Hi folks,

Results from February are now up on the website. The last event saw big scores, with many operators taking advantage of good band conditions to work QRPp. 

I'm working on a way to publish individual logs on the website. In the meantime, if you have any queries about scoring, please don't hesitate to get in touch in the usual places.

Discord:

A bunch of us have joined the GQN discord server, and I encourage everyone to join. Chat to your fellow QRPers, and join in the discussion around GQN and amateur radio topics. You can use the voice channel to have an online catch-up or share your screen to help others get software working. You can also make suggestions and give feedback for GQN, as well as organise on-air QSOs and keep up to date with the latest GQN news. Discord is free and easy to set up, once the software is installed simply follow this link to get invited to the GQN discord: https://discord.gg/GrbP24s2PB

If you don't want to install the Discord software, you can also run participate using your web browser by visiting this link. If you need any assistance getting discord set up, please feel free to contact me.

Logging:

Work has been ongoing to simplify and streamline the logging process. A replacement log sheet has been chucked together because the old log sheet was becoming unworkable with changes to GQN. The new log will be sent out before the next event. The existing log sheet will be accepted for some time so don't worry if you prefer to use the old one.

The new log sheet will also have an Excel version to hopefully make life a bit easier for those without LibreOffice. Printable PDFs will also be available.

I realise there has been a bit of chopping and changing of the logging sheet, I promise the changes will settle down shortly. Any older logs will still be accepted.

Report on initial JS8Call tests:

On Wednesday myself, ZL2NEB, ZL4JAY, ZL1UCH and a few other NZ and DX stations were testing out JS8Call. I found that turbo speed worked well, and it seemed there was no problems being heard in NZ at QRP power at turbo speed. I would loose the odd DX frame, and most DX was operating either normal or slow speeds.

I found turbo was the best because you can't RX while you TX, and you want to be listening as much as possible. 

I found following other operator's QSOs to be rather difficult. We had a play with JS8C groups, and I suspect it may be worthwhile to operate under the @QRP group so that all participants will have GQN operator's transmissions highlighted and make things easier to follow.

Relaying worked really well. It remains to be seen if relaying will be necessary as I found it easy to copy all NZ stations, and relaying would more be used when local contacts become more challenging. But it is a cool feature and I'd like to include it in the contest.

I was tossing up running the JS8C contest on a non-standard frequency so that we wouldn't get random operators looking for a QSO. But after Wednesday's tests, I reckon we run it on the standard frequency so that we can work DX. Since most operators aren't running more than 25W when working JS8Call, I suspect it will be no major issue to ask DX stations to reduce power (probably 5W max).

Spread the word

Thanks to Jay ZL4JAY, we have this awesome poster available for download (PDF, PNG):

I've sent it to almost every branch in the country to share with their members. Please feel to share it with your mates and clubs! 

Upcoming events:

1. Saturday, 8th March, 9pm: JS8Call help night. Get help to setup the software and practise a few QSO's. All welcome regardless of computer ability. JS8Call promises to be an exciting addition to GQN, and I would love to get as many operators using the mode as possible. Live support including a guided walk-through will be provided on the Discord server in the voice chatroom (direct link to chatroom).
2. Saturday, 15th March, 9pm: JS8Call test night. A practice contest event that won't be counted towards GQN. Use this evening to test your setup and have a yarn with the other friendly operators on channel.
3. Saturday, 29th March, 9pm: GQN March event.