QRP-ARCI and contests

It would appear that QRP-ARCI is back in the contest business. After advertising for a Contest Manager, QRP-ARCI President Preston Douglas WJ2V announced last week that the position had been filled.

While there is still no dedicated calendar of events on the QRP-ARCI Webpage, an announcement did appear for the Hoot Owl shootout, which was held last evening. This really was a Sprint, in the truest sense of the word, lasting only an hour.

I desperately wanted to join in on the fun, but yard work consumed practically the entire day for me and I was asleep by the time the starting bell rang. You know ....... it's funny. In my mind I still feel like I'm in my 20s. My body, however, just can't do all the stuff it used to. What took me almost the entire day yesterday, I probably could have knocked out in 3 or 4 hours when I wore a younger man's clothes.

I guess that until QRP-ARCI re-institutes a Contest Calendar on the Webpage, the best thing to do is to keep checking for announcements or keep an eye on the WA7BNM contest calendar. Also, http://qrpcontest.com/ is a superb resource.

I did manage to set up the KX3 and the magloop Sunday afternoon at the patio table for a couple of hours. 20 Meters was filled with WPX Contest stations, and I worked a few just to make some contacts. I heard one pair of stations on 30 Meters having a rag chew. Calling CQ on both 30 and 40 Meters went for naught.

While I have, and can make some remarkable contacts with the magloop, I still feel that it is a compromise. It seems to be best suited for situations when there's nothing else that can be used or deployed. In instances where there are no trees from which to hang a wire, or if you're in an HOA situation where max stealth is of utmost importance, the magloop WILL keep you on the air. Just don't expect to make the same amount of contacts that you are used to, using something more "conventional".

Before anyone gets their hackles up that I'm bashing magloops, this is of course IMHO and YMMV.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!