QRP Tales

ANTENTOP- 03- 2003, # 004		QRP Tales


*By: Alexei� Rusakov, UA4ARL/qrp (RU-QRP # 005) ua4arl@vistcom.ru*

Continued from ANTENTOP- 02-2003

On 25 May 2003 I worked the WPX-CW contest. I started calling CQ-WPX at 0000Z but was only answered about every fifth time. After about an hour I had only 18 QSOs on 80 meters. I started calling CQ just to see how the propagation was. At 0120Z TO5AA was 559. Finally I was able to work Europe a bit. Yesterday, before the WPX-CW contest I heard someone call CQ. The signal was right at the noise level, so it was impossible to copy. Even my 500-Hz filter didn't improve the signal. I fine tuned and the RST finally got up to 339 and I recognized part of his call sign, 3?2N?, but with QSB. He continued to call CQ but had no response. The RST got up to 559. The call sign was 3D2NC. I gave him a call. No answer. I called again. He said RPT AGN, but there was a European station calling him and he went back the European. On my third attempt he finally came back to me. Sadly he gave me the standard RST 559 for my QRP signal.
At 1101Z I heard no body calling. . I waited for a few minutes more. Then a few sations from Siberia and Europe started calling. They probably heard the pile-up for 3D2NC, whose signal peaked at 569. After about 30 contacts his signal dropped and I couldn't hear him any more. I was interested in how well he was heard in Siberia so I sent an e-mail to UA0 asking how well the European station was heard there. On 20 meters signals from far Europe were 559 and on 15 meters they were 579. The frequency of 3D2 is free now. Is somebody calling QRL ? I waited and heard CQ CQ de A3JJ A3JJ K. Immediately a few stations called him. A3JJ answered a Dutch station and giving "... de EA3JJ". After first QSO the pile-up disappeared. Today I heard RZ6HX/QRP on 21 MHz. *72! Alexei, UA4ARL/qrp*		The RCC had a contest on 26 April 2003. Propagation was poor for both short and long skip, but I did make 150 QSOs. However not many contacts were QRP. After the contest I listened to the upper bands without luck. 15 meters was dead as well as 10 meters. I listened to HF in the evening and it was dead also. The weather in Volgograd is very unstable now. Friday the high was +19 C, Saturday it was only +5 C. Victor, RZ4AA, shares QRP experiences with me. He said "After every contest I always hear HF. Usually propagation is better than before the contests. The contesters have gone back to their other rigs and then it is possible to work 5 watts QRP DX without any problems." Last weekend he had about 20 QRP QSOs into South America (LU, CX and PY) using 5 watts and dipole antenna up about 5 meters. He worked one LU station who was also running QRP and they both exchanged RST of 579! I next listened to 21.00 MSK. I heard the Switzerland contest. The propagation was improving some now. I tuned to the DX window and heard someone transmitting "...ON /QRP. His RST here was 589 and he was talking to Belgium, but I couldn't hear the Belgian station. He told the Belgian station that he was usng a K2 txcvr. When he said 73 and gave his call sign, I was surprised to hear VK9XK! I gave him a call and he came back to me on the first try. He gave my RST as 599. His QTH was Christmas Island. Grear FUN! *72! UA4ARL/qrp Alexei Rusakov*
	Credit Line: : http://ruqrp.narod.ru

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