2021 Virginia QSO Party
Soapbox and Post-Party Tidbits




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On 22 April, Andy, K1RA, emailed:

Please add the KW4VA photo album from our Frederick county VaQP 2021 station at this link here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dyCMfyWT8ep6N4bd8 

73
andyz - K1RA

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On 21 April 21, John, KX4O, emailed:

Some pics and such

  https://www.w4va.org/2021/03/va-qso-party-2021/

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SOAPBOX extracted from logs on 15 April 2021.
  
KC7TNU     It was Great connecting with Rande KN4JVX/M, Bryan WD4ADF and Ian N8IK on
KC7TNU     Simplex Mobile in Arlington VA and Fairfax County on 2M and 70CM!...
KC7TNU     This was my third Virginia QSO Party and I increased withe 5 contacts this year!...
KC7TNU     Thank you very much!!! '73 KC7TNU/M

KJ4HMZ     ALWAYS A GREAT TIME. MY FAVORITE QSO PARTY EVER

KM4RDR     All contacts made using FT8 mode

KN4DUF     I was unable to get N3FJP software to score my log.
   
WA3UEA     1 or more contacts from: Arlington, Arlington,  Total Mobile Bonus = 200
WA3UEA     Good training opportunity and test of equipment and operator. 
WA3UEA     Last time I participated, perhaps 6 years ago it was possible
WA3UEA     to produce a map showing counties and cities in Va that I worked. 
WA3UEA     I miss that option.

AA0CL     USING INDOOR MAG-LOOP ANTENNAS\

AA4SS     1 or more contacts from: Floyd, Franklin,  Total Mobile Bonus = 200

AA4TI     Contest is way too long, especially since most of the VA operators spend
AA4TI     most of the day on 80 meters where out of state folks can't work them. 20
AA4TI     meters qso's were rare until Sunday afternoon when some VA operators
AA4TI     ventured above 4 MHZ. The in state bonus points tend to keep the VA
AA4TI     operators fixated on 80 meters. Do away with the bonus and shorten the
AA4TI     contest please!

AA8TA     Limited time here.  Mostly an 80 meter effort.  Thanks fer the Qs.

AB1A     Operated 5 watt QRP portable on batteries w end fed antenna slung in trees
AB1A     in OHIO state park instead of my home state of PA

AB3GS     What a well organized and well run QSO Party! I enjoyed contacting VA.
AB3GS     SO close to my state and I had my first VA contact this weekend! Thank
AB3GS      you.
  
AC3MB     First timer here. Had fun! Thanks!
  
AG4I     Regret that I only got to op the last hour.
   
AI4WU     Managed a little more than 4 hours BIC time despite pressing
AI4WU     family obligations. Band conditions weren't bad during the
AI4WU     periods I was operating. Had good runs on 40 and 80 meters.
  
DL3DXX     My radio club intended to operate RDXC. Thats why only few contacts on
DL3DXX     Sunday
   
G3ZRJ     GREAT CONDX ON 80M

K0STP     1 or more contacts from: Orange, Louisa, Fluvanna, Albemarle,
K0STP     Charlottesville, Nelson, Augusta, Waynesboro, Staunton, Rockingham,
K0STP     Harrisonburg, Shenandoah, Page, Warren, Rappahannock, Culpeper, Fauquier,
K0STP     Prince William, Madison, Greene, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, King George,
K0STP     Caroline, Essex, Richmond, Westmoreland, Northumberland, Lancaster,
K0STP     Middlesex, King and Queen, King William, Hanover, Henrico, Richmond City,
K0STP     Chesterfield, Goochland, Total Mobile Bonus = 3700

K1GQ     SkookumLogger K3S KPA1500 2el 40 + tribander + wires

K2BFY     I would have made more contacts if I was mentally ill.

K2EKM     Ran qrp, mostly S&P, but enjoyed it when I got a few responses to my few
K2EKM     cqs!

K2PI     Kids in college returning for spring break make this contest less
K2PI     convenient now.

K2WPM     1 or more contacts from: York, Williamsburg, Charles City, New Kent,
K2WPM     Chesterfield, Total Mobile Bonus = 500
K2WPM     ANTENNA FAILURE LIMITED OPERATIONS

K3FRG-M     VHF/UHF Only. Thank you SPARC! Go FARA!
K3FRG_M     VHF/UHF Only. Thank you SPARC! Go FARA!

K3TW     "Many thanks for another enjoyable Virginia QSO Party."

K4AKO     First I would like to thank everyone that helped organize this event. 
K4AKO     I am a new HAM and before this event, had only made 4 or so contacts
K4AKO     and participated in one net. I wanted to use the QSO party to gain
K4AKO     some operating experience, work on my radio etiquette and protocol,
K4AKO     and enjoy a nice drive down skyline drive. I did use a paper log and
K4AKO     hopefully recorded everything correctly. (My wife was my logging
K4AKO     assistant and probably prevented many errors)
K4AKO    
K4AKO     I would like to give a special thanks to KW4VA. Andy was my first
K4AKO     contact in the contest and provided some much needed assistance in a
K4AKO     few areas.
K4AKO    
K4AKO     Overall, I enjoyed the event and my wife and I look forward to next
K4AKO     year.
K4AKO    
K4AKO     Many thanks,
K4AKO    
K4AKO     Zack
K4AKO     K4AKO

K4AWM     CORRECTED COPY:  Note - two different stations were assigned my nr 300 outgoing
K4AWM     serial numbers.  both stations were worked and number assigned. 
K4AWM     Initial mix up was with N4CW who indicated contact was a dupe....it was not as
K4AWM     he was operating in a different county on Sunday (MAT) that on Saturday (BRX). 
K4AWM     ALSO note, N3FJP format did not allow BRX so I had to enter BRI.          
K4AWM     VaQSOP was well organized and appeared well attended by out of state contributors. 
K4AWM     KUDOS to SPARC members who pulled this off again seemingly effortlessly. 
K4AWM     Our Thanks.  Al/K4AWM

K4CGY     Great contest, good band conditions

K4FJW     Many technical problems

K4FOY2     Would like to have heard more from Southwest Virginia.

K4H     We operated 100% mobile from within a Ford F-150 Supercrew cab.

K4JJR-M     1 or more contacts from: Fauquier, Prince William,  Total Mobile Bonus = 200
 
K4SBZ     Instate shud be encouraged to work out-of-st, not given hi bonus for inst
K4SBZ     cnty.

K6FA     Did not hear very many stations on CW with the DX and RTTY contest going on. For the ones I did work, Thank you.

K7CS     Heard very few stations. Those I could hear had good signals. No one above 40 meters.
    
K8LF     Did not put in full time.  Had a nice run on 40M SSB Sunday
K8LF     afternoon.  Really Sunday is the best time if you just jumping in
K8LF     for a few hours.   Worked a few friends both in and out of
K8LF     Virginia.  By luck worked two Michigan stations in my home town
K8LF     in a row.  Weird what is the chance of that happening.   Just
K8LF     some VAQSOP magic.
               
K8NW     I've only been on HF for two months.  First timer in VAQP.

K8TE     Another busy weekend with little time to play radio.
K8TE     Additionally, when I got to the radio, there just weren't many VA
K8TE     stations to work.  It got much worse on Sunday.  Thanks to Matt,
K8TE     W4GO for Rappahannock County, the last I needed in VA.  We
K8TE     couldn't make it on SSB, but CW came through, a good example why
K8TE     working both modes in a QP pays off.  I'm looking forward to
K8TE     upcoming weekends without conflicts, or thunderstorms!  73, Bill,
K8TE     K8TE
   
K9RAF     Not sure on the continued "sent exchange" error, tried several
K9RAF     inputs, it took this one, but I have no idea what I am doing
K9RAF     wrong with this field.  Hopefully not too much of a headache for
K9RAF     the team, sorry. Bob K9RAF
  
KA4RLL     15-year old youth operator

KA7HBH     Another Great Event Thanks. I sure appreciate the mobile stations effort
KA7HBH     and patience!

KC4DV     Phone modes used SSB and FM
      
KD6AKC     Magnetic storm made things a little tough, but still had a lot of
KD6AKC     fun.

KE0TT     K3/10 driving a Ten Tec 405 amp to 50 watts out. Used a broad band dipole
KE0TT     up about 40'. 20M weak from here, but 40 and 80 were in decent shape,
KE0TT     enjoyed making Q's. Thanks for the Party! C U next time! 73, Dan ke0tt
KE8OLJ     ROOKIE

KF3G     Portable QTH - FM29jw
KF3G     Thank you for the 2021 Virginia QSO Party.

KG4NXT-M     1 or more contacts from: Rappahannock, Page, Warren, Clarke, Frederick, Winchester,
KG4NXT-M     Prince William, Manassas, Manassas Park, Fairfax, Loudoun,  Total Mobile Bonus = 1100
KG4NXT-M     Virginia mult-operator mobile

KI4BXU     IC-7300 cabin 4 Westmoreland SP Montross VA

KI4MZC     KX3 to a multi-band dipole, 5w. A lot of nice work from the VA
KI4MZC     stations especially on 80m Saturday night, and from the mobiles.
KI4MZC     Tnx for another great VAQP.

 
KJ4OAP-M     Since the State Park campground checkout is around lunch time,
KJ4OAP-M     and I had all my ham radio gear and had to drive home during
KJ4OAP-M     the contest...might as well do some mobile operations.  My
KJ4OAP-M     mobile operations are still very poor on 80 meters, but I
KJ4OAP-M     tried out 40M before leaving the campsite and made a few
KJ4OAP-M     contacts right away even though they weren't in Virginia. Took
KJ4OAP-M     the long way home to hit a few more mults and a few times
KJ4OAP-M     stopped to get some more QSOs (and to figure out where to go
KJ4OAP-M     next). Had a lot of fun working lots of the out-of-state
KJ4OAP-M     folks participating in the contest.  Thanks for all the
KJ4OAP-M     participation!!!  I'm looking forward to the next year or
KJ4OAP-M     two when 40M NVIS propagation comes back.  Congrats all and
KJ4OAP-M     stay safe, 73!

KJ4OAP     Calling for the answer of VA's Most Wanted, I wanted to activate
KJ4OAP     one of these even though my home QTH (SAX) wasn't one. So,
KJ4OAP     needed a place to setup and sleep/stay.  I combined the contest
KJ4OAP     with my love of camping and sought out a State Park to setup at.
KJ4OAP     The Staunton River State Park offered an awesome setup.  Stuck
KJ4OAP     with making a digital operation effort, though only on BPSK. I'm
KJ4OAP     not a fan of FT8 or other modes without a human in the loop for
KJ4OAP     contesting. These modes are awesome for monitoring and studying
KJ4OAP     the ionosphere. Anyways, back to the regular soapbox...loved the
KJ4OAP     response I got from just operating digital, glad I stuck with it
KJ4OAP     and enjoyed a casual operation this year!  Weather was great for
KJ4OAP     camping out, though I had frost on my tent and tarp covering my
KJ4OAP     gear on Saturday morning.  Also super happy my claimed score
KJ4OAP     came out to a common ham radio microwave frequency! (1296)

KJ4YKG     Great contest!

KK4BZ-P     Equipment: Icom IC-746 connected to 160m-6m Wire OCF Dipole
KK4BZ-P     antenna; TYT TH-9800 connected to Diamond X50A Vertical antenna
KK4BZ-P     Added 1 multiplier for more than 10 QSOs from MPX

KK4ZUU-M     1 or more contacts from: Emporia, Southampton, Sussex, Greensville, Brunswick,
KK4ZUU-M     Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, Pittsylvania, Danville, Henry, Martinsville,
KK4ZUU-M     Franklin, Bedford, Campbell, Lynchburg, Amherst,  Total Mobile Bonus = 1700
KK4ZUU-M     Great Weather, enjoyed route thru Southern VA. First time mobile HF.
KK4ZUU-M     Year seven for me, year five as a mobile. Thank you SPARC for a great event.
KK4ZUU-M     73 David
   
KM4VHX     first year
KN4AUC      Youth Participant (age 12)
KN6DHT     Band conditions were very rough. Also there were two other contests
KN6DHT     ongoing that interrupted the digital modes (St Pat's and Russian
KN6DHT     Contest).
  
KO4ELL     THANKS!

KO4HMB     First HF contest, worked as KO4HMB/AG

KO4NLR-M     10 Years Old
  
KS1PPY-M     FIRST VAQP EVER.  WAS VERY CHALLENGING AND MY CO-PILOT DAUGHTER
KS1PPY-M     AND I HAD A LOAD OF FUN.  MY GOALS OF MAKING SURE KING WILLIAM
KS1PPY-M     COUNTY WAS ACTIVATED THIS YEAR AND REACHING 100 CONTACTS WAS
KS1PPY-M     ACCOMPLISHED.  LOTS OF LESSONS LEARNED.
 
KV8Q     Wish I had more time to spend in this event.  It was fun and I
KV8Q     grabbed a few new counties. Thanks - 73  tom    Rig = TenTec
KV8Q     Eagle @ 100 Watts    Antenna = Mag Loop (40 thru 15) and an
KV8Q     Isotron-80 in attic 12' above garage floor and an indoor 10 meter
KV8Q     dipole.

KW4VA     Thanks to Terry W8ZN for hosting the KW4VA multi-op, multi-transmitter
KW4VA     VaQP station at his new QTH in VA @ 2300' in Frederick county (FM09te)
KW4VA     west of Winchester. We ran 2 HF 1500 watt stations, one with a 80/40m
KW4VA     NVIS dipole and the other with an A3S 10/15/20m triband yagi w/ 40m kit,
KW4VA     which was mounted on the K8GP rover atop the 45' pneumatic mast. Our
KW4VA     V/UHF station was ~50 watts and covered 6, 2, 1.25m and 70, 33, 23cm
KW4VA     with yagis and a 102" whip to cover 6, 10, 15 & 20m for working the VA
KW4VA     mobiles. Thanks to all the mobiles who activated numerous counties over
KW4VA     the weekend. We worked ~500 /M QSOs across all the bands! V/UHF FM was
KW4VA     quite productive from this location. We worked exactly 500 QSOs there.
KW4VA     As I predicted with my SPLAT! RF terrain plot, we had difficulty working
KW4VA     V/UHF stations to the east and southeast, but did manage to work over
KW4VA     the Mt. Weather and Skyline ridges. We had a fair number of fixed and
KW4VA     mobile QSOs with FAU, CUL, PRW, MAX, MPX, LDN. My best VHF FM DX was on
KW4VA     2m with John KX4O/M in WAX and Anna @NB3A/M in NEL at ~100 miles.
KW4VA     Pictures for contest weekend https://photos.app.goo.gl/dyCMfyWT8ep6N4bd8

KX4KU      Thank you SPARC for putting on a great contest again!!

KX4O-M     Great 'party' as usual.  Thank you SPARC!  XYL enjoyed being
KX4O-M     logger. A new Multi-Multi mobile team is born.

KX9RT     Elecraft K3 100W into 80M OCF and 20M Endfed Vertical

N1NN     13TH VIRGINIA QSO PARTY
N2EM     Thrilled to work VA on 15M for 5BWAS. Long-haul groundwave!

N4CW_M     Great fun, fraught with bad propagation, software failures,
N4CW_M     hardware failures, and other bad stuff! Very enjoyable to have a
N4CW_M     loyal "entourage" follow us both days. We were exceedingly busy,
N4CW_M     that's for sure. Many, many, thanks to all who stuck with getting
N4CW_M     the correct exchange: in a moving car, with bumps, potholes, and
N4CW_M     sharp curves, along with starting and stopping at traffic lights,
N4CW_M     the "shack" wasn't a stable operating platform. Jim decided
N4CW_M     before we left for Virginia that a wireless mouse just couldn't
N4CW_M     be contained (with motion) on the operating "desk", so we went to
N4CW_M     a USB cable-type mouse (you know, the PS-2 mouse???). with the
N4CW_M     cable behind the paddle (a very heavy N3ZN), mourse "travel" was
N4CW_M     limited. Some very interesting "local QRM" problems were
N4CW_M     discovered, example: when the Prius stopped for a light, a tone
N4CW_M     was generated that the K3 picked up...it was probably in the
N4CW_M     power system or even r.f. from the car's computer...so when we'd
N4CW_M     be in motion, no tone. That tone (probably 500-600 Hz) would mask
N4CW_M     the CW being received. Sometimes, if the station was quite
N4CW_M     strong, you could copy through the tone...most of the time, you
N4CW_M     couldn't! It's something Jim and I need to figure out and
N4CW_M     mitigate.  On Saturday we discovered that our 20-Meter "hamstick"
N4CW_M     mobile antenna setup blew us out of the water, crashing the
N4CW_M     logging program, etc. So we were pretty much stuck on 40 and 80
N4CW_M     until Jim had the idea of trying to "jumper out" the BugCatcher
N4CW_M     coil and see if the K3 would load the antenna for 20. Success!
N4CW_M     OTOH, that wasn't until Sunday! We did work some DX on 20 in
N4CW_M     western Europe. Of course we worked OM2VL plenty of times,
N4CW_M     regardless of band! What was neat was making one contact in
N4CW_M     Oregon, and the next in Europe! That's the "magic" that really
N4CW_M     makes operating fun (along with working so many friends over and
N4CW_M     over!)
N4CW_M     Thanks for the Q's and your patience...look for us in the
N4CW_M     FQP next month. de N4CW

N4EUK     As I only managed five contacts, I am submitting this log manually. 
N4EUK     Very high S7 noise levels in my area.

N4FWD     The lack of digital participation was discouraging
N4JWD     First attempt at VA QSO party, had a great time working some digital!

N4ZK     N4ZK in Bedford County Virginia

N8IK-M     1 or more contacts from: Alexandria, Fairfax,  Total Mobile Bonus = 200

NB3A-M     Poor condx prevented any good runs, and prevented many
NB3A-M     multipliers. Thankfully we had a good time running bands with
NB3A-M     Greg K4G/M and other fara members. Thanks SPARC for another
NB3A-M     fun and successfully VAQP.

NW3V     USED FT-757GXII, AEA ET-1 EconoTuner, and random wire.

OM2VL     On same weekend is also the RDXC with so many contesting stations
OM2VL     = during Saturday is so hard to find VA stations. But the biggest
OM2VL     problem for me that most of VA stations + mobiles are only on
OM2VL     40/80m during my daylight ... In VA are so many HAMs so I can
OM2VL     image how so many QSO I could make if every "80/40m" HAM will be
OM2VL     on 20m even some few minutes ... My BIG thanks to all stations
OM2VL     who was QRV also on 20m. I had FB pileup on SSB on Sunday!
OM2VL     Especially I can thanks to AB4YK, N4CW, W4GO for his kindness to
OM2VL     go on 20m from my needed counties! I try SSB on 40m, but only
OM2VL     nevernding CQs with 9 QSO ... I read on contesting.com that
OM2VL     somebody made over 250 QSO on 40m SSB - where was all this
OM2VL     stations??? Of course over 7.200 where EU can't transmit. Most
OM2VL     QSOs with: N4CW/M 25/25, W4GO/M 6/5, N9JF/M 5/5, KG3V/P 5/4.
OM2VL     Resident stations: (5) K7SV, (4) N4HB, (3) 16x. Thank you very
OM2VL     much for the QSOs! My last 2 missed counties from VA are: Russell
OM2VL     and Lee (sent more directs, but no luck with QSL). If somebody
OM2VL     can help me with this 2 counties please let me know. 73, Laci
OM2VL     OM2VL

VE3BFU     Thanks to all the Virginia QSO Party Organizers and hams grate
VE3BFU     contest.

VE5KS     very difficult to hear VA stations on 20m during the day

W1END     Rig was FTdx5000 and Butternut vertical.
W1END     Great activity, N4CW-mobile kept things interesting on day two. 

W1KDA     Fun weekend!! - Band conditions were only conducive to 40 and 80 meters
W1KDA     here in RI - In spite of the limited bands there were a substantial number
W1KDA     of Virginia stations available to work - Great job to the Virginia hams -
W1KDA     Fun Covid 19 weekend!!!

W2AAB     A GREAT QSO PARTY!  You really got the troops out for this battle, and
W2AAB     it was a great success.  Kudos to mobiles W4GO, NB3A, KJ4OAP, and
W2AAB     special thanks to N4CW for all the counties represented. Score
W2AAB     includes 23 QSOs with mobiles.  CU next year!
 
W2UDT     just got out of hospital! My apologies to the cw ops who tried to copy me!

W4KD     Thanks for putting together and sponsoring this contest.
W4KD     I grew up in Augusta County and this contest allows me to work
W4KD     friends
W4KD     from home and helps with homesickness. 73 from NW Ohio.

W4KRN-M     1 or more contacts from: Fauquier, Prince William,  Total Mobile Bonus = 200

W4OVH     1 or more contacts from: Prince William, Manassas, Manassas Park, Fauquier,
W4OVH     Culpeper, Total Mobile Bonus = 500
W4UKC     First contest.  Only a few QSOs.

W4WWQ     W4WWQ in Campbell County VA

W6OAT     Wish more VA stations would operate on 20m.
    
W8KNO     First good weather resulted in low participation.

W8KRZ-M     1 or more contacts from: Rappahannock, Madison, Greene, Culpeper,
W8KRZ-M     Fauquier, Prince William,  Total Mobile Bonus = 60
 
WA3UEA     Good training opportunity and test of equipment and operator. 
WA3UEA     Last time I participated, perhaps 6 years ago it was possible to
WA3UEA     produce a map showing counties and cities in Va that I worked. 
WA3UEA     I miss that option.

WA4OFW     Thanks to SPARC, sponsors and especially the mobile and expedition ops.
    
WA6YOU     Since I got a late start this year, I decided to just send in the attached
WA6YOU     CHECK LOG of the contacts I made from FAIRFAX CITY (FXX).  
WA6YOU     I came in first in 2012 and 2013 and have decided that I have enough
WA6YOU     paper on the walls and am hoping these logs might help you out in your
WA6YOU     final computations. 
WA6YOU     FYI:  My neighbor Lee Garlock, KD4RE was also on for a limited time
WA6YOU     but I heard no other operators from FXX.
WA6YOU     Thanks for sponsoring the contest and I hope to be able to participate again.
  
WF1L     Glad to have worked so many new Counties and Cities -

WQ6X     This is another WQ6X last minute QSO party GiG from NX6T
WQ6X     in Fallbrook. This was another disappointing VA QSO party.
WQ6X     Listening around on 80, 40 & 20 I heard virtually NO VQP activity.
WQ6X     You host a QSO party and then your in-state operators don't participate.
WQ6X     That doesn't make sense to me.
WQ6X     Why hold a QSO party if y'all aren't going to play?
WQ6X     Look for further write up on this at: http://WQ6X.Blogspot.com

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On 26 March 2021, Harry, KI2H, emailed:

... Learned a lot. Blew an antenna. Broke another. We are already planning for next year.

http://www.k4h.live/

73
Harry - KI2H

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On 25 March 2021, Duane, KK4BZ, emailed:

     I did take some pictures, but they are not much to look at. The daytime pictures are from my location in MPX with the wire antenna (which is almost invisible) in the trees and the VHF/UHF antenna on a mast alongside the RAV4. The evening picture is of just the VHF/UHF antenna, the one that I can put up in 4 minutes after pulling the parking brake.
 
73, Duane, KK4BZ








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On 24 March 2021, Gil, KM4OZH, emailed:

... please find photos of KM4OZH/M rig use as you wish. Great contest scored my personal best ,weather perfect for me.

Gil  KM4OZH  73









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On 24 March 2021, Duane,
KK4BZ, emailed:

    .....
         Thanks for putting out the information about the Virginia QSO Party and encouraging Heritage Hunt Ham (HHH) participation. I had a lot of fun, and it was good hearing some of the HHH'ers on the air, even if I could not work them. Several new experiences presented themselves to me that I thought I might share while the memory is fresh.

         I departed from my past history of operating as a mobile using VHF and UHF only during the VQP. Weekends in March are very busy for me preparing for endurance races on my horse, grandkid activities, etc., and this year was no different. Operating VHF/UHF as a mobile is very easy to integrate into my other activities -- put a mag mount whip or two on the vehicle I happen to be driving and operate while going to the other activities. My VHF/UHF radios all have cigarette plug adapters for power and are easily moved between truck and car. Spend what time I can dedicated to the VQP by going to the "rare" cities (FCX, FFX, ...) and I could rack up a pretty good score. This year I tried something completely different -- operating primarily HF. And since so much of my time would be away from home, operate portable.

         So the theory was to string up a full sized, 134 ft off center fed (OCF) dipole wire antenna when I could and use my Icom IC-746 for phone and digital contacts. A generator was also needed for power, but that was a practiced skill as I used a generator when operating as a rover in the VHF contests, camping with my horse, etc. Since not all my "stops" would be long enough to put up and take down the OCF wire antenna, I planned to supplement with VHF/UHF using a base station vertical antenna that I previously used for the VHF contests. That turned out to be a really good decision.

         The first day started with me out at the Manassas Battlefield with a large group of horses and riders. Murphy was one of the most prominent attendees. Though at the location early, I was not able to put up the vertical antenna as planned for our initial round robin of contacts and barely got anything in the air, and had only intermittent opportunity to pick up the mic. The pre-arranged round robin netted me only a few QSOs in the log instead of dozens. After returning to the parking lot from the trail, while the other riders were enjoying some appropriately distanced comaraderie and lunch, I hastily assembled the vertical antenna and started making some QSOs. Of course, our HHH round robin was long gone and the QSO count was far below what it would have been with our merry collection of hams. But at least it was a start -- until a gust of wind illuminated the deficiencies of the antenna support in my hasty assembly. Unfortunately, I was the center of attention of quite a few equestrians and their steeds for a few brief moments. Fortunately, none of the horses injured themselves breaking their bonds with the trailers to which they were tied and all remained in the immediate vicinity. Needless to say, that was the end of that.

         Upon returning to the home QTH, after caring for equines, lupi, felines, and bovidae, it was time to operate. I had strategically pre-stage the 134 ft OCF wire antenna and pre-packed the trusty RAV4 SUV so it did not take long before I was making contacts throughout Virginia. This was great and what I had hoped for! Looking through all the statistical information put out by SPARC about past VQPs it looked like 80 meters was the place to be, and so it was. After collecting a bunch of multipliers from PRW, it was time to move. Down came the OCF, a kiss on the cheek of the XYL, and a short drive to my pre-planned location just across the line in FAU.

         The FAU location was the only location for which I did any pre-contest scouting. That was a bad thing. But probably okay as I really did not know what I was looking at before actually doing it. The location in FAU was chosen to be close to HHH and at some altitude to try to catch the 1pm rally originally announce by N4RA. The elevation was the only part of the decision that was good. I did not get there until 4pm, long after the 1pm rally if it happened. My first QSO was at 5:30pm. Thank you, N4RA for being my first HF portable contact. Yes, it took me an hour and a half to get set up and operating. No, that is not what I planned. Putting up that 134 ft OCF wire antenna in a strange location was hard! Compare that 90 minutes to my "go anywhere and set up 2 masts with beam and vertical antennas in less than 10 minutes" for VHF work. HF is a lot more complex. Well, the wire antenna is. Also, guess what happens when you drop 134 ft of carefully coiled black wire onto sloping ground covered with leaves and branches...... That little episode cost almost a half hour to get the antenna untangled and stretched out. Then trying to put lines over tree branches in a densely forested area along a narrow shoulder along Hopewell Rd was "interesting" and very time consuming. Swinging a water bottle on the end of a line is not very accurate for placement. My pre-contest scouting was successful in finding a location to park the RAV4, but my eyeball estimate for where to string up the antenna was woefully inadequate. So, an hour and a half after arrival I was making QSOs hand over fist. Again, 80 meters was indeed the place to be. Fortunately, I did take the 7 minutes to put the VHF/UHF vertical antenna up twice. I had to take it down the first time and reduce the mast height because I could not raise it through the tree canopy. VHF and UHF turned out to be very important to my overall score because, guess what, that is where the mobiles were. And mobiles count for 3 points each instead of 1 point for the other phone contacts I was making. Aha! Lightbulb moment -- VHF/UHF for quick QSO points, HF for multipliers. And I could just listen to the V/U radio and pick up the mic when I heard someone so it did not eat into the HF operating time.

         I stayed in the FAU location until I got tired -- the day had started at 6am shoveling manure -- and then it was time to take down the antennas. The V/U was stowed in less than 5 minutes, just like when operating as a VHF rover. The OCF wire antenna, not so fast. Guess what again, when the stars are shining brightly in a deep black sky, that 134 ft of black wire on the leaf and stick covered ground is not so easy to manage. Fortunately, the 3 lengths of 100 ft paracord I was using to put it up were easier to see. And my sailing experience racing as a youngster was put to good use -- quickly storing long lengths of line or antenna in a manner that allows them to be quickly pulled out the next time is just like storing sails and sheets in line lockers. The separate buckets I used for the yellow paracord soon had cozy visitors of black antenna wire. This was a success and cut the time to put up the OCF wire antenna in half the next time.

         Not quite ready to call it a night, on the way back to the home QTH I strayed onto high ground in LDN at the entrance to the quarry, whipped up the V/U antenna, and collected some QSOs from that location. It did not take long and a third of the QSO count were those high value mobiles. It was a bit of a relief "just" putting up 20 feet of mast topped by the vertical antenna. Without needing the generator, it was 4 minutes after parking that I made the first QSO and 4 minutes when operations were complete to turn the ignition key.

         Back at the farm, as it was not yet midnight and there was still time to operate. I put my line and antenna stowage arrangement to the test. The OCF wire was up in record time and I finished the night with food and creature comfort (bathroom) at hand. I finished the night by packing everything up and even refueling the generator. That way I could be ready to head out and set up early in some exotic location to be ready to key the mic at 0800 the next morning, right?

         Well, that is not what happened. Life got in the way and I did not depart until 11am. Where to go? I had planned to go to the corner of PRW where I could quickly transition from MAX, MPX, and FFX (Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Fairfax County). Theoretically a good plan, but execution was not anything like I imagined. Since MPX was the hardest for me to get in the past, so few operators there, I made that my first destination. Looking at the map only without pre-scouting, there were two parks that I targetted as locations to find trees to put up the OCF. Unfortunately, densely populated areas with tiny lots and many townhouses and apartments means the parks have no parking lots and on street parking is at a premium. I could not get within a quarter mile of a candidate site and hauling all the gear was out of the question. Worse, every house had 3 to 6 overhead power and telephone wires crossing the streets and yards. Putting up a wire antenna was not an option. By shear dumb luck, in my driving to the locations of the dry wells I had passed a local government building with a large parking lot along a stream. I found my way back to that location and set up for operations. It still took an hour from setting the parking brake to logging a QSO -- HF is tough to be portable with a long wire antenna! But the rewards were immense. I actually ran a pile-up! Hurray! Lots of 80 meter QSOs and multipliers. And I caught some mobiles on VHF/UHF. I worked from that location until my bladder reminded me that I was not in a remote wooded location. Time to pack up and move.

         My freshly modified plan was to make a brief stop in MAX operating VHF/UHF, then move to a location in FFX where I could get the wire antenna up and operate to the end of the contest in the evening. I wanted to get the wire up in daylight. So I picked a high point in MAX, parked, and was making QSOs within a few minutes. VHF is quick and easy to put up the base station antenna. All was going according to plan, then the phone call. Yes, Murphy was on the line. Seems there was this unhappy meeting of a horse trailer with a metal gate along a driveway....... A quick packing job and off to the rescue. Glad I was able to collect those mobiles while in MAX because it took me until about 6:30 pm to finish bending the metal and digging the gravel to restore operation of the gate across the driveway to ensure the safety of the hounds and win the affection of the XYL. So, what to do with only an hour and a half left in the contest? VHF to the rescue. I made a short drive to a high spot in FFX, whipped up the antenna, and rejoined the party. Then off to home to try out that driveway gate and find if dinner was still warm.

         In the end, I have to say I had a blast. I learned a lot about putting up a long wire antenna and got to run a pile up for a sustained period of time. When contacts were slow on HF, I ran the bands with one station. Of the 69 multipliers I collected during the contest, 54 were unique to 80 meters. QSOs were made with 51 Virginia counties and independent cities, 17 states, and 1 Canadian province. Actually, it was 50 Virginia counties and independent cities contacted, but I got to add MPX as a multiplier because I made enough contacts from there even though I had none to there. Hope I did not make too many logging errors. Thank you for all who participated in the contest and especially with whom we share a log entry. Don't forget to submit your log! See you on the air next time.
    
    73, Duane, KK4BZ

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On 23 March 2021, Kevin, KJ4OAP, emailed:

Hey Gordon, all,

Can't send in a photo with a soapbox...yet.  Thought I would send over a picture of my setup at the Staunton River State Park.

Thanks for organizing the party!

73, Kevin KJ4OAP



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On 21 March 2021, Carter, N3AO, emailed:
...

I about froze to death in the cold wind! My Yaesu FT-450 decided not to work on CW. So after fooling with it for way too long I brought out my little Elecraft KX3 and did a few CW QRP Qs until I just became too cold to hold my pen! 
So I came home, after taking down my OCF �dipole.�

My wife, Kay, N3KN, got the home antenna and the warm room, and so forth. I think she made over 200 Qs. So sorry I didn�t get to work you!!!

73,
Carter, N3AO


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