[nrv-hams] Lots of states this weekend

[Kay Craigie]

If you are trying to earn the Worked All States award or just looking for
fun on the air, this coming weekend is just the thing. There are several
state QSO parties - a QSO party is a contest - when several relatively rare
states will be on the air for us to work.

 

The Indiana QSO Party will be from 1600Z on May 4 to 0400Z on May 5, phone
and CW. They will send you a signal report and their Indiana county
abbreviation. You'll reply with a signal report and your state. If you want
to know more, check out the event rules at
http://www.hdxcc.org/inqp/rules.html.

The other two events this weekend are multi-state.

 

The New England QSO Party will be from 2000Z on May 4 to 0500Z on May 5 and
from 1300Z to 2400Z on May 5. It's phone, CW, and digital. All 6 New England
states, some of which can be a challenge to work, will be on the air. They
will send a signal report plus their county abbreviation and state. You'll
reply with a signal report and your state. Full information is at
http://www.neqp.org/index.html. 

 

Finally, the 7th Call Area QSO Party is from 1300Z on May 4 to 0700Z on May
5. This one is also phone, CW, and digital. Eight states will be on the air:
Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. They
will send a signal report and 5 letters indicating their state and county.
You'll reply with a signal report and state. The whole story is at
http://ws7n.net/7QP/new/Page.asp?content=rules.

 

To get confirmations from USA stations by postal mail, we should include a
self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). It's courteous to do any time you
want a QSL for a contact in the USA, but it's especially important when you
want a card from a state having few hams. A lot of the states you'll hear
this weekend fall into that category. Those hams get a lot of QSL card
requests and the costs for envelopes and postage add up fast if people don't
provide an SASE. If I want a card for the award I'm chasing, it's only fair
for me to pick up the tab. 

 

That's 15 states you could put in the log during just one weekend. I think
I'll see if I can get them all. How about you?

73 - Kay N3KN