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I received a gentle nudge from one of the 2013 Skeeter Hunt participants this week via an e-mail, “Did you ever get the certificates out?”.

My CQ WWDX results are insignificant.  I spent probably a half hour at the most (more like 20 minutes) behind the key last Sunday morning. 

I am used to the contest being held on Thanksgiving weekend.  Since November 1st was a Friday this year, that meant that this year, the contest was held the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving.  I have way too much to do the weekend before Thanksgiving, getting the house ready for the guests who will visit on Thanksgiving Day.  I didn’t have much time to breathe, let alone sit behind the radio for an extended period of time. When the contest is held on Thanksgiving weekend (like next year), the house has been cleaned, for the most part chores are done, it’s the one weekend that grocery shopping is a real quick trip – ideal for sitting behind the radio and giving out points. 

As I said earlier, I managed to sit down for about 20 minutes on Sunday morning before leaving for church and worked these stations:

OP4A
G2F
S52OP
OC4CW
LX1NO
ED7A
T7T
G4BJM

And it looks like T7T was a pirate, a fake …… I got “slimmed” as they used to say. T7T shows up in none if the callbooks and shows up on DX Summit and the Reverse Beacon Network maybe once or twice.  So it was either a fake, or someone whose fist was so shaky that I totally got it wrong.  It was suggested to me that perhaps it was TM2T, but man – even that’s a stretch. If I heard it wrong and got the number of dits wrong, MAYBE it could have been TM5T, because – – …  (7) sounds a lot closer to – – . . . . . (M 5)  than – – . . – – –   (M 2). But I kept listening for a while, even after I made my QSO and it sure sounded like T7T to me.  In any even, it was a busted QSO that I am not including in my official log. 

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

I should have posted this earlier, as now it’s Thursday …….

This weekend is the CQ WWDX Contest, one of the “Big’uns”.  This is one where a lot of folks travel to distant destinations, just for participation in the contest. So all during the week, visitors as well as indigenous Hams have been tweaking their equipment, and have been getting on the air to try things out.  As a QRPer, this is a good thing to take advantage of. The bands are full of DX and now is your chance to work it. Pickings are good and I have worked Cape Verde Island, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica, Morocco, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Bermuda – all with 5 Watts in just within the last few days.

The bands are expected to be in good shape for this weekend.  So if you have the time, you can get on and you can net a lot of DX.  If you’ve never started your QRP DXCC, now is the time to begin!  If you go all out, I am willing to bet that you could conceivably earn it this weekend.

For the new QRPer, there are some things to keep in mind. At the beginning of the contest, code speeds are going to be fast. Some of these guys will sound like a buzz saw!  Don’t get discouraged.  The DX will keep on sending their calls a lot, so if it takes multiple attempts for you to copy, you’ll get plenty of them.  Towards Saturday night into Sunday, when some of these guys get tired, they tend to slow up a bit, too.  A tip to keep in mind is that the slower speed DX stations tend to congregate UP, towards the top edges of the CW bands, so that’s a good place to start.  However, if you make a good effort to copy code that is faster than what you are used to, I can pretty much guarantee a 10% or better improvement on your copy speed by the time the contest is over.

The loudest stations are probably running the most power, but they probably also have the best antennas.  Cherry pick those, and they’ll probably have an easier time hearing you, rather than the guy half way around the world who is running 100 Watts to a dipole only 25 feet up.  You may work him too, but it will probably be a bit harder.  Another thing to keep in mind, is that as the contest winds down on Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, the hard core contesters will be desperate for points.  It’s more likely they will take their time with you, if you happen to have a weak signal on their end . REMEMBER – QRP does NOT necessarily mean weak signal! If propagation is favorable, and your antenna is decent, there’s no reason that your signal can’t be 579 or better on their end.

The exchange is super easy – RST and your CQ Zone.  For those of us on the East Coast, I believe that is 5.  Most Amateur Radio maps and/or logging programs will provide that for you.  I’ll provide one here:

Don’t get hung up on not being able to work someone.  If you’re trying to work a loud station, and he can’t hear you, don’t be afraid to turn the dial and move on. Maybe props aren’t the best between you and him at that moment.  Go work someone else and come back to him in a bit if you can.  With enough experience, in no time you’ll be able to tell who you have a reasonable shot at working and who you don’t.

The most important thing is to have fun!  Don’t get discouraged or frustrated.  If you end up working 100 DX entities, that’s great!  If you only end up working 5 – so what? The bottom line is to enjoy yourself.

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

Another Zombie Shuffle in the books and unfortunately, I missed most of it.  Operating hours were from 6:00 PM local to Midnight, local. First, I ended up working until 6:00 PM last night, instead of my normal 5:00 PM.  Then, on top of that, I had my local radio club meeting, which is always at 8:00 PM on the last Friday evening of the month.  That gave me an hour (roughly) to get home, get changed out of my work clothes, wolf down some dinner and then get to the meeting. Not good – Shuffle-wise.

I ended up getting on the air for the Shuffle at approximately 10:00 PM local.  By then you could tell that the cork had popped and the air let out of the balloon.  Activity was way down by then. 20 Meters was a lost cause on the East coast and 40 Meters was full of SSB QRM in the background.  80 Meters was a bit better than 40 Meters.

I ended up making 13 QSOs – I know, somehow that’s an appropriate number for the Zombie Shuffle, right? My score was a paltry 66,451 points.

Some visitors came by the while I was operating:

I didn’t mind the witch, the ghost or the Jack-O-Lantern so much, but that skeleton that insisted on “hanging around” my monitor made logging just a wee bit difficult!  At least I was able to lure the gremlins off my feedline by throwing some Snickers bars at them!

PS:  As of Monday morning, according to the results at:  http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/zombie_006.htm, I have come in 17th in a field of 38 entries.  That’s a lot better than I thought!

72 es Boo de Larry W2LJ
BooRP – When you care to send the very least!

There are two upcoming outdoor QRP events being held over the next two weekends.  For many part of the Northern Hemisphere, the weather at this time of year can be unpredictable, to say the least. And as we head closer and closer to October, the weather can become even more unpredictable, so now is a good opportunity to take advantage of outdoor QRP conditions as we inch closer and closer to Freeze Your Buns Off weather!

This coming weekend is QRP Afield, which is sponsored by the New England QRP Club.  “Da Rulz” can be found here.   http://newenglandqrp.org/afield

This is pretty much an all day event – from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM EDT this coming Saturday (21 SEP 1500Z – 22 SEP 0300Z ).  If you operate QRP and portable, each QSO is worth 10 points.  So even if you can only get out for a little while, you can potentially rack up a decent score

The event the following weekend is the Peanut Power Sprint that is being sponsored by the North Georgia QRP Club.  This is a shorty, 2 hour afternoon Sprint and here are the rules for this one (courtesy of Jim W4QO):

Sponsored by the North GA QRP Club (NoGaQrP), this sprint will be held on Sept. 29, 2013 from 4PM to 6PM EDT (Sept. 29 – 2000z to 2200z). Full rules are on the NoGaQrP website – nogaqrp.org Click on NoGaNuT PeTe!

The club is making this one different from most other QRP contests.

1. It is open to all amateurs at any power level. This is to attract some new folks to QRP while running their comfortable power – QRO (<100 watts pls) is welcome and there is a category for that. This is a FUN event. Not cut-throat!

2. It is a short sprint lasting only two hours; not tying up the entire afternoon. Although brief, run reasonable CW speeds for all to copy.

3. It starts late in the day (right after close of TX QSO party!) which will mean those on the west coast will begin at 1PM PDT, later than most contests.

4. There are categories for all situations – the prestigious category is the Peanut Power category – 1w CW or less, 2W PEP SSB or less – operating from the field! This is the GOOBER CLASS!  SOTA anyone?

5. Plaques will be award for each of 5 category winners (minimum 3 entries).

6. Sprint will encourage SSB as well as CW contacts.

7. Multipliers count each band/each mode. Work GA ( or any SPC) on 3 bands and 2 modes each = 6 multiplier.   Puts emphasis on switching bands and modes during the event.  Check SSB on the quarter hour.

8. This will encourage activity on the 3 permitted bands – 40, 20, and 15M. There are suggested frequencies for each band/mode. Notice we are encouraging the now almost dead portion of 40M – 7060 khz and up.

9. Logs are not required – simply a score – however, category winners may be asked to submit their logs for verification.  Watch website for results.

10. Work stations holding a Peanut Power Number (PPN) for 7 points. Stations worked who do not hold a PPN yield 3 points. Yes, QRO stations can request and receive a PPN. You do not declare your category until you send in your entry.

To request a PPN, send an email to NoGaNuT JiM at [email protected]  Requests for special numbers are no longer accommodated. See the current list via the website. Include the word PEANUT POWER NUMBER in the title please.

Jim W4QO

Speaking of outdoor events, this weekend was the Brutus Bash which is held each year by the 4 States QRP Group.  Terry WA0ITP posted this video of last year’s event:

Sure looks like all the 4 States guys know how to have a GREAT time, doesn’t it? I can’t wait to see what Terry puts together for this year’s event!

Lunchtime was good today. I worked Rudy IK4VFD in Parma, Italy, but the prize was working 5Q7Y, the Langeland DX-pedition in Denmark on 17 Meters.  The pileup was crazy, but the key was figuring out that they were listening only 1 KHz up. Most of the pileup was calling way higher than that. I get a kick when 5 Watts finds a way to sneak in!

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

Whew!  The 2013 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt Soapbox page is 99% done and published!  Hallelujah!  I still have to post Andy WN0I’s photos.  He sent me hard copies through the mail and my scanner is acting up; but I should have them up tomorrow Andy – please bear with me!

To see all the comments and photos published so far – please click here.  And to see the scores and where you placed in the standings, click here.

Many thanks to all of you who participated this year, and thanks for all the photos and comments.  If you sent me something and don’t see it – please resend! The big black hole that is the cyber world probably swallowed your e-mail on me!

Also, a very special thanks to Ward Silver N0AX, who included some nice words about the Skeeter Hunt in this week’s e-mail of  “The ARRL Contest Update for September 11, 2013”.  Muchas Gracias, Ward!

And once again, a very big special word of thanks to the NJQRP Club and it’s members for lending their name and for giving the Skeeter Hunt the credibility that it has.

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