Lots more 7QP commentary here at 3830
Antenna used for K6WSC's K7C operation in Santa Cruz County, AZ and good for first place in the Single-County Expedition Single-Op category. Per Bill's 3830 commentary: "This was my fifth 7QP expedition, and the second from a rental house situated on 20 acres near Sonoita in Santa Cruz County, AZ. This was my third time out with my latest antenna system. The effort required to get the antennas up in the air and then take it all down hours later is herculean. Each time I do it, I tell myself it’s the last time. It takes about 11 hours to put up and four hours to take down and properly store the pieces."
Steve/K7HO: "The weather cooperated, and we had a great day operating from Manastash Ridge Observatory." Elevation 3930' in Kittitas County, Washington.
IC-7300, Heil promicro headset, Vectronics HFT-1500 tuner for 75 meters only, and a ZS6BKW up 50 feet, running N-S at 6,053 feet elevation. What a slog that was! Not a soul heard on 10 or 15, noisy bands, and recent solar storms, just to keep things interesting. I had 205 Q's on 20, 144 Q's on 40, and only two Q's on 80! The "5-letter group exchange" (for 7-Landers) should be simple enough, and yet it is not employed nearly enough. Great runs on 20 and 40. Thanks for the fills. Hoping this effort will result in my 4th ever, 7QP plaque. Chuck/N7MZW
Jon (AI6W) and I (W6DER) had an AMAZING time operating the triple county intersection NV Pershing, Washoe, Churchill (aka NVPER/WAS/CHU). During the contest hours we had sun, clouds, rain, hail, snow, and lightning (five miles away)! DX Commander Nebula worked great with a K4D. All battery power for the whole contest. First time doing an expedition for either of us and we are hooked. 80 meters was a blast. We've never had a great antenna on 80 so the Nebula was a real treat. Hope everyone else had fun! Derek/W6DER
Rig was FTdx101 and Butternut vertical. I may get the hang of N1MM logger in these QSO Parties if I live long enough.... Eldon/W1END
Portable at the Silver Surf Motel, Yachats, OR. We had a doozy of a solar disturbance earlier in the day! Thankfully, the bands perked up nicely later on. Too bad I had to work with a compromise antenna. I missed being able to work effectively on 80 meters. Greg/K7ZX
Well this was a bust this year, I was just 26032 points short of last years score. It took nearly 10 hours to get the 102 contacts that I got, but fun as always. Bill/KA7X
NN0G's "Tumbleweed Antenna Farm" for his W7Y operation. Third trip up to Guernsey State Park WY for 7QP and some POTA as W7Y. This year the plan was to get 700 CW contacts in the time my body would allow me to sit in a chair. Almost made it, claiming 684 in 10 hours. There were several I didn't log due to some question about their quality. Trusty FTDX-10, homebrew 15/20 hex beam, and tried and true 10-40 homebrew EFHW. In addition I brought along my KPA500 just for good measure. No major weather issues! Looking for another location next year. Nothing wrong with this place, but its time for a change. Dana/NN0G
Operated mobile doing two POTA activations. Kept my antenna in "mobile legal" configuration (Caltrans max vehicle height and no radials). That might have limited my reach, but I was able to work almost everyone i could hear over the noise floor, except one in NV (which I still need for was phone - in retrospect, I wish I had fully extended my 17' whip for that one and just x-qsod it in the contest log). John/NN6U
Not trying to win this one, just put a few more counties on. Bad roads, bad line noise, and a few visits from Mr Murphy. This one was tons of fun!.... Not! To NEQP: please wait for us to finish sending our entire exchange (not just the "IN" part) before you send "TU QRZ". It's downright rude, even if you are not planning to enter INQP! Mel/KJ9C
This was the 1st WQ6X Cinco de contest operation running QRP. Having access to KN6NBT's "Cliffside" location on top of the mountain in Ramona made QRP operation a reality. Many stations had trouble believing I was really a QRP station. Having access to a 3-el Stepp-IR, a 2-el Shorty-40 and a double-Bazooka on 80 meters (all at 50 feet) allowed me to point the antennas giving the 5-watt signal just enough oomph to be heard domestically, although numerous DX calls were also received on the high bands. Internet dropouts probably accounted for my voice sounding choppy sometimes. The 7QP turnout was quite plentiful, although certain expected counties were noticeably missing. Then again, there were dozens of county line expeditions which made up for some of the missing areas. I was surprised by the smaller (than expected) turnout from California. You can real all about this GiG soon at: WQ6X.Blogspot.com. Ron/WQ6X | 