A few minutes before the start, I call Peter, OM6TX. With 25W of power, I get an excellent report. During the contact, I switch to 5W—that is, QRP. Peter reports that the signal has weakened, but it’s still strong enough. I know that Jano OM0AJ can’t participate in the OM Activity Contest, so I tune in for the start of the contest segment.
Dočítate sa:
The OM Activity Contest
It looks like that was the right decision, because a lot of callers are coming in right away. Ivan OM0AD can boast the first contact in this year’s OM Activity Contest
Laco OM5LD is doing well. At that moment, I can only assume that he’s also running on QRP power.
OK2BFN’s gentlemanly conduct
It seems that someone is reading these short posts about contest efforts. Just as I switched to VFO B (SO2V) to make a contact, a question came up: “Is the frequency clear?” Since I hadn’t made contact with Tomáš OK2BFN yet, I called him right after he finished his call. He must have suspected that I had been on that frequency earlier, because he asked twice. I appreciate that—but if you ask and don’t hear anyone respond, go ahead and use the open slot.
I took advantage of the change to scan the band and pick up contacts I hadn’t made yet. You can see this in the log below, which also lists the frequencies. The number of contacts was unusually high for QRP.
How many contacts do you make via SO2V?
It varies from contest to contest. This time, the ratio was 62 to 4 contacts.
SO2V Contact Ratio
It looks like just a few contacts. There aren’t many competitors in the QRP category. But what difference would 4 contacts make in the QRO category?
SO2V is actually more challenging than SO2R. With SO2R, the operator can listen to a second frequency even while transmitting. This way, for example, during a call, they can search for the station they need. With SO2V, the only option is to receive on two frequencies while transmitting. You can find an example in “Could You Handle SO2R Operation?”
A more advanced form is 2BSIQ, a system described by José CT1BOH https://www.qsl.net/ct1boh/2bsiq/
New Stations in the OM Activity Contest
Several call signs I hadn’t heard before also appeared. For example:
OK2PJW
OM4AQP
I heard Dana OM4AQP several times. It seemed like he was responding to calls from other stations. Toward the end of the OM Activity Contest, I picked him up, and there was an open frequency right next to him. It was the right decision—we made the contact a short while later.
Log extract from the OM Activity Contest, November 2024
List of contacts in the OM Activity Contest, November 2024
List of contacts in the OM Activity Contest, November 2024
MP3 recordings from the OM Activity Contest
Summary
We ended up with 66 contacts. A number that would hold its own even in QRO. Sometimes you just get lucky with a result like this. With 23 multipliers, that comes to 1,518 points. However, it’s possible that some points will be deducted after verification. Why not give QRP a try, too?
