• [VA3QV] #QRP .Whats that?

    From VA3QV via rec.radio.amateur.moderat@1:396/4 to All on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 04:54:43
    From: rec-radio-amateur-moderated-request@panix.com (VA3QV via rec.radio.amateur.moderated Admin)


    My Amateur Radio Life

    ///////////////////////////////////////////
    #QRP .Whats that?

    Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:02 AM PDT https://va3qv.wordpress.com/2022/03/16/qrp-whats-that/



    Recently I have seen a boatload of operators trying to break pileups and
    make contacts by adding /QRP to their calls. After careful listening after the fact I hear them telling the other station. QRP 10 watts , QRP 20 watts and yesterday I heard on operator calling then claiming he was QRP 40 watts.




    In reality most of them were trying for POTA Contacts where the power
    levels dont matter so. It was just a ploy to try and break the pile up but.




    It did get me thinking about what the common opinion of QRP is and so here
    is what my research found:




    According to State QSO Party .com ( http://stateqsoparty.com/ ) and their list of QSO Parties :







    47 Approved Contests




    7th Call Area QSO Party
    Alabama QSO Party
    Arizona QSO Party
    Arkansas QSO Party
    British Columbia QSO Party
    California QSO Party




    Canadian Prairies QSO Party
    Colorado QSO Party
    Delaware QSO Party
    Florida QSO Party
    Georgia QSO Party
    Hawaii QSO Party
    Idaho QSO Party
    Illinois QSO Party
    Indiana QSO Party
    Iowa QSO Party
    Kansas QSO Party
    Kentucky QSO Party
    Louisiana QSO Party
    Maryland/DC QSO Party
    Michigan QSO Party
    Minnesota QSO Party
    Mississippi QSO Party
    Missouri QSO Party
    Nebraska QSO Party
    Nevada QSO Party
    New England QSO Party
    New Hampshire QSO Party
    New Jersey QSO Party
    New Mexico QSO Party
    New York QSO Party
    North Carolina QSO Party
    North Dakota QSO Party
    Ohio QSO Party
    Oklahoma QSO Party
    Ontario QSO Party
    Pennsylvania QSO Party




    Quebec QSO Party
    South Carolina QSO Party
    South Dakota QSO Party
    Tennessee QSO Party
    Texas QSO Party
    Vermont QSO Party
    Virginia QSO Party
    Washington State Salmon Run
    West Virginia QSO Party
    Wisconsin QSO Party




    That all the States/Provinces/Territories/ contests listed above (with the exception of Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia) consider QRP to be 5watts or less in any mode.




    Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia consider QRP as 5w CW and 10w ssb




    The ARRL, RAC and CQWW contests also consider 5w or less QRP for their respective contests.




    Now where does this come into play that might affect some operators?




    If a new operator believes the hype of his new Xiegu 6100 rig and decides
    to contest with it and suddenly they are competing with 10w output instead
    of the 5w of the other




    The Xiegu G90 at its booming 20w output would fall into that catagory as well. Kind of an unfair advantage even though some dealers are marketing Xiegu as a QRP Line of radios.




    The same of course could be said of those operators using the KX3 or IC 705 but I will assume (correctly I hope) that anyone who shells out the amt of cash needed for the KX3 or the IC705 already understands what the contest they are entering requires and would adjust their power levels accordingly.




    Now before the flames come in. I am not saying anything bad about the
    Xiegu (or any other ) line of radios. I know quite a few operators who are saying really nice things about the G90 and the X5105 (which strangely is
    an actual QRP 5W output radio). As soon as I can liquidate a couple of
    rigs here I plan to get either the X5105 or the 6100 for portable use.
    They are both great radios especially at their price point.








    After many years of operating with the Yaesu FT817 and the Flex 1500 both
    of which were QRP radios (5w) I do have a good idea of what 5w will do as compared to even 100w.








    To be honest there is not much of a difference. Operating with both
    radios I was able to qualify for my ARRL Triple Play and QRP DXCC awards. The proof is in the logs




    73bob







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