2021 Virginia QSO Party
Soapbox and Post-Party Tidbits
***************
On 22 April, Andy, K1RA, emailed:
Please add the KW4VA photo album from our Frederick county VaQP
2021 station at this link here:
73
andyz - K1RA
***********
On 21 April 21, John, KX4O, emailed:
Some pics and such
************
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
****************
On 26 March 2021, Harry, KI2H, emailed:
... Learned a lot. Blew an antenna. Broke another. We are already
planning for next year.
73
Harry - KI2H
****************
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.
****************
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
****************
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
******************
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
*********
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
*********