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Do QRP’ers Have an Identitiy Crisis?
12 August 2013 | by So I was browsing the QRP Blogs today and I read about the most recent QRP contest. It occurred to me that maybe QRPer's have self esteem issues. Two of the activities that seem to attract a lot of QRP'ers are, "The Flight of the Bumblebees" and "The Skeeter Hunt". So, as I contemplated the deeper meaning, both the bumblebee and the skeeter are annonying creatures that bite you and yes, even carry disease. People actually spray chemicals on themselves to keep bees and skeeters away. Now I ask you as a fellow QRP'er; is this really who we are? Skeeters and bees, should these be the mascots of QRPdom? We should rather associate ourselves with the sly, skilled animals of the forests that we are, those that through their guile and agility are able to strike quickly and capture their prey. Why can't we have, "The Flight of the Eagles" or "The King of the Jungle Hunt". These symbols, or mascots if you will, would invoke a much stronger sense of purpose and pride, we can hold our heads high and make cool T-Shirts, while demonstrating to the world that indeed QRP'ers are a force to be reckoned with. We could say, "come join us in our hunt for the Lions this weekend", instead of "hey, wanna go skeeter hunting?". Anyway, just some thoughts, skeeters and bees or Eagles and Lions.
Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].6 Responses to “Do QRP’ers Have an Identitiy Crisis?”
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Bees are very hard working and do so for the benefit of the hive. You could say that Hams are hard working and do so for the benefit of society.
Maybe skeeters suck every last bit of Wattage out?
I have no identity crisis. I am a proud “Flying Pig”!
Sure seems like it for the rest of us sideband lovers. Most QRP’rs are in fact, annoying and vapid about using CW for their contests. I actually sold my 817 and switched to my father’s TS-140 for this reason. It’s been my experience they are crotchety, slow moving, animals that bumble about.
Hey there, Andrew.
I left CW for a different reason; because CW had become so sloppy by others. Oh, I get on CW occasionally, when there is something I’m after. Like the Isle Royal CXpedition this past weekend. The gent sent perfect CW and it wasn’t a chore to copy.
But I am still an avid QRP’er! I just don’t tell others I’m working QRP. I am a county hunter and work the state QSO parties and other contests to gather new counties. I often bust the SSB pile-ups at QRP level. But I don’t go into a diatribe about me being QSP. When I send the QSL, either by mail or electronically, I mark on the card that I was QRP at the time of the contact.
73, Bill
Andrew,
FYI, the Skeeter Hunt features SSB as a mode category. We look forward to you joining us next year!
Larry W2LJ
Thanks Larry! I know there are contests with SSB, but they are small compared to others. And I certainly didn’t want to convey that ALL QRP’rs are like that, just most in my experience.
Bill, I too have busted pile ups with just my small 5 watts, and it was fantastic! However, after only being QRP for 2 years, it’s nice to have a QRO rig that I can casually make contacts with.