Thanks for the heads up John, I plan on participating! 73 de W1XQ Coastwatcher Reenactment RANVR Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society #182
> On Jan 12, 2024, at 7:50 PM, John Chauvin via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org> wrote: > > > To any one even slightly interested in operating CW: > > Are you reluctant to participate in a "contest?" Indeed some are > intimidating, however the NAQP this weekend is user friendly and has many > features that allow the beginner and intermediate operators to achieve a > respectable amount of contacts and most importantly, have fun. The North > American QSO Party takes place tomorrow (Saturday) from noon CST to midnight. > It only occurs twice a year for each mode - CW, SSB and RTTY. > Examples of simplified, friendly features include: > The power is limited to 100 Watts. So those who normally use 1500 watts, > can't do so, and thus have no advantage here. > The "big guns" may have "antenna farms" which lets them compete among one > another, but the vast majority of participants simply have just have a > dipole, and end-fed antenna, a vertical or similar. I have a vertical. We > know that we won't win, but who cares. You and I are in it to learn and to > have fun. It's also a great way to build up your code speed. > As it is the NORTH AMERICAN QSO PARTY, funny thing, but probably 98% of the > participants are from North America and therefore more easily reachable. > The "multipliers" (see rules at https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf ) are > the US States, Canadian Provinces and other North American DXCC entities (but > not their states). So it is advantageous for any DX or domestic station, to > make Qs with only the multipliers - that is you! > Accordingly, it is a chance to add a few DXCC entities to your log. > Operators are limited to operate 10 of the 12 hours. Rest assured, I will > not be operating even 10 hours but I will make a bunch of QSOs. > As this e-mail is aimed at beginners and casual contesters like myself, even > just operating for 3 or 4 hours will result in a very satisfactory number of > QSOs. > As with most contests, there is a standard exchange - For the NAQP, your name > and state/province/foreign country are all that is required. > Many use either a short alias or shortened names - Bartholomew, even if he > likes to be addressed that way, will undoubtedly use "Bart." > Because it is a standard exchange, you know the nature of what is coming at > you. It's not like "chewing the fat" (chatting) with someone where wording > is "open season." Furthermore, your exchange as sent is always the same; > therefore some use the keyer mode either built in to their transceiver or an > external memory keyer. Regardless, if you don't want to "deal with" a keyer, > you will "automatically" send your exchange manually after 5 or 6 Qs. > If you are generally unfamiliar or unexperienced in this regard, I suggest > that you participate by doing "search and pounce." That is you search around > for someone sending CQ NAQP (there will be gillions) and you pounce by > sending your reply with your call. The other option, as you get more > experience, is to "run," that is you send "CQ NAQP" and you then listen for > them to come back to you. > So, do give it a whirl. You won't regret it! > > And by the way, do submit your log to the contest people (see rules). No, > you won't win any awards, but it is the courteous thing to do and shows > support. The organizers use all logs to keep the Big Guns honest. > > FYI - it is always best to use a computer with either free or very > inexpensive logging software, but isn't necessary. I use N3FJP. See the > rules regarding paper logs. > > HAVE FUN! > > Tnx es 73, > de John, K5IZO > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing list > BVARC@bvarc.org > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org > Publicly available archives are available here: > https://www.mail-archive.com/bvarc@bvarc.org/
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