WQ6X Flops around in another FLQP QSO Party

This being the "extra" weekend in the month of April, somehow, the Florida QSO party slips right
in with opportunities on Saturday and Sunday.  The REAL QSO party weekend of course happens NEXT weekend with the 7QP, NEQP, INQP, DEQP and ARI GiGs.  Being a lone QSO party, run against a backdrop of marginal space-WX, last weekend's FLQP event became a background activity, giving me the opportunity to check out the audio and power connections in order that I run a "fuel-efficient" dual-OP contest weekend, this coming weekend.

If you look at the post dates of the last 8 entries in the WQ6X contest blog system, you'll notice
they were all released for publication this last weekend.  The material was already word-processed, simply waiting visual images for enhanced readability.

Hoping to "force" a propagation opening to Florida on 10-meters, the 3-el Long John yagi was fix-pointed to 87-degrees latitude (East) both days calling: "CQ FL WQ6X/6 WQ6X/CA".  Fortunately, Billy-Bob and his brother Barney never called in, but WQ6X (and 2 other W6 stations) received
a call from LU1AW (in Argentina).  As a Test of their log-checking system, I logged the contact anyway.   It will be interesting to find out if the WQ6X log gets "dinged" for that LU1 QSO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I often bitch that not enough in-state operators participate in their own QSO parties. 
This weekend there were DOZENS of Floridians in the CW spectrum (I didn't check Ssb);
at least if the dozens of internet spots reflect reality.  The difficulty this weekend was the
receive-vortex which seems to surround this portable location.  Only 25 contacts actually
made it to the log; many of them stations worked on other bands.

The 8JK Cobra array antenna does very well eastward.  Unfortunately, on 20-meters, the ladder-line spills all manner of RFI around the shack, taking out the USB devices (the Yaesu CAT connection and the RigExpert PLUS unit) often locking up the transmitter.  The CH-250 vertical being coax-fed does not exhibit this problem; then again, even with a 3-wire counterpoise, it is not a gain antenna, like the 8JK Cobras.  I guess it is time to check the 8JK wires outside and give the dozen year-old MFJ 949-E antenna tuner a thorough spring cleaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was bummed that the FLQP ended at 02:00z on Saturday evening, at LEAST
they gave us a second shot at putting FL counties in the log again on Sunday.

Last but not least, this weekend allowed me to publicize editorial comments published
by Radio World in response to K1OIK's atrocious letter to the editor in early April. 
([CLICK HERE] for a link to that issue - Pp. 29-30)

As you can see, radiosport weekends are not always about radio operating itself.

What DiD YOU Do last weekend?