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The first quarter of 2012 is in the books and so is a QSO for each and every day.   While the actual Q count is dropping from the total number of QSO’s I had in February and from January, I did manage to make a much bigger impact to my DXCC list.   The Q count is lower since I’ve been devoting most every weekend to working on the new basement ham shack.   This is important to me and will be especially rewarding when I move into the new space.   However, I’m not motivated by the total number of QSO’s I make, it is more about quality versus quantity. 

Another interesting point is the total number of DX stations I worked in March is also higher.  Of course, I did spend a few hours spinning the dial and working who could hear me during the March DX contest.  But perhaps this also means band conditions are gradually improving.  Just last night I worked E51M on 12m.  I saw a tweet from my good friend Martin, and spun the dial over to 12 to see if I could hear them.  E51M is working a DXpedition from Manihiki Atoll, North Cook Island.  It’s always a good feeling for me when I can log a DX contact, especially so when it is a new DX entity.  Of course, this goes in the books for April. 

I view putting Q1 behind me as a successful milestone.  However, before I schedule the parade, I know I’m just 25% into this challenge.  I need to begin thinking about how I’m going to handle vacation and other travel scenarios which will eventually come into play.  While my rules are somewhat relaxed, I did initially state that all QSO’s would be on HF.  I’m not sure if I’ve backed myself into a corner with this or not.   Time will tell…

The breakdown is as follows: 

Mode
Number QSO’s

JT65
48

SSB 
19

Additional notes of interest:

DX Stations Worked – 19

New DX Entities – 4

Total QSO’s for 2012 – 383

Total consecutive QSO days – 91

Days left in 2012 – 272

Until next time…

73 de KD0BIK

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