The weekend of August 23rd and 24th

Didn't August just begin a few days ago?  And here we are, the next to last weekend of the month. The hours of daylight are getting noticeably shorter, as by my QTH, it's appreciably dark at around 8:00 PM and in the mornings, the daylight is taking longer to gain a foothold. 

It's this time of year, and going forward that I'm reminded of that Simon and Garfunkel lyric - "Hello Darkness, my old friend."

But enough of the depressing stuff. We still have some Summer left and there will be that second FOBB on September 21st, so all is not lost!

Here's what you may hear on the bands this weekend (especially if you're in the CW sub-bands - as if there's anyplace else to be - right?):

Contests:

Hawaii QSO Party - http://www.hawaiiqsoparty.org/

YO DX HF Contest -  http://www.yodx.ro

ARSI VU DX Contest - https://arsi.info/dxcontest/

Ohio QSO Party - http://www.ohqp.org/index.php/rules/

SARL HF CW Contest - https://mysarl.org.za/contest-resources/

Special Event Stations (for those who like to chase em!)

08/23/2025 | Commemorating the 68th Annual International Airstream Rally and 62 years of the WBCCI ARC

Aug 23-Aug 27, 1400Z-1800Z, W1A, York, PA. Wally Byam Caravan Club International - WBCCI Amateur Radio Club (WB8RC) . All bands, all modes, as available based on conditions. QSL. WBCCI Amateur Radio Club, c/o Jim Cocke, PO Box 1307, West Jefferson, NC 28694. Times are daily. Please check spotter pages daily. QSL via QRZ.com and USPS. https://www.qrz.com/db/WB8RC

08/23/2025 | Buhl Farm Park Celebration

Aug 23-Sep 1, 0000Z-2359Z, W3B, Hermitage, PA. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club. 7.185 7.074 145.350. QSL. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 996, Sharon, PA 16146. Mercer County Amateur Radio Club is celebrating BUHL DAY, the 110th Anniversary of Buhl Farm Park, which covers 300 acres donated to the Shenango Valley community by Frank Buhl a local industrialist, for the use and recreation purposes. Check the www.w3lif.org webpage for scheduled times of W3B operation or the QRZ website for W3B for more information. As conditions permit you will find operators at various times on from August 23 to all day on September 1, 2025. A commemorative QSL will be available with a SASE. www.w3lif.org

08/23/2025 | NS Savannah Maiden Voyage Anniversary

Aug 23, 1330Z-2100Z, K3S, Port of Baltimore. 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 www.qrz.com/db/k3s

08/23/2025 | Pokagon State Park Centennial Celebration

Aug 23, 1300Z-2200Z, K9P, Angola, IN. Land of Lakes Amateur Radio Club. 7.180 7.280 14.240 14.340. Certificate. Mark Tritch, 4340 S. 1000 W., Hudson, IN 46747. www.qrz.com/db/k9p

08/24/2025 | Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival Special Event Station

Aug 24-Sep 6, 0000Z-2359Z, K9A, Auburn, IN. Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association. 7.180 MHz 14.250 MHz 28.360 MHz. Certificate & QSL. K9A - NIARA, P.O Box 145, Auburn, IN 46706. QSL Information: There will be no Log Book of the World or eQSL. For a QSL card only, Please send your card and a SASE. For a Certificate and QSL Card, Please send your card and $4.00 USA – $6.00 International We will furnish certificate, QSL card, envelope, and postage. The mailing address for this special event station is: K9A – NIARA P. O. Box 145 Auburn, IN 46706-0145 THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION! W9OU@W9OU.ORG.

Speaking of Special Event Stations, I pout the callsign into Ham Alert for the W9AEF Special Even t Station honoring St. Maximilian Kolbe.  Lots of FT8 kits, not many for CW, which was a bummer.

Last night at our monthly SPARC meeting we started kicking off discussions for a Special Event Station for South Plainfield's Centennial in 2026. We did one in 2016 for the 90th Anniversary, and I'd like to make sure we something special next year.

One last thing, here's something interesting that I saw on the QRP-ARCI io group yesterday; and it's compelled me to comment (rant). Someone asked if QRP Afield was going to be held this year. This was the answer given. (The words in bold italics are what caught this eye.)

Quote:

"We have had almost no turnout for QRP Afield for the past couple of years. I received ONE log in 2024.

FOBB has announced that they're going to hold a fall edition on that date this year. Perhaps they'll have more success promoting the event than we did; it just wasn't our style to flog it endlessly as some of the QRP events do. Given that, I'd say there will be no QRP Afield this year.

End quote

"flog it endlessly"? Seriously? ........... Guilty as charged !

QRP Afield is going the way of the Dodo because it wasn't advertised, hardly if at all ! Hams are busy people with families. For a lot of people time needs to be set aside and "reserved" so as to not interfere with other commitments. You can't make one single announcement a week before or a day before an event and expect people to show up. Organizers have to have respect for the time and commitments of the people they hope to attract. In addition, there are new Hams who might be interested in participating, but they don't because they don't even know that something is happening.

I'm sorry, but "it just wasn't our style" is code for "we didn't want to be bothered". It doesn't take a lot of effort to send out a blast of e-mails. It's not spam, it's giving people a chance to participate in something fun. AND .......if they're not interested, they have a thing on their keyboards called the delete key.

But really, you can't complain about non-attendance when you haven't even made an honest effort to drum some up.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!