[SOC] RFTB Weekend

[Bill Cunningham K4KSR]

Hi Larry,

I normally don't play in RFTB, but certainly will be there tonight.   
I'll be doing S&P @ 100mW and may try running at 200mW.  Have found  
that CQing at 100mW ain't that effective.

Motivation is that I've just completed WAS at 500mW, but specifically  
want to push all 50 states to over 1000 miles/W.  From my QTH in  
Tidewater VA, this means 100-200 mW for most of East Coast.  I knocked  
off all of W1 in the NE QP, but don't have anything south of NY --  
until FL and AL.   Tonight looks like a good night.  Hope the piggies  
have good ears.

This quest got started when FlyingPigs ran a QRP WAS challenge in  
2002.  At the time, I was running a DX-60 that put out 4.7 W in AM  
mode (keyable, no modulation) and 500 mW in TUNE mode.  Solar cycle  
was high and I discovered that 1/2 W would do much of the time.  I  
finished the WAS with something approaching 40 at 1/2 W.  Then I  
thought working 48 CONUS would be a good goal until I caught KH6  
before dawn one morning.  That set me determined to work 50. I became  
stuck at 48, needing MT and AK, and expecting to wait until solar  
cycle improved.  Tuned into MT QP in April and to great surprise,  
worked MT and AK within a couple of minutes.  Wham!.  So now what to do?

Turns out I had neglected to police up QSLs along the way, so have  
been doing that for last month, reworking a few where the original  
contact had moved or died.  Kind of a goat rope.  But, reinforced by  
80m fox hunt experience, began to realize that a fixed power limit  
wasn't really a good measure.  Anything within a single hop can be  
worked rather easily with 100mW if circumstances are right.  In fact,  
QRPp WAS should include something like 100mW per hop or all 50 over  
1000 miles/W.  A couple of guys have really pushed the envelope here,  
one even working all 50 with total power of 1 W. That's an average of  
20mW per state!  I'm not that ambitious, but do want to push  
everything over 1000miles/W.   And it turns out that the short  
distance, high angle QSOs are the most difficult. VA, MD, DE will be  
toughest for me.  The guys in DE, RI and maybe CT can't find another  
contact within own state over 100 miles and that forces them into  
special provisions beyond simply dialing 100mW into rig.

More than you wanted to know, but am really excited about finishing at  
1/2W and the natural extension to 1000 miles/W.

CU tonight.

72 es oo

Bill Cunningham
K4KSR, FP #249





On May 15, 2009, at 16:20 PM, Larry Makoski W2LJ wrote:

> Even though it is Dayton weekend, we are still having Run for the  
> Bacon this Sunday night!
>
> For all pertinent details, go to:
>
> http://www.fpqrp.com/fpqrprun.php
>
> See you Sunday night from 9 - 11 Eastern time.  Maybe we'll hear  
> some newly purchased Dayton goodies on the air for the first time!
>
> 73 es "oo"
> de Larry W2LJ
> FP# 612
>
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