Monday, April 22, 2024

Florida QSO Party coming on April 27 & 28, 2024


 


The 2024 Florida QSO Party is *this weekend*; we sure hope you'll join us.  All 67 counties will be active.

Please check out the 2023 FQP results and much more at our Web Site: http://www.floridaqsoparty.org/


The Florida QSO Party
Object: Everyone works Florida, Florida works Everyone
Activate and work ALL Florida counties
Have as much FUN as possible!

When: April 27 & 28, 2024
Two ten hour operating periods, with a ten hour break:
Saturday, April 27 1600Z (Noon EDT) – April 28 0159Z (9:59 PM EDT)
Sunday, April 28 1200Z (8 AM EDT) - 2159Z (5:59 PM EDT)
20 Hours total

Exchange: RST and County (Florida stations)
RST and QTH (State, Province or Country for non-FL)

Where: 10, 15, 20 and 40 Meters

SUGGESTED OPERATING FREQUENCIES:

CW:       7.020-7.045, 14.025-14.055, 21.030-21.050, 28.030-28.050 MHz

Phone:  7.185-7.245, 14.240-14.295, 21.320-21.350, and 28.450-28.480 MHz
Contacts outside these frequency ranges are still valid; see rules for details.


MOBILE WINDOW:
We expect several Mobile stations will be on and most can be found here:
CW:  7.025-7.035, 14.040-14.050, 21.040-21.050, 28.040-28.050 MHz
If you are not mobile, *please* refrain from calling CQ in these windows.


Categories:
Single Op, Multi Op, Multi-Multi, Mobile, Expedition, Technician and School.
Three power levels: QRP, Low, and High Power.
Use CW, SSB or both.

 

Special Event Award- 2024 FQP Spelling Bee! 

We will have a total of 12 special 1x1 stations whose suffixes spell KEYS.  There will be three stations per suffix.  Contact at least one station of each suffix letter spelling KEYS to earn this award.  These stations will be on both modes and should be very accessible. QSL these 1x1 calls active in FQP via KU9C direct or via Logbook of The World (LoTW).    

The call signs and hosts are: 

CALL    HOST    CTY      

K4K       AI4WW  BRO

N4K       N4WW  ORA

W4K      N4OX    ESC

K4E       K4EJ     PAS

N4E       N1TO    IDR

W4E      NF4A     BAY

K4Y       K3QH    PAL

N4Y       N4UU    ALC

W4Y      WO4O   LAK

K4S       K2SG    HER

N4S       N4SVC SUW

W4S      NN7CW LAK

 


PRIZES: Beautiful color Certificates for top participants
Plaques for top finishing entrants.

Web Site: http://www.floridaqsoparty.org/
Detailed rules, past results, plaques, county maps and much more! 

 Be sure to check out the links under the Counties tab to two terrific county-tracking tools by Bob K0RC and Chuck NO5W (thanks guys!).

In addition, Chip N3IW runs a FQP spotting website at http://qsopartyhub.com/fqp-spots.php. Please remember that self-spotting or requesting to be spotted is not allowed (exception for spelling bee 1x1 stations only).

 

ACTION REQUIRED!!!

Florida Stations of all types – please go to the FQP website and register your fixed, mobile, rover and 1x1 Spelling Bee operations; just click on the “Counties" link and then the Activation Forms to get started – thanks!

Saturday Registration Form:  https://floridaqsoparty.org/counties/saturday-route/

Sunday Registration Form:  https://floridaqsoparty.org/counties/sunday-route/

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW YOUR ENTRY FOR ACCURACY BEFORE SUBMITTING*


Logs in Cabrillo format can be uploaded (preferred) at: https://fqp.contesting.com/fqpsubmitlog.php

or emailed to logs@floridaqsoparty.org; Paper logs via US mail to: Florida QSO Party, c/o Ron Harps, K8NZ, 1997 Willow Glen Ln Columbus, OH 43229-1550.

Any questions or feedback? Please feel free to reply to me via email:

cqdenx4n@gmail.com

We highly encourage you to sign up to the FQP email Group fqp@groups.ioAnyone wishing to subscribe to the FQP email reflector may go to this link to sign up:  https://groups.io/g/FQP - Just click on the blue "Join this group" button below and follow the directions.

 

THANK YOU in advance for making the 2024 FQP another terrific event – see you then!

FQP - So Bright, you gotta wear Shades! 

😎


73,
Chris, NX4N, on behalf of:

Chris, W4WF and Dan, K1TO – President and Past President
Florida Contest Group, proud sponsors of the FQP since 1998

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Countdown to the April 6th, 2024 RaDAR Rally

RaDAR is Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio. The next RaDAR Rally is April 6th, 2024. See the details at www.radarrally.info. All ham radio operators are welcome to participate.

Monday, April 1, 2024

PCARC Spring Tailgate April 13th, 2024

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club Spring Tailgate is coming on April 13th. Mark your calendars and come out to the club. The start time will be 9 am and should go through lunchtime. Bring that old radio gear sitting around collecting dust to sell, or look for that item that will fill out your ham shack. 

The PCARC clubhouse is located at:
130 N Church Ave
Panama City, FL 32404




W4RYZ DMR Repeater Update

 W4RYZ DMR Repeater

147.210 MHz +600 offset
Color Code: 1
Connected to TGIF DMR network

Timeslot(TS) 1: For linked talk groups. 

Timeslot (TS) 2: TG9 local-only traffic (TG 9 is not passed to the network)

Please keep all networked traffic on TS1 so we can keep TS2 for local traffic (TG9) for those who do not want to talk on the linked network.

On Timeslot 1, check out TG850 for our local group. We have a net Mondays at 7:30pm central time on TG850, feel free to join us.
Another popular talk group is TG31665, the TGIF talk group. The Friday net is on TG31665 at 7:30 pm central time.  

info via KK4DIV




Thursday, March 21, 2024

Amateur Radio Nets Beginner's Guide

This was the topic of our Beginner's Academy, March 18th Zoom. There are nets on ham radio for almost every interest.

A New Bay County Repeater is On-The-Air



Bay County has a new two-meter repeater on the EOC tower at 637 Hwy 2300, Southport, FL 32409
  • Downlink: 146.94000
  • Uplink: 146.34000
  • Offset: -0.600 MHz
  • Uplink Tone: 100.0
  • Downlink Tone: 100.0
  • County: Bay
  • Grid: EM70EH
  • Call: W4RYZ
  • Use: OPEN
  • Op Status: On-Air
  • FM: Yes, analog capable and Fusion
The Bay County 145.210 repeater is on the Bennet tower at 7300 FL-20, Youngstown, FL 32466
  • Downlink: 145.21000
  • Uplink: 144.61000
  • Offset: -0.600 MHz
  • Uplink Tone: 100.0
  • Downlink Tone: 100.0
  • County: Bay
  • Grid: EM70FK
  • Call: W4RYZ
  • Use: OPEN
  • Op Status: On-Air 
  • FM: Yes, analog capable and Fusion

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Get Ready for the Spring 2024 RaDAR Rally

RaDAR is Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio. Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE in South Africa conceived the RaDAR concept. The RaDAR Rally adds movement to portable operating with a time constraint. The objective: Use your ham radio knowledge, portable equipment, and physical skills to challenge yourself during an unforgettable four-hour experience. The four-hour duration creates an urgency that demands optimized equipment and operating strategies. When: The first Saturday of April and November. Choose four hours during the UTC day. The following Sunday is a backup date if Saturday doesn't work for you. The next RaDAR Rally is April 6th, 2024. Register at www.radarrally.info.