Category Archives: On The Air

Articles and other information related to On The Air Operations, Special Events, Activations, DXxpeditions, Portable and Mobile On The Air Activities, Nets, etc.

CW and QRP, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

May 2019 Contest Notes

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May marks the end of the main contesting season. Sure, there are contests all year-round but the big contests (CQ WW, ARRL DX, ARRL SWEEP, CQ WPX) run October through May mainly leaving the Summer for state QSO parties and Field Day. There are two contests this month that are of note to NARS members: the NEQP and CQ WW WPX CW.

New England QSO Party [2000Z, May 4 to 0500Z, May 5 and 1300Z-2400Z, May 5]
The exchange for New England states is RS(T) + county + state. Outside of NE sends RS(T) + state/province/DX. Take a look at the NEQP website to see the standard county abbreviation list.

CQ WW WPX Contest, CW [0000Z, May 25 to 2359Z, May 26]
This is a serial number contest so set up your logger to automatically increment the sent serial number for each QSO. The full exchange is RST + serial. Everybody sends the same exchange. If you are not a great CW operator this is a great contest to play in. First, it isn’t quite so cut-throat as CQ WW. Secondly, the exchange is nice and simple. Listen (listen! listen!). It might take a bit to finally get the serial number, but once you do make your call and put it in the log. At risk of repeating myself, this is one of my favorite CW contests.

7th Call Area QSO Party [1300Z, May 4 to 0700Z, May 5]
First, note the overlap with the New England QSO Party! The exchange for this contest is also RS(T) + state and county. Check out the list of counties to expect here. The point is: you just record the exchange and the contact should be good for two contests.

Indiana QSO Party [1500Z, May 4 to 0300Z, May 5]
Exchange: Get RS(T) + county, we send RS(T) + state. The website has a list of five-letter county abbreviations that is worth printing out and hanging by your computer for this one.

Arkansas QSO Party [1400Z, May 11 to 0200Z, May 12]
Exchange: Get RS(T) + county, we send RS(T) + state

Hamvention and Contest University
Finally, the annual Contest University held in Dayton is one of the highlights of Hamvention. If you have any interest in contesting, it is well worth your time to sign up for one of these events. You MUST pre-register for the upcoming event on May 16th, and it is getting late for that, but I’d like to plant the seed of an idea that you should consider putting this on your “bucket list.”

I’m going to try to be in the New England QSO Party. Get on the air for 15 minutes or 15 hours and hand out some points!

Scott, NE1RD

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

SOTA/POTA Activation of Miller State Park/Mount Pack Monadnock

The Nashua Area Radio Society will have our first Summits on the Air (SOTA)/Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of the year on Saturday, April 13th. This is great timing as it occurs just a few days after our Tech Night build of the Tape Measure Yagis!

6m Portable Antenna
AB1OC’s 6m Portable Antenna on Mount Pack Monadnock

Miller State Park is located at  13 Miller Park Road in Peterborough and is designated as K-2662 for POTA and W1/HA-041 (Pack Mount Monadnock) for SOTA. The park is open from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. There is a fee of $4/adult and $2/child (6-11 years old).

Al, KC1FOZ and Tom, KC1GGP Operating VHF-UHF Portable
Al, KC1FOZ and Tom, KC1GGP Operating VHF-UHF Portable on Mount Pack Monadnock

This is a great opportunity for an introduction to both the SOTA and POTA program. Miller State Park is the oldest state park in New Hampshire and has a 1.3-mile paved road leading to the 2,290′ summit of Mount Pack Monadnock. There are two hiking trails from the parking area to the summit as well. The Wapack Trail and the Marion Davis Trail, both are 1.4 miles long. I would expect the trails to be wet and slightly muddy, but mainly clear of snow. Those that would like to hike up should meet in the parking lot around 10:00 am and dress for the weather and trail conditions.

Abby’s, AB1BY 1st SOTA on Mt. Pack Monadnock

Those that are driving up should plan on being at the top by 11:00 am. If you have a portable radio please bring it. If you only have an HT you will be surprised by how many contacts you can make up on the summit. I will have at least two radios as well as an HT and I am happy to share!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at [email protected].

Jamey, AC1DC

Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

April 2019 Contest notes

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Spring is here and not a moment too soon! In this last weekend before April we have the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest that is one of my favorites. The exchange is easy: just a serial number and a signal report (always 59, please). This is a contest where everybody can work everybody else, so there is always somebody to talk to. If you are new to contesting (and you can count!) this is a good one to try.

The big contests of the year are nearly behind us. Just the two WPX contests (one in March and another in May) remain. But, there are QSO parties and other small contests that are coming up. Remember, with the solar cycle in the doldrums this is a good time to be working on your Worked All States award or trying new operating modes (like FT8).

Missouri QSO Party [1400Z, April 6 to 0400Z April 7 + 1400Z-2200Z April 7th] The exchange is easy: RS(T) and state. Look for the special event stations W0MA and K0H for extra points.

Mississippi QSO Party [1400Z April 6 to 0200Z April 7] runs concurrently with part of the Missouri QSO Party and also has an exchange RS(T) plus state. This is a good opportunity to get on the air and get credit for multiple contests!

FT8 DX Contest [1200Z April 13 to 1200Z April 14] Digital modes like FT8 seem to get through when others do not. Perhaps you can work on your DXCC award this spring! The exchange is RST + state.

New Mexico QSO Party [1400Z April 13 to 0200Z April 14] The exchange is a little different in this contest: name + state (the RS(T) isn’t demanded by the rules).

North Dakota QSO Party [1800Z April 13 to 1800Z April 14] If you don’t have ND in your log, this is an excellent opportunity to get those states squared away. Both North and South Dakota have very few active hams, so try to get these folks on multiple bands. The exchange is RS(T) + state.

Georgia QSO Party [1800Z April 13 to 0359Z April 14 + 1400Z-2359Z April 14] Again, the exchange is just RS(T) and state.

ARRL Rookie Roundup, SSB [1800Z-2359Z April 14] The exchange is name + 2-digit year first licensed + state. I remember the first couple of years I operated. I was first licensed in 2002 so I would use “02” in my exchanges for contests like this. This confused the daylights out of many of the people I contacted, and I got lots of requests for repeats! Spend a few minutes and give these new operators some points.

Nebraska QSO Party [1300Z April 20 to 0200Z April 21 + 1300Z-2200Z April 21] The exchange is RS(T) + state. Nebraska was hard-hit by flooding this year, so I don’t know how many stations will be on the air. I’ve found this a hard state to get in the log in general, so this might be your best opportunity all year.

Michigan QSO Party [1600Z April 20 to 0400Z April 21] The exchange is a little different for this one: serial number + state.

Florida QSO Party [1600Z April 27 to 0159Z April28 + 1200Z-2159Z April 28] The exchange is RS(T) + state.

So many of the contests this month have just RS(T) and state as the exchange that you can usually get on the air, work people normally with this exchange, and enter multiple contests (or at least make other contesters happy for the points). Contesting is like regular operating without all the chit-chat {grin}.

The more you know! A contesting term you should know is “rubber clocking.” That’s when an operator begins the contest just  a little before the start time, or operates just a little past the end time in an effort to squeeze in a few more QSOs. In short: don’t do it. Begin on time, and when it is time to stop, finish your QSO and stop. Play fair.

Remember that you don’t have to turn in your log just because you operated during a contest. You can work stations in a contest just to have fun, or to collect QSOs for awards. Contest sponsors appreciate your entries (they help make sure the other operators copied the exchanges properly), but they can’t demand it. Get on the air. Put some Q’s in the log, and have fun. Maybe pick up an operating award along the way. Perhaps you’ll then write about it here on the N1FD website!

As always, you can get a complete rundown of all the contests this month (and this year) at the www.contestcalendar.com website.

73 and good luck in the contests.

Scott, NE1RD

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