HCRA/SOTA Jerks – 630 meter Challenge Results

The15 States worked by the winner, Bob/WA1OJN

Last fall HCRA and SOTA Jerks put forth a 630 meter challenge to our members. The idea and rules were simple. Get people interested in operating on the new band and offer a $100 prize for achieving the longest confirmed QSO. Yes, there were other rules but lets keep it simple. We’re all about simple!

Staying with simple we’ll let the operators tell their own story.

The WINNER!

Bob/WA1OJN – First Place and wins the $100 prize!

“It’s been a Hell of a ride, and I really enjoyed it! Thanks for the motivation, got me back to the basics on Ham Radio and I learned a lot! Met some great people and had a lot of fun.”

“My longest confirmed QSO ( and the longest in general) was W7UIV in WA state at 2296.96 miles by the link you provided.”

“My longest WSPR that was received by another station was LA2XPA in Norway at 3383.5 miles. See attached PDF. I know this doesn’t count as a QSO, but pretty amazing. Total of 54 QSOs: JT9(51), FT8(2) and CW(1).”

“All done with a Kenwood TS-440 feeding a WA3ETD 25W converter. Antenna is converted 80M dipole 136 horizontal, 25 feet vertical with home made variometer.”

Thanks for the great effort Bob and glad to see you had fun. As an added bonus Bob will be showing off parts of his 630m station at HCRA’s April 6th Show & Tell meeting – don’t miss it!

Jim/KK1W

“First off, a big congratulations to Bob for his outstanding efforts into 630 meters. 54 QSO’s are indeed impressive, there’s not a lot of unique stations to work (yet) on the MF bands. I was quite surprised with the distances possible with low power and small antennas. Some said, “will you even be able to make a QSO across town?”. I guess the answer is YES!”

“I ended up with 29 QSO’s, JT9(25, CW (3) and FT8 (1). I could hear a lot farther than I could work with only 20 watts going into an inverted L antenna. The vertical portion of the antenna is 80′, horizontal about 175′, fed through a fixed tuned loading coil and a half dozen ‘on ground’ radials. My farthest QSO was with ZF1EJ in the Cayman Islands, a distance of 1668 miles. That means Bob only whipped me by 628 miles! Oh well….”

“My station consists of an Elecraft K3s, MFSolutions down converter modified to be a simple 20W amplifier and an Inverted L antenna. Most receiving was done on a 650′ reversible beverage.”

Nick/K1NZ

Nick modified his IC-735 to work on 630 meters. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to get a viable antenna built before winter arrived. He ended up making one CW QSO with Jim, KK1W, confirmed on LotW for a distance of 7 miles. Hopefully Nick will be up and running on 630 next fall and making lots of digital QSO’s

The SWL’s

Al/N1AW

Al didn’t have time to put together a transmit station but received a QSL from AA1A for a beacon reception: Here’s the details:

“Hi,
I am hearing your AA1A beacon on 473.9 KHz. I’m listening with an old IC-706, antenna is a 160m inverted L. The signal does not indicate on my S-meter, and is pretty close to the noise level, but I don’t expect this rig to be much good at receiving at this frequency. According to QRZ.com I am 105 miles from you in FN32qq. This is my first go at doing anything on this band. I have a few other projects to finish before I try to make a transmitter. I wonder what you are using for transmitter and antenna?”
“Maybe you have already heard, one of the clubs I belong to is sponsoring a VLF contest. The info is on their website: https://hcra.org/

73,
Al, N1AW

“Hi Al, QSL 474 cw and that was a rare CW beacon try, am usually on WSPR for automatic unattended operation. The TX is a IC718 feeding a home brew transverter then in to a PA amp then directly in to the wire vertical loop, forget radials and variometers!!… That is interesting hcra page, let’s get going and show them how its done, eh?? You will need a few dozen watts minus antenna efficiency to come out @ 5W radiated, also you are in the side null of my loop so that’s pretty good receiving…”

N1AW DE AA1A TNX Al

Frandy/N1FJ

Frandy listened with his K3 for KK1W’s CW signal on 630m and was able to copy it, a distance of 27 miles. KK1W, being lazy, didn’t send a SWL card.

James/WD1S

James did a lot of listening on 630 meters with his Kenwood TS-590. Unfortunately the 590, like the K3s, only generates about 0.5 milliwatts on 630 meters. That’s just not enough power to run barefoot on 630. I’m not sure if James was able to copy signals from either me or Bob, but I think he did. If so the distances would be 37 and 8 miles respectively.

WRAP-UP

That about wraps it up for our first 630 meter challenge. Thanks to HCRA and the SOTA Jerks for contributing $50 from each club towards the prize and allowing us the opportunity to run the challenge. Everyone learned from their efforts: building and tuning antennas for 630m, designing and building loading coils, modifying radios and amplifiers, learning new digital modes, understanding MF propagation… the list goes on. Our entrants elected not to ‘sit on the sidelines’ but get active and try new things. Not everything worked as planned but, in the end they were successful and had fun. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Good luck with your amateur radio adventures in 2018!

’73…
Jim/KK1W

630 Meter Challenge

630 Meter Challenge – Halftime Update:

A map of WSPR stations received at KK1W on a typical evening. (http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/map)

The HCRA/SOTA Jerks 630 meter challenge crosses the halfway point January 1, 2018. So far close to a half dozen members have made QSO’s or SWL reports on our new, medium frequency (MF) band. Here’s a quick overview of their achievements so far along with station descriptions and photos. Not sure about the 630 Challenge? Details can be found here. The purpose of the event is to encourage members of both clubs to expand their amateur radio horizons, “Go Low” and enjoy ham radio fun. There’s a list of links at the end to get you started on your exploration below WHYN AM if you’re so inclined.

Stations completing at least one QSO on 630 meters:

Bob/WA1OJN – First member QRV!

WA1OJN’s Shack. The MF Systems 630m converter is at the far right on the top shelf.

Bob was our first member QRV on 472 MHz. Bob hadn’t done any home-brew for many years and was excited by the Challenge announcement at the October meeting. Here, in his own words, is his description of progress to date on 630m:

I have had QSOs with 13 stations in 8 states on JT9 with a max distance of just under 900 miles. On WSPR I have been received in north western Canada at 2047 miles. Unfortunately that guy does not currently have transmit capability.

My antenna is a converted 80M dipole at 25 feet with a length of 137 feet and I am using a WA3ETD converter attached to my TS-440S driving it from WSJT-X software on a Windows XP machine.

WA1OJN’s Variometer for 630m. Remote tuned using a gear motor and controlled by a battery powered switchbox in the shack.

I have been licensed since 1972 and this has really been an exciting project forcing me to get back into building stuff. I have learned a lot about RFI with my smoke detectors, the importance of proper grounding, impedance matching and a bunch more. Really gets you back to basics. It’s really fun to find the limits and try to push it a bit more. The other night a guy over 1000 miles away had me at -29 on JT9 with my grid square and signal report and just couldn’t get my RRR and 73. I tried cranking up the power supply voltage but nothing would do it. Now that I have remote antenna tuning I might have been able to do a quick tune and put him in the log. It is amazing that even a 300Hz frequency change will require re-tuning.

I have found all the guys to be super helpful and some great chat rooms. One thing I find interesting, is although most of the HF contacts I have made are using LotW, I would say the majority of the guys on 630M do not use LotW and are into paper QSLs.

Bob/WA1OJN

K1NZ and KK1W share the next spot

Nick/K1NZ and Jim/KK1W made their first QSO on 630 by working each other! Separated by a vast 7 miles here’s their story:

Nick/K1NZ

Nick’s station consists of an Icom 735 and a 160m Inverted-L antenna. The Icom is fully capable of transceive on 472 MHz and Nick had been monitoring WSPR and JT9 activity for a few weeks. When KK1W got his station QRV on the new band they decided to try a CW QSO. Guess what, it worked! Signals were weak but readable with a 339R/599S report at Nick’s end. Power was very low at Nick’s station because of high SWR concerns.

K1NZ at work modifying the main board of his IC-735.

Since that QSO Nick has made modifications to the IC735 to improve RX and TX and hopes to get a resonant antenna up soon. One thing is certain, it’s not expensive to get on this band but it takes some ‘experimentation’ and good old ham tinkering to make it happen.

Jim/KK1W

Jim’s stations features an Elecraft K3s, MF Solutions converter, an Inverted L antenna for TX and a 650′ Beverage for RX. The K3s is a great receiver on 472 MHz (with the general coverage filter) but sports only a half milliwatt (0.0005 watts) output! Getting that tiny signal boosted is the job of the MF Systems converter. The converter was modified to use only the amplifier portion and puts out about 20 watts.

KK1W’s loading/tuning coil for 630m Inverted L antenna

The Inverted L antenna has 75′ of vertical, about 175′ horizontal and a half dozen 100′ ground radials. It’s tuned with a loading coil wound on a 2 gallon plastic pail.

Results have been good so far with over 20 QSO’s, two on CW, one on FT8 and the balance on JT9 with 9 states and three countries. Jim’s longest QSO to date was with ZF1EJ in the Cayman Islands approximately 1600 miles.

Plans for station improvement include a variometer to replace the fixed tuned coil and more power. With only 20 watts his station is a “rabbit with big ears” hearing much better than it can be heard.

Stations listening on 630 meters:

James/WD1S

James is an avid 160m operator with a nice location in Chesterfield, MA. His station consists of a Kenwood TS-590 and various wire antennas. He has been receiving signals on 472 and 137 MHz since the beginning of the challenge.

Like the K3 his TS-590 has very low output on 472HKz. James has tried to work a few local stations but his 1mw signal is just not heard, at least so far.

Frandy/N1FJ

Frandy added a general coverage filter to his K3 and is using a G5RV for receiving. To date he has copied KK1W’s CW CQ and NDB’s lower in the band. He has obtained an MF Solutions converter and hopes to get on the air soon feeding an Inverted L antenna.

Mid-Challenge Wrap Up:

This wraps up our mid-Challenge activities. There are others expressing interest in the band including George/KC1V and Bob/W1QA but we’re not aware of their progress to date.

There’s remains plenty of time to get into the fun of MF over the next few months. Winter months are great for these frequencies with little atmospheric interference. It is amazing the distances achievable on these so called ‘low bands’ and you will be too – if you give it a try. Many ham transceivers and most general coverage receivers can receive below 500 KHz. Besides amateur activity on 472 KHz and 137 KHz there’s many interesting signals at VLF frequencies. Between the two amateur bands are many non-directional aircraft beacons (NDB’s). How many or how far can they be heard? Give it a listen and use one of the links below to see where they are located. Interested in digital modes? WSPR, JT9 and FT8 abound on both bands.

Why not make a 2018 resolution to spin the tuning knob and “Go Low for big fun”

Happy New Year!

’73…
Jim/KK1W

Interesting and useful links:

The links below have proven very useful for our members. They concentrate on the basics and will get you QRV on 630m quickly.

http://www.472khz.org/
http://ae5x.blogspot.com/
http://ve7sl.blogspot.ca/
https://wg2xka.wordpress.com/
http://www.giangrandi.ch/electronics/shortanttuner/shortanttuner.shtml
http://wsprnet.org/drupal/
https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html
http://www.dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm

VLF Contest Announcement

HCRA & SOTA Jerks
VLF Competition

As you know the FCC has recently approved amateur radio use on the VLF (Very Low Frequency) bands starting September 15^th, 2017. These bands are 135.7 to 135.8 kHZ (2,200 meters) and 472 to 479 kHz (630 meters). More information can be found about the authorization and bands by clicking the links.

It’s unlikely anyone will be using these bands for a SOTA activation but nevertheless the SOTA Jerks have proposed a QSO competition to spark interest in the new allocations. Our two clubs have gathered together $100 to award the winner of the competition. In the spirit of keeping things simple we’ve made the rules easy to follow. It’s up to you, the station builder/operators to do the heavy lifting on this one!

Rules:

Eligibility
1. All participants must be hold the proper license and permissions to use the VLF bands.
  1. Bands are open to General and above and permission must be secured by applying to UTC.
2. All participants must be a member in good standing in either club.
3. No participant shall have held an experimental license for these bands. We are looking for new folks to give VLF a try
Contest Period
1. Contest starts October 15^th, 2017 at 0000z
2. Contest ends March 15^th, 2018 at 2359z
3. Winner will be announced at HCRA’s April 6^th2018 meeting
Bands
1. 630 or 2,200 meters only
Mode
1. Any mode authorized for 630m or 2,200m
Prize
1. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to DX Engineering
Selection criteria
1. The winner is the operator with the longest distance, confirmed QSO.
  1. Distance determined by Latitude/Longitude of each station.
    1. Here’s a handy on-line calculator: https://www.mapdevelopers.com/distance_from_to.php
  2. Confirmation Proof by LotW or card only
  3. All entries must contain proof of confirmation and the distance calculated between the two stations.
  4. In the event of a tie a drawing will be held to determine the winner.

Entry Requirements
1. Submit your longest confirmed QSO to Jim Mullen via email or USPS by March 15^th 2018
  1. Email: kk1w.jim@gmail.com or USPS to 144 Tower Hill Rd, Brimfield, MA 01010
    1. Enclose an SASE for return of any submitted cards

That’s all there is to it. As of this writing there are at least two transceivers that can be used without modification on VLF frequencies: Kenwood TS590 and Elecraft K3s. The Elecraft K3 can be modified to use these bands. Transverter kits for VLF are available, here’s one for under $100.

These bands are more like our AM broadcast bands (think WHYN-AM 560) than traditional bands. Antenna size and power levels are limited so it shouldn’t cost a lot to be QRV on either of the bands. It will take some ingenuity and good ole’ ham ‘experimentation and modification’, which is exactly what amateur radio is all about.

There are many blogs on the web about VLF and the new bands. Here’s one from AE5X to get you started. These bands can be really interesting once you start digging a little deeper. Your efforts represent the start of a new ham radio frontier!

Good luck and may the longest QSO win!

’73…
HCRA and SOTA Jerks

New catagories for teh ARRL 10 meter and 160 meter contest.

This December’s ARRL 160 Meter and 10 Meter Contests complete the addition of new Single-Op Unlimited categories. All three power sub-categories: High Power, Low Power, and QRP are available. This means stations using spotting information will no longer be assigned to the Multioperator category. It also means there are quite a number of new records that will be set in December! Will your score be one of them?

(Snipped from the ARRL news letter)

DX Bulletin 39

QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 39 ARLD039
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT September 25, 2014
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD039
ARLD039 DX news

This week’s bulletin was made possible with information provided by HA3JB, ZL4PW, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

VIET NAM, 3W. Bruce is QRV as 3W3B from Da Nang on the HF bands using CW and RTTY. This includes an entry in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. QSL via E21EIC.

BHUTAN, A5. Operators Pekka, OH2YY and Pekka, OH1TV are QRV as A52O from Paro until October 2. Activity is on the HF bands with two stations using CW and SSB. QSL via OH2YY.

CHINA, BY. Operators Zhang, BA3AX, Wang, BA3CE and Lu, BD3AEO will be QRV as BA3AX/2, BA3CE/2 and BD3AEO/2, respectively, from Juhua Island, IOTA AS-151, from October 2 to 5. Activity will be on 20 to 10 meters. QSL via BA3AX.

NAURU, C2. Stan, LZ1GC will be QRV as C21GC from September 28 to October 14. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL to home call.

ANDORRA, C3. Members of the Unio de Radioaficionats Andorrans will be QRV as C37NL in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. QSL via C37URA.

BAHAMAS, C6. Phil, G3SWH will be QRV as C6AYS from New Providence Island, IOTA NA-001, from September 30 to October 10. QSL to home call.

SOUTH COOK ISLANDS, E5. Operators Mathias, DJ2HD and Gerd, DJ5IW will be QRV as E51HDJ and E51XIW, respectively, from Rarotonga, IOTA OC-013, from September 30 to October 6. Activity will be holiday style on the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL to home calls.

CANARY ISLANDS, EA8. Members of the Union de Radioaficionados Espanoles plan to be QRV as EF8U in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. QSL via operators’ instructions.

JERSEY, GJ. Kazu, M0CFW is QRV as MJ5Z and plans to be active in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest as a Single Op/All Band/Low Power entry. Before and after the contest he is active as MJ0CFW. QSL both calls to home call.

LUXEMBOURG, LX. Operator LX7I will be QRV in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest as a Multi Op entry. QSL via LX2A.

ARUBA, P4. Al, W6HGF is QRV as P4/W6HGF until October 1. He plans to be active as P40HF in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest.
Otherwise, he’ll be active as P4/W6HGF. QSL both calls to home call.

SABA, ST. EUSTATIUS, PJ5. David, OK6DJ, Petr, OK1FCJ and Pavel, OK1FPS are QRV as PJ5/home calls from Sint Eustatius, IOTA NA-145, until October 3. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and other digital modes with up to three stations active. This includes an entry in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. QSL via operators’ instructions.

INDONESIA, YB. Members of the Orari Daerah Jawa Tengah Contesting Team will be QRV as YE2C in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest as a Multi/Single entry. QSL via operators’ instructions. In addition, Gab, HA3JB is QRV as YB9/HA3JB as part of the International Police Association Expedition until October 7. Activity is on the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY. This includes an entry in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. QSL to home call.

VANUATU, YJ. Members of the Quake Contesters will be QRV as YJ0X from October 3 to 15. Activity will be on the HF bands, including 6 meters, with two stations using CW, SSB and RTTY. This includes an entry in the upcoming Oceania DX contest. QSL via ZL3PAH.

ALBANIA, ZA. R.C. Nikola Tesla club members Igor, Z32ID, Mome, Z32ZM, Oz, Z35T and Venco, Z36W will be QRV as ZA/Z35T in the CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. Outside the contest they are active on the newer bands. QSL via operators’ instructions.

SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS. W1AW Centennial Stations W1AW/5 in New Mexico and W1AW/7 in Idaho are QRV until 2359z on September 30. In addition, W1AW/KL7 in Alaska, W1AW/6 in California and W1AW/3 in the District of Columbia will be QRV starting at 0000z on October 1.
They will be active until 2359z on October 7.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The CQ Worldwide RTTY DX Contest, NCCC RTTY Sprint Ladder, NCCC Sprint, AGCW VHF/UHF CW Contest, Texas QSO Party, UBA ON 6-Meter Contest and the Peanut Power QRP Sprint are all on tap for this upcoming weekend. The 222 MHz Fall Sprint is scheduled for September 30. The CWops Mini-CWT Test is scheduled for October 1. Please see September QST, page 81, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for details.

(Copied from an E-Mail sent by the ARRL)

Massachusetts to Host USA ARDF Championships June 5-8

The USA ARDF (Amateur Radio Direction Finding) Championships return to the Northeast this year. ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, said on-foot foxhunting fans of all skill levels will gather near Boston in early June for 4 days of intense competition. Registration to participate in the event has been extended to June 1.

Activities begin on Thursday, June 5 with a 10-transmitter short-course sprint competition on 80 meters. The following day is the foxoring event, a combination of RDF and classic orienteering on 80 meters in which participants navigate to marked locations on their maps where very low-power transmitters can be found nearby. Saturday morning will be the classic full-course 2 meter main event, with five transmitters in a very large forest. The banquet and awards presentation follow that evening. A similar full-course 80 meter main event takes place Sunday morning, with awards presented afterward.
ARDF champ Vadim Afonkin, KB1RLI, is this year’s lead organizer, event host, and course-planner.

National ARDF championships typically take place in late summer or early fall. This year, though, the ARDF World Championships will take place during early September, however. To provide plenty of time for selecting Team USA members and planning overseas travel, the 2014 USA ARDF Championships must take place 3 months before.

ARDF championship rules are set by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). For scoring and awards, participants are divided into 11 age/gender categories. In classic ARDF championships, competitors start in small groups comprised of different categories.

The USA ARDF Championships are open to anyone who can safely navigate the woods solo. A ham radio license is not required. Each participant competes as an individual.

Stateside winners will be considered for membership in ARDF Team USA, which will travel to Kazakhstan for the 17th ARDF World Championships.

An online entry form and more information are available on the Boston ARDF website. Read more. — Thanks to Joe Moell, K0OV, ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator

ARRL 10 Meter Contest This Weekend!

Hello Fellow HCRA Members,

This is a reminder that the 10 meter contest is this weekend and we will again be participating not only as individuals, but also as a club. The band has had some great openings over the last couple months, so there is some potential to see quite a bit of activity during the contest.

A couple of things to remember:

For HCRA to get credit for your score, you must have “Hampden County Radio Association” spelled out in the “CLUB” field in the cabrillio file you submit to ARRL after the contest (ex. CLUB: Hampden County Radio Association)
If you use ANY assistance (ie Cluster Network, Facebook, QRZ.com, Telephone, etc), you need to change your operating category to Multi-Single instead of Single-Op.
Work on setting up logging NOW and not 10 minutes before the contest.
READ THE RULES!!! It can seem daunting, but they’re not too complicated, just detailed. Knowing what to expect makes all the difference in the world.
If you don’t understand something, let us know and we’ll do our best to explain and help get you going.
DD gift cards will be awarded to anyone who scores over 100K.
HAVE FUN! Don’t get hung up on the equipment that you have compared to what others are using or how everyone else is doing. Just focus on your own operating and try to do better than the year before or if you’ve never operated in the contest, set a baseline to try to beat next year. We do this because it’s fun!

When the contest is over, please send me your claimed score and QSO breakdown so we can update the HCRA page. Below are few useful links for more information. Again, don’t hesitate to ask questions if there is something you don’t understand. Also, if you need a place to operate or want to try HF for the first time, let us know and we might be able to find a station where you can guest op.

KK1W’s 10 Meter Contest Tutorial:
https://hcra.org/2012/11/20/arrl-10-meter-contest-tutorial/

General Rules for all ARRL Contests:
http://www.arrl.org/general-rules-for-all-arrl-contests

10 meter contest rules in addition to the general rules:

http://www.arrl.org/10-meter

Contest basics for those new to contesting:
http://www.arrl.org/contest-basics

A deeper look into contesting:
http://www.arrl.org/contest-toolbox-tutorials

GL ES 73 DE W1MSW

HCRA Invades Agawam

T minus 4 days and counting.

Agawam residents should be on the look out for Amateur Radio operators.

They look like normal people, dress like normal people, but have a language all their own.

Some speak in code (CW), Some in Digital ( RTTY, PSK), Even the words they use(CQ, 59 WMA, 73).

Here is what we know about their movements for this weekend they call Field Day.

Starting with a healthy Breakfast at 8:00AM Friday Morning at Partners restaurant 485 Springfield St.

http://www.partnersrestaurant.com/ordereze/default.aspx

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Then its off to School street park to do the setup.
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As set up continues through out the day we will be breaking for lunch and dinner which will be left to the hired volunteer help on what they want to do.

(Note: VE session is the 28th)
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Some will stay and guard their precious aluminum that they have freshly planted and some will even stay overnight.

On Saturday morning they get going again with some coffee and other foods from the locals. They will continue on the setup, do any last minute repairs, and do the testing.

If all is well at 2:00PM Saturday the festivities commence. For the next 24 hours all that the residence of Agawam will hear is the hum of generators and people calling CQ or -.-. –.- Field day this is W1NY.

At 2:00 PM on Sunday all goes quiet. Peace starts returning back to this little town as the Hams of HCRA disassemble the great flowers and return them to their collapsed state.

As things are put away neatly in the Storage trailer, people are saying goodby for the summer months and will see every one again in the fall.

73 and Good Night

DE KB1NWH

HCRA Field Day makes local paper

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Well looks like the advertising campaign for FD 2013 has gotten under way. We also have gotten a pencil in visit from the mayor of Agawam. Great bonuses this year.

Hope to get some more volunteers for this new setup and new location. Should be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

KB1NWH

Get ready for the New England QSO Party May 4th & 5th.

Tom/K1KI sent the message copied below. Please take a moment to read it and hopefully you will be QRV in NEQP this year. Don’t forget, HCRA sponsors a beautiful plaque for high score, single op, Hampden County. I’ll bet it would look nice on the wall in YOUR shack!

Here’s Tom’s message:

I hope everyone is thinking ahead to the New England QSO Party on May 4th and 5th.

The NEQP is a great time to check out antenna systems and radios outside of the major contests. Plus – the focus will be working you. Activity is usually very good – there’s also the Italian DX contest the same weekend, the on Saturday you’ll be able to catch all of the W7 multipliers in the 7QP.

We’re working to make sure that all of the New England counties are active again this year and would appreciate your help. Get on for at least an hour or two and join in on the fun. Please let me know if you can put in any time at all so we can work on activity from the rarest counties.

Oh yes, the NEQP is also lots of fun when mobile. Every time you cross a county line the pileup starts over again. It’s amazing what a 100w radio and mobile whip can do.

The contest is 20 hours long overall, in two sections with a civilized break for sleep Saturday night. It goes from 4pm Saturday until 1am Sunday, then 9am Sunday until 8pm Sunday.
Last year we had logs from more than 50 YCCCers – and 400+ other stations. You’ll find that many of the participants will turn into future big gun contesters aftere\ they figure it all out!

Full rules are here -> http://www.neqp.org/rules.html

The last eleven year’s worth of results are here -> http://www.neqp.org/results.html

See if you can set a record or two!

Will you be QRV?

73 Tom/K1KI