I know I have told you about QSO parties, previously, but I always enjoy participating in the California QSO Party. For one thing, the state is so large and diverse, there are lots of county targets "to collect." Secondly, it was the first contest I participated in after joining the Tennessee Contest Group a few years back.
And, finally, the distance from TN means there are various ham radio bands available during different dayparts.
For instance, at the outset of the party (Saturday afternoon), my favorite band (15 meters) was wide open. It is good for long distance contacts and I made a bunch of them to kick off the proceedings. It was a cool, rainy day in East Tennessee, so a perfect way to spend a couple hours until football and baseball games started.
Then, when I came back home after dinner, 20 meters (a good band for me for distance but also mid-range contacts) was open and it was open 'til late in the evening. At that point, signals were showing up on 40 meters. That means the band had "gone long." Or, in other words, the band that is usually good for close-in contacts had expanded. Signal propagation to the west coast was possible. So, I closed out my evening on 40 meters. And, to close out my efforts, I logged 10 more contacts early Sunday morning before church services.
In all, I made 120 contacts and in 43 different California counties.
One of my prized contacts was with a station in Del Norte County. If you look at your map of California, that is at the extreme northwestern tip, along the Pacific Coast. Turns out my friend from Seattle, Tim, was operating with his friend, Mark. I haven't confirmed the details with him yet, but if past practice is the case, they likely picked a picturesque spot to meet, set-up and participate remotely. Wouldn't be surprised to learn they likely operated from a park or scenic vista.
Anyway, not only is it a more rare county than, say, San Francisco, San Diego or Los Angeles County, it was fun to "work" a friend.
When I showed my colored map to Holly, she noted that we were probably in four different California Counties during our summer vacation last year - Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Diego. And, in a like manner, we were in San Francisco and Alameda Counties during our earlier visit in 2012.
For a lifelong East Coaster, those are names you've always heard about but rarely experienced up close. So to actually have your feet on the ground in those areas was pretty cool. And, of course, as I mentioned last month, Lisa and I started this year out in the Southwest. So, we covered more ground that is somewhat exotic to us from the east. Coincidentally, Arizona is next-up in the state QSO party calendar.
Then, the year wraps up with Pennsylvania, South Dakota, New York and Illinois. At that point, ham radio's "radio sport" turns it attention to a few big contests to close out the year and some to kick off the new year before another round of QSO parties begin in February.
JG
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