Wednesday, July 15, 2020

COVID-19, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, Common Sense and You

I was initially surprised today, when I read on QRP-L that Rich Fisher KI6SN has decided to postpone the date for the 2020 Flight of the Bumblebees. After some consideration, I guess I should not be surprised. COVID-19 does seem to be making a rebound in some states, and Rich's home state of California is one of them.

In some ways, the Skeeter Hunt and FOBB are very similar. But in some important ways, they are not. And I think those differences are what is leading me to keep the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt on schedule for August 16th, 2020.

As with FOBB, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt encourages portable operations. For the Skeeter Hunt, portable operations also include working from the safety of your own back yard. If your state, county or town has parks that are open and you're comfortable with going to one of them - that's great.  If you prefer the safety and seclusion of your own back yard - as long as you use a temporary antenna that's not part of your regular home shack antenna system - the Skeeter Hunt classifies that as a "portable op". I set up on my patio in my back yard back a few years back when there was a threat of rain. I used my Jackite to support my PAR END FEDZ and spent the whole four hours at my patio table.

However, if you do choose to operate from a public venue, then it is expected that you will follow all the safety dictates requested of you by your local government. If that includes masks where social distancing may not be possible, then you are expected to comply with those requests.

The bottom line is that I expect all Skeeter Hunters to use common sense. Have a good time, but at the same time do everything you have to do to curtail the spread of the Corona Virus. Wear face coverings if you need to - maintain proper social distancing where needed and bring along hand sanitizer if equipment is going to be shared in groups.

If the current crisis disturbs you to the point that you want to operate from home using your everyday shack - that's fine too. The idea behind this little sprint is to have fun - that's it ........ have fun. And you can easily do that while adhering to all the safety rules we are under during these current times.

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

1 comment:

  1. Good evening Larry, thanks for the post and your insight regarding the sprint! I can't agree more in that we are all adults and responsible for our safety during this crazy time. It's great to read the Skeeter hunt is on now having said that I have not emailed for my number yet....the reason being we have plans on being away for that weekend and I did not want to take out a number to not show up in the sprint. As the date gets a bit closer I will know for sure if I am in. The deciding factor is Julie's she has a torn rotator cuff and may need surgery and this may have me put the sprint aside. In the next few weeks we will have a better idea as to what is going on.
    73,
    Mike
    VE9KK

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