Hi All, of course, individuals and results always vary, but I find this report pretty encouraging. As I say, this fellow's not known to or by me, but if accurately represented, the results are quite interesting, to say the least_!
Enjoy, Danny Dyer, Wb4idu.
Quoted text follows.
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:06:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jim kel (...Email address omitted by Danny, for obvious reasons)
Subject: Re: [QRP-L] BIG contest weekend coming up!...
This one is certainly up my alley! I have been chronicling my QRP SSB adventures for the past 2(?)or so years. My adventures via this list has been met with about a 50/50 approval-scoff rating.?
My venture into the Phone side of the QRP game started completely by accident. It was during the 2010? Lighthouse weekend event. I noticed that the Coney Island Lighthouse was participating and for purely nostalgic reasons I wanted to try to work them but found they were not going to be operating any CW during the event, Phone only...Digging out the 817's mic I prepared myself. I have always had a case of mic shyness hence my only, to that point, mode was CW. Long story short, I never heard the Coney Island station but did hear a Lighthouse in Denmark calling, chuckling to myself, figuring `twas impossible...I called them...Could have knocked me over with a feather when they responded back with a 58 rpt! I spent the rest of the day working every Lighthouse and non Lighthouse European station I heard!
Amazed I made the decision to put the key down for a bit and give SSB QRP DXCC a real go...exactly 1 year and 2 weeks later having worked VK2DAG for number 100, My quest had been completed! Confirmations? well that took another year and a half for the last one to come in!
Present day...Just changed my call on 9/28/2012 from WA2OQJ to K2MIJ, much easier to send CW wise and....the real reason....if you were to write the letters in reverse order it is JIM2K <---Hey! thats me!...I know, I know...lame but jeez thats why they call `em vanity calls...
Anyway, I have started all over again and if anyone still might be thinking SSB QRP is not viable or possible or thinks that yes it might work but only as the exception rather than the norm take a look at my stats from the day of my new call issue... http://qrzcq.com/log/K2MIJ ?This is my log since the day of my call change to today and here is a screenshot of my entities worked since the 28th of September all 57 (58, just worked 6Y5/K1XM while writing this)were worked from my Yaesu FT-817nd @ 5 Watts SSB! actually I think it is 55 - 3 of them I believe were CW contacts...?
http://imageshack.us/a/img208/1021/mijdxcclist1.jpg
I will operate in the contest as I have each year. I do not operate to be competitive, I am always just on the prowl for new "ones" I do not work very hard and always set out to make my goal of 100 in the log and have met or surpassed the mark each time out.
I have seen Fairies and Princesses mentioned in previous posts to this thread...I have not seen any nor do I need any, I only need good QRP skills. Timing, persistence and listening,listening,listening. Of course operating as if you were as equal to being heard as anyone else helps too!
As far as a lot of aluminum goes, well I am sure it helps but to this point ?haven't found a need for it, I have worked everything on a horizontal delta loop made from some old scrap 26 gauge 100pair telco ?wire I yanked out during a commercial building remodel many moons ago, The delta loop is all of 10 feet above the ground. Raised it from 6 feet to 10 feet so I didn't decapitate myself while mowing the lawn!
Still a couple of days left before contest day. I hope to work a few others and maybe bring the total needed for a second DXCC as K2MIJ to actually being do-able via the contest...DXCC in less than a month, now that would really be a kick!
If you choose to give it a try, good luck and if not, good luck also...It's all good!
72/73, Jim - K2MIJ
(Formerly WA2OQJ)"
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