[nrv-hams] Virginia QSO Party March 17-18

[Kay Craigie]

State QSO parties are fun, low-pressure contests. My first experience in
contesting was the Pennsylvania QSO Party in 1986. These state contests are
a great way to sample competitive operating and see if it's fun for you as
it turned out to be for me. The big state QSO parties (Pennsylvania,
California) can get a little aggressive but Virginia's is definitely low-key
and friendly. 

The contest will be Saturday, 17 March 1400 UTC to Sunday, 18 March 0200 UTC
and  Sunday, 18 March 1200 UTC - 2400 UTC. (For Virginians this is Saturday
10 AM - 10 PM and Sunday 8 AM - 8 PM Virginia local time.)

The event is sponsored by the Sterling Park ARC of northern Virginia. The
contest web page is
http://www.qsl.net/sterling/VA_QSO_Party/2012_VQP/2012_VQP_Main.html

If that link in this message wraps around on your screen, copy it and paste
it into your browser.

Here are the highlights of what you need to know. The exchange (what you
send and receive) is a sequential serial number and the county or
independent city in which you are operating. 

Imagine having to send "Spotsylvania" or "Rappahannock" on Morse code over
and over again! Ouch. The sponsors have developed a standard list of
3-letter abbreviations to simplify sending and logging the counties and
independent cities. The list of standard abbreviations is on the contest web
site. Be sure to learn the abbreviation for your location and learn how to
say it in standard phonetics. You can print the full list to refer to as you
operate.

For my first contact, I would send my serial number and county abbreviation:
"number one, Montgomery" or "number one, Mike Oscar November." If I were
working CW, I would send "NR 1 MON" -- the "NR" is not required but I like
to do it in this kind of contest.

Stations from outside Virginia play in the contest, too, and some will even
call CQ. They will send you a serial number and their state, province (if
Canadian), or "DX" for other countries.

The rule is that you can work each station only once per band/mode. That is,
I could work N3TG once on 40 meter SSB and again on 40 meter CW. The
exception is if the station has changed county or city. Then I can work the
station again. Some people operate mobile in these contests to make more
counties and cities available. This is why you may hear stations appending
an abbreviation to their callsign (e.g., N3TG/HCO when he's in Henrico and
N3TG/RIX when he's in the city of Richmond). If I worked him in Henrico, I
can work him again on the same band and mode when he has moved into the city
of Richmond. 

When calling CQ on CW or digital modes, the operator will often send "CQ
VQP" or "CQ VAQP." CW ops do love to boil things down to the bare
essentials.

We can work phone, CW, and digital modes. Suggested frequencies are in the
contest rules on the web site. For fun casual operating to reach other
Virginia stations, I suggest starting on 40 meters in the daytime and
shifting to 80 after dark. Experienced contesters who plan to call CQ and
look for out-of-state multipliers to build up their scores will have a
different operating plan.

Counties and cities in our part of Virginia can be harder to work than you
might suppose. See if you can get on the air for a little while in the
contest and make some folks happy by helping them log a county or city from
southwestern Virginia.

It's our party. Let's have fun! 73 - Kay N3KN