the dates for 2022, 2023 and 2024, so it's current.

I'd like to give it a whirl for at least a little bit, but weekends are just so darn busy, cramming in on Saturdays the things I don't get to do during the week because of that nasty ol' work thing. We'll see. The weather outside is forecasted to be delightful, with partly cloudy skies and temps in the upper 70s.

The backyard has been totally transformed. We had a landscaping crew come in and clean up all the overgrowth reaching into our backyard from our neighbor's yards. They also got rid of the kids swing set, which was 20 years old and beginning to rot.  We also had them tear down and remove the utility shed. The back wall had been broached by squirrels and by limbs form a neighbor's pine tree - which was removed by the new owners who recently moved in. The patio block pad is none the worse for wear and we will eventually get (probably) a metal shed of the same or a bit smaller size. Until then, I'll place the mower and whatever garden tools I wanted to keep on the pad and will keep it all covered with tarps.

The guys who did the job for us were great! No antenna or feedline damage!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Summer Homebrew Sprint

 As seen on the Flying Pigs ARCI e-mail reflector:

The 2022 Summer Homebrew Sprint is just around the corner! 

2000Z to 2300Z July 10th

Bonus points for homebrew equipment, and portable battery powered operations. 

All the details can be found here:

https://www.qrparci.org/contest/summer-homebrew-sprint-2020

Entries must be posted on or before July 29th online at www.qrpcontest.com 

73,

Paul K4FB

Maybe I can jump on the air a bit from Lake George,

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A good one for the QRP CW Newbs

 This weekend is the ARRL DX Contest (CW).

Even in you're not a contester and even if you're not a CW Wizard, this is still a good one to dive into for several reasons:

1) It will improve your CW.

2) The exchange is simple.

3) You'll be able to work your way well toward earning QRP DXCC.

4) It's a lot of fun!

Here's the official line from the ARRL:

Contest Objective: To encourage W/VE stations to expand knowledge of DX propagation on the HF and MF bands, improve operating skills, and improve station capability by creating a competition in which DX stations may only contact W/VE stations. One contest period is CW-only and one is Phone-only.  Use only the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands.

W/VE amateurs: Work as many DX stations in as many DXCC entities as possible.

DX stations: Work as many W/VE stations in as many of the 48 contiguous states and provinces as possible.

Dates:

CW: Third full weekend in February (February 19-20, 2022).

Phone: First full weekend in March (March 5-6, 2022).

Contest Period: Begins 0000 UTC Saturday and runs through 2359 UTC Sunday.

Exchange:

W/VE stations send a signal report and their state or province. DX stations send a signal report and power as a number or abbreviation.

How simple is that?

But here's the big tip!

For those of you new to QRP CW - either your code is kinda on the slower side; or you're not a big contester - I would wait to jump into the fray until Sunday.  If you jump in right at the beginning, you're likely to get frustrated and discouraged. At the beginning of any big contest like this - it' s best to let the big guns and CW speed demons get their rocks off for a while.  From the very beginning, a lot of the CW is going to be sent so fast, that you'll think you're listening to a buzz saw.

It's way better to wait until the latter part (second half) of the contest. Those big guns will have worked just about everyone they could have and they will more than likely be willing to listen for weaker signals and slower CW in order to fill up their logs. This is your big chance!

If conditions are right, and you're new to QRP DX, you can easily work your way to a quarter, halfway or even more countries needed for QRP DXCC.

Go get 'em!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Low attendence?

 From what I've been reading on QRP-L, Freeze Your Buns Off, held this past Saturday didn't have much in the way of participation. I'm partly to blame for that as I haven't been in the mood lately to get on the radio. But is this a creeping phenomena?

The warmer weather staples, QRP To The Field, The Flight of the Bumblebees, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt and for that matter, an October event,  The Zombie Shuffle still seem to have a decent amount of participation. But other events seem to be experiencing a decreasing amount of participation. Maybe that's just my misguided perception?

I think a big part of this is publicity and advertising. If you want a successful event, you can't announce it once and expect everyone to just "show up". There has to be way more than that. Multiple announcements (not to the point of SPAM, of course, but more than one) need to be made. And the announcements need to be made in as many outlets as possible. QRP-L is a good starter, but other QRP e-mail group reflectors. as well as social media sites need to be utilized.

Maybe that seems like too much effort on the part of the organizers. I don't know. But it seem to me, if you want an event with lots of participation, you have to get the word out early and often. You can't sit back on the laurels of past participation and assume everyone will remember for next year, ESPECIALLY when the sunspots are in the doldrums. We seem to be coming out of that now, though - maybe that will help.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A Sprint ....... or not?

 According to qrpcontest.com, there is a QRP-ARCI New Year Sprint on Saturday, January 1st.

The details are that it will run from 1500 - 1800 UTC. It is CW only and the exchange is RST / State - Province - Country / QRP ARCI Membership # or Power Out.

Here's the rub.  This sprint does not appear on the official QRP ARCI Contest Calendar

And on top of that, if you go to the WA7BNM Contest Calendar and look up the QRP ARCI New Year Sprint, it is listed as "inactive".

So will there be a sprint or not? I don't know. But if you're on the air on New Year's day between 1500 - 1800 UTC you might want to check the QRP watering holes to see if there's any activity.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP = When you care to send the very least!

2020 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt Soapbox has been published!

 You can see all the comments of your fellow Skeeter Hunters!

You can go to the Official NJQRP Skeeter Hunt Webpage and scroll to the bottom for the links. Or ...

Soapbox Page 1 is here https://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%2016

Soapbox Page 2 is here https://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%2017

Soapbox Page 3 is here https://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%2018

Once again, thanks to all of you out there who participated and continue to participate from year to year. YOU make the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt the success that it is. Without you, it would be four hours of dead air.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Afield this Saturday

 Courtesy of KE1L on QRP-L:

September 19, 1500Z-2100Z (11am-5pm EDT) 

Bands: 160 through 10, no WARC bands or 60 meters 

Modes: CW, voice, digital 

Exchange: RST, S/P/C, NEQRP number or power level Full rules follow 

More info at https://www.newenglandqrp.org/qrp-afield-2018/ (that link is current despite the 2018; it was already on the ARRL contest corral before I took over as administrator so we're sticking with it for this year) 

QRP Afield, sponsored by the New England QRP Club, is the original QRP contest for field operation. It was first held in 1994. The next oldest, QRP To The Field, was first held in 1995; it was originally sponsored by the NorCal QRP Club and is now run by the administrators of QRP-L. This year Shirley Dulcey KE1L has taken over as the contest administrator of QRP Afield. 

QRP Afield is always held on the third Saturday of September. Most years, that makes it the last QRP contest of the summer. In years when that Sunday falls on September 21 it can instead be the first QRP contest of the fall. In many years it is concurrent with the Chowdercon informal social gathering of NEQRP; the organizer of that event has not yet announced whether it will happen this year. 

In the recent past we haven't posted a clear definition of a field station. That's a question that is certain to arise because of the COVID crisis. I found this from 2014: 

Permanent Location: Any location using commercial power AND/OR permanently installed antennas Field Location: Any location using battery/solar/natural power AND temporary antennas. That means that your backyard, front porch, patio, or other similar location qualify as a field station IF you use temporary antennas and portable power. Further rule starting this year: 

QRP field stations must follow the ARRL Field Day definition for qualifying for the battery powered classes. In other words,no fossil fuel generators. QRO field stations can use generators, though they rarely enter QRP Afield. This is mostly meant to cover POTA or IOTA activations or stations participating in state QSO parties that might make some contacts in QRP Afield. 

Recommended frequencies: CW near 1810, 3560, 7030 7040 and 7122, 14060, 21060, 28060 SSB near 1910, 3985, 7285, 14285, 21385, 28885 Digital modes on their customary frequencies 7030 is now the primary QRP spot on 40, but some older crystal-controlled radios may be operating on 7040. 7122 is a gathering spot for slow-speed CW. 

Exchange: NEQRP members: RST, S/P/C, NEQRP number Non-members: RST, S/P/C, power 

If you would like to become a member, see https://www.newenglandqrp.org/membership/. NEQRP membership is free and open to all radio amateurs with an interest in QRP. There are no location restrictions, though all of our in-person gatherings are in New England. 

Scoring: One contact per station per mode per band 

New clarification for 2020: all voice modes count as one mode 

New clarification for 2020: all digital modes count as one mode 

QRO at a permanent location: 1 point per contact 

QRO at a field location: 2 points per contact 

QRP at a permanent location: 5 points per contact 

QRP at a field location: 10 points per contact 

Multiplier: S/P/C, once per BAND (not per mode) 

All three modes (CW, voice, digital) count the same for scoring 

No bonus stations 

Logs: Email to mark@buttery.org; send Cabrillo files (preferred) or text Include the summary sheet from https://www.newenglandqrp.org/qrp-afield-2018/ If you must, mail logs to the address on the site. Email is preferred Logs must be received by October 20.

The weather forecast for my QTH for Saturday is mostly sunny, with a high temp of 65F (18C) for the day. I have my annual physical scheduled for the morning. Hopefully, after that's over I can quickly complete my normal weekend chores and get on the air from the backyard for a bit.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!