This weekend I participated in the North American QSO Party, CW version (NAQP). Looking back at my records, I’ve been participating in this contest since 2010, both the January and August versions. This time I was able to spend enough time in the chair to generate 307 QSOs and a score of 33,770 points. My previous best had been 276 QSOs.
The thing I like about this contest is that everyone is at 100 watts or less. Which means no big guns with kilowatt amplifiers blasting past you. Plus, it is all domestic and so most signals are at a generally good level and it is relatively easy to make a lot of contacts. Furthermore, the exchange in name and state, which is very simple to copy.
Even with all these advantages, I’m an also ran in terms of ranking in the contest results. I see from my DFW Contest Group colleagues that many have generated QSO counts in the 700+ range — well over double what I was able to generate. Oh well, I had some fun.
My next big contest is the CQ WW RTTY contest. For that one, I’ll set up my Moxon 15 meter beam and point it at Europe. I hope to get my RTTY country total well above 100 for the weekend.
Hope you enjoy contesting. Let me know something about your experiences.
