It was a small but fun party

Yesterday I played for about an hour in the North American QSO Party…  I was one of those ones you heard on HF screaming “CQ NAQP” …

For this event I was operating 100w using my Yaesu FT 450 (built in autotuner) and my S9 43 foot vertical…

Not my backyard or my weather but it does show approximate antenna length

It was a fun contest but I did not have the time to really enjoy it but I was able to give out some contacts from the Canadian East Coast (VE9 New Brunswick) to the American North West (KL7 Alaska)  Although the map does not show it correctly…  KL7 is just to the left of VY1…  Also managed a few contacts in Texas to the south

For me the best two bands were 20m and 15m… but I did manage a couple of contacts on 40m

This contest seemed fairly laid back and friendly.  Having to give your name as part of the exchange rather than a signal report seemed to make it friendly…  Almost as friendly as the RAC summer and winter contests…  I wish I had more time to give to the QSO Party but …  sometimes things do not go as planned…

Thanks to the organisers for giving us a fun event

73bob

Almost forgot…..

I’ve been talking about the North American QSO Party and the SPAR Winter Field Day and the FYBO and totally forgot about the ARRL January VHF Contest which is happening this  coming weekend (Jan 19-21 2013)

You might notice that this year the NAQP and the VHF Contest overlap a bit which means that if the HF bands are dropping off for you then you can also try some VHF contacts and have twice as much fun… 

For me (so far) the weather is looking good in Ottawa with a warm front coming in that will bring a little bit of snow but also temps just below the freezing mark.  I am thinking of spending a couple of hours out in the local park with my FT817 on Saturday afternoon and give out some contacts  in both contests.

Later in the evening I will be at home and raise up the power and give out a few more contacts at the 100w setting of my FT 450.

If the weather person is incorrect (guessed wrong) then it will be 100 w from home for both contests…

Hope you get to participate from somewhere and also have lots of fun…

73bob

Looking to fill in some gaps in your log?

Coming up shortly is one of the easiest ways to fill in any gaps you might have in your DXCC or your WAS…

On Jan 19th we have the  North American QSO Party

What this means is that there will be stations world wide trying to contact North American Stations which if you are in North America (like me) should help with awards such as (in my case) QRP DXCC or WAS.  I will be operating from home for this one with the FT 450 dialed down to the allowed 5w output.

It also means that there will be lots of chances to work stations for your WAS and in my case hopefully backfill the statesI have in the log but do not have confirmed on LoTW.

Hope the bands cooperate for this one

73bob

The NAQP (ssb) aftermath

I was able to participate in the NAQP for about 7 hours of the 10 allowed hours so it was not bad.  I found that 20m for me was the best performing band, followed by 15m.  I managed a few contacts on 40m and 80m later in the evening but the best results were from the higher bands. 

I managed to work a total of  25 states, 2 provinces and Puerto Rico for a multi of 28 and I managed 52 individual contacts.

The score for this event does not include the fun factor…  As I mentioned earlier I was using my FT 450 with the S9 Vertical (10-80m).  I was using HRD for logging and radio control and was using my EBAY computer headset.  The FT450 and the S9 worked flawlessly and I was very pleased with the performance.  I was operating search and pounce for this contest and as usual if I could hear them I would work them. (one VE9 station was the exception to the rule so he did not make it in the log). 

I did have some issues on 15m with the vox looping  with the headset.  I guess I was RFIing my headset microphone…  I put a choke on the headset cord up near the headset and it ended.  It did have me slightly confused for a while as it was a new problem and did not happen in the last contest.  I am guessing it has something to do with the snow covering my radials which were sitting on the ground in the open last contest.  I will be revisiting the radial system in the spring time but can’t do much now.  My “ugly balun” is also covered with snow at the antenna feed point as well…

The issues with the RFI also knocking the stuffing out of my shack laptop are still there.  The system can take me transmitting with 100w on ssb but just about everytime I qsy and hit the auto tune button it causes HRD to freeze up…  There is no quick fix to this and I am forced to turn off the computer and re boot and re log in to HRD.  I have tried multiple chokes/teroids with no luck.  I have also run extra station grounds with no success.  Changing computers is next on my list but has not happened yet…

So now lets look at how we did on the goals…

I did have fun….  I did manage to contact 25 states and  11 were new ones for me.  Getting closer to my WAS but not there yet.   I was only able to contact 2 Canadian Provinces and I’m not sure what happened there.  I managed 20m and 40m contacts with Washington State so I know my signal was getting out west.  I did hear VE4, VE5 and VE6 on 20m but they were searching and pouncing as well and so we never met up.  That one VE9 had trouble hearing me but I also did not do so well with the Eastern Seaboard states with nothing being heard north of Boston Mass so perhaps the band was not heading east for me…

So the final word on this on is…  It was fun…  Any time I get to sit in the shack for a few hours and make contacts is a great day.  Every time I try a contest I get better with the filtering on the FT 450.  I still don’t have the contesting skills but I am making contacts quicker…  I have a great deal of respect for those who can type and talk at the same time…  Wish it was a skill set I had…  To hear those contesters running a pile up….WOW

73bob

 

A reminder about the North American QSO Party

Or as some call it the “NAQP”….

Starting today (Saturday Jan 21st) at 1800UTC for 12 hours (ends Sunday at 0600UTC) is the North American QSO Party

The complete rules can be found HERE  but for those who just want the condensed version here we go…

—————————————–

Runs for a total time of 10 hours inside the 12 hours of contest time.  Your breaks must be at least 30 min in duration)

Maximum output power is 100w

Normal exchange would be Sig Report, Op Name and Province/State

Multipliers are US States and Canadian Provinces/Territories

Score is QSOs X Multis

If in doubt or for any questions please check the written rules rather than my “Coles Notes Version”

—————————————–

Now for those who know me ….  Here are my goals and I bet some of you can guess what they will be….

 Have Fun-  It goes without saying that it has to be fun

Make Contacts-  Given the performance of my station over the last few events I am expecting to make contacts across Canada and “hoping” to make my 2nd contacts in VY0 and VY1. I would also hope to work at least 25 different states and with any luck they also would be the ones needed to complete my WAS.

According to the family schedule I should be able to devote about 8 hours to the contest so the goals (as long as the bands are cooperating) are obtainable and not out of reach.  The rig for todays event will be my Yaesu FT 450 and the antenna will be my S9 43 foot vertical (with the radials and balun/feedline buried under about 18 inches of snow) 

Not my backyard but it does show the lenght of the antenna

My EBAY headset worked good on VOX last time and I plan to use it again and I am hoping that I have cured my RFI issues between HRD and my Dell Laptop.  Having the computer and the radio talking make logging so much easier.  I have added chokes and grounds but so far no joy and so every now and again the computer just locks up and when I try to fix it I get a visit from the old blue screen of death… 

Hope to work you in the Party

73bob