QRP Reconsidered

Until the 4th quarter of 2022, I rarely gave the idea of running radiosport as QRP much
consideration.  Triple-OP'ing the California QSO Party in October opened up the world of
running QRP.  Being a domestic contest, CQP creates the perfect environment to do so.

When OM2VL ended up in the 40-meter Cw log at 05:32z, I knew we were onto something. 
The "Real" tests came during the Cw Sweepstakes and CQ W.W. Cw GiGs.  Successfully
running the ARRL 10-meter contest and the Stew Perry SP-160 GiG as QRP convinced
me that QRP operations, properly run can be quite an interesting challenge.

It could be said that successful QRP operations rely heavily on the following factors:

• Great QTH (geographical location)
• A super-efficient antenna system
• CLEAR Run frequencies.

For the Stew Perry 160-GiG in December, WQ6X experienced all 3-factors. 
Running from WA6TQT's superstation (atop the mountain in Anza, California) offered
a GREAT QTH and 2/3rds of a 3-square vertical array.  Judicious operating created numerous
clear run frequencies.  During this GiG, running a "snappy" CQ frequency, room was actually
made for those runs. 

In 30 to 48-hour contests, during the final hours, the high-profile stations are desperate to add callsigns like WQ6X (QRP) to their logs; hence calls from stations like: OM2VL, PJ2T, ZF1CW

and KH6LC.  For the 2023 RTTY RU contest, I took advantage of WQ6X's low QSO count by spending about 90 minutes calling "CQ RU Test" on 10, 15 & 20 meters.  Because a 5-watt QRP signal lacks presence, keeping a run frequency meant moving around a lot, looking for the RBN receivers to frequently put WQ6X back on the frequency list.

With 69 QRP QSOs in the log, it would seem that WQ6X set a new record set for East Bay (EB) section in the RTTY RU - confirming that the number of QSOs made in a contest event is relative
to the power level being run for that operation.  This was first experienced during WQ6X's QRP run
in the California QSO Party (CQP).  While the QSO total was nothing compared to what was achieved using Low Power (LP), relative to previous QRP operations, the CQP QRP operation was enough to set a record for Contra Costa County.

Based on the above experiences, I am encouraged to run more radiosport events using QRP power.

What about YOU?  Have YOU ever run QRP power in a radiosport contest?

How did it turn out?