by Tom Frenaye, K1KI – frenaye@pcnet.com
Writeup | New England Scores | Scores from Outside New England | Breakdowns of Top Stations | Soapbox Comments
Introduction
From the New England side, the 2012 NEQP was met with very nice weather, with sunny skies and perfect early May temperatures. W1UJ/m and WA1Z/m both explored bumpy back roads in lots of counties in several states, while K1KI/m headed to Maine, and several others toured multiple counties. Fixed station activity was at an all-time high and a scattering of 1×1 callsigns added some interesting spice to the mix.
In the “outside” world, contests in Italy, Indiana and the 7th call area all provided a running start for the NEQP, as well as some needed QSOs and multipliers.
Aside from the midnight (local time) hour, activity was great from start to finish, with a usual fast finish for mobiles. Congrats to Paul/N4PN and Julius/N2WN for tracking down and working all 67 counties!
The received logs show 934 different New England callsigns in the logs, with 337 from Massachusetts, 175 from Connecticut, 151 from New Hampahire, and 129-77-65 from Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont. It was a busy time.
In addition to reading this article, make sure to view all of the Soapbox Comments from those who sent in logs. The stories provide a good insight into how participants found the contest, the operators, etc.
Propagation
As with the previous year, propagation was reasonably good, but not excellent, and that’s more or less the story of the present sunspot cycle. Overall QSO totals on 10m were up a little, those on 80m were down, but 20m was the money band as usual, with 40m next in line. The big enhancement on 15m and 10m from sunspots is still a dream for everyone…
| Valid QSOs | 80m | 40m | 20m | 15m | 10m |
| QSOs made by W1s | 2,527 | 17,969 | 25,350 | 4,728 | 192 |
| Different stations worked | 440 | 2,216 | 4,333 | 1,307 | 100 |
| QSOs made by non-W1s | 865 | 4,914 | 10,093 | 1,679 | 49 |
| Different stations worded | 80 | 266 | 474 | 166 | 21 |
Mobiles
Jay/W1UJ/m with Kim/N1WK on Saturday and Derek/KB1SBC on Sunday, toured most of New England, flying through 36 of the 58 counties in all six states! They had 834 QSOs in the log by the end of the contest and had a great time, setting the New England multi-operator mobile record with 108,420 points, setting records in 17 counties. For a look at their route and some photos of the station, check out http://w1uj.net/NEQP-2012/
W1UJ/m – What a great adventure! First HF Rover ever for all of us. Extra special thanks to the “Driving Miss Jay-sie” guys N1WK on Saturday and KB1SBC Sunday. We had great WX and good company! The audio was pumping through the hi-fidelity cassette-to-1/8 audio converter. The car and rig were so quiet that the motor turning the non-existent cassette spindles is heard. The K3 is a fantastic, versatile rig. No noise from the car with an installation that started only the week before. NO5W and N5NA were huge help getting me going on with the fine GPS Enabled mobile contesting software CQ/x offering support before during and after. GPS took N1WK and W1UJ off-roading in Wareham MA at the beginning. Ending up turning around in the middle of a cranberry-bog crossing bridges that were probably weight-rated for carts. This had the questions of the far-away planned routes could be.. bad….. Thankfully, all was better than great after!
The worst road and worst county goes to RI. The roads were bone-chattering going through NEWRI, and we spent an amazing amount of time for only a single QSO from KENRI, and that was not easy. Thank you AB1OD. Most scenic is NH into VT. I think cheapest fuel was central NH (North).
Two fantastic dining experiences. Saturday started at New England Amateur Radio Festival (NEAR Fest) in NH and Sweet Sausage from the ‘truck’ in the middle of NEAR Fest.(Hot was considered, until the reality of the long trip ahead was also considered) then to Wareham/PLYMA to make sure KB1SBC was ready at home and went to a local restaurant where a fine home-style (Turkey Croquettes, Stuffed Chicken and I forgot what N1WK had…. but all was 5 star) Sunday was North of Lake Winnipesake NH. They were generous with the Corn/Lobstah dishes, Surf-Lobstah & Turf-Steak tips Corn Cobb & 2 potatoes, Lobster-Corn Chowder, Corn Fritters.
The scenery was awesome and the event was awesome. Will try something new next year hopefully. K3 100w / High-Sierra Motorized antenna / CQ/x from NO5W GPS Enabled Software Just CQ’d high in the band while chatting through the ride. Thanks for following us around!
Bob/WA1Z/m took a lengthy tour of New Hampshire and Vermont, plus part of Maine, covering 20 counties, thanks to pilot Kurt/W6PH’s driving expertise. Bob had 1,218 QSOs and almost 190,000 points, just missing a New England single operator mobile record. He did beat his own previous record of 1195 QSOs from a mobile entry, and set records in five counties.
WA1Z/m – Radio: Elecraft K3, 100 watts. Antennas: Hustler monoband resonators 80-15 (also had 10 with me, but never used). Resonators mounted on Hustler MO-2 masts. Two antenna mounts available on the rear hatch. Logging: Computer logging on laptop powered by combination of internal batteries and sealed jump-start batteries, Writelog. T-Shirts: Sat: 2011 California QSO Party, Sun: PJ4X FCG-inspired “Orange Crush” Thanks again to Tom, K1KI, for organizing another great NEQP!
After two years of talking about it, Kurt, W6PH, and I finally teamed up in the NEQP this year. Kurt did the driving and I did the operating. Kurt says he enjoyed listening to the action fed into the car stereo AUX jack.
The K3 and Win-Keyer were set up on a homemade table secured to the backseat. The laptop and CW paddle were situated on a lap desk on, well, my lap. This worked well and I managed to stay comfortable with this configuration for the duration of the contest.
Two Comet antenna mounts were installed on the back of the car for quick switching between two bands. These are trunk-lip mounts that are not designed to be used with the medium-duty MO-2 masts. To make the antennas very secure, I constructed a harness made from PVC sections that extends from the car’s roof rack for added stability – I don’t do any mobile operating outside of NEQP to justify drilling holes for a more substantial antenna mount.
Kurt kept us on schedule the whole weekend through our 24 county changes in 20 total counties. Conditions both days seemed very good. However, activity seemed low. We averaged about 45-60 minutes in each county, for the most part. We tried to drive straight through big counties and had planned stops in smaller counties to increase operating time. In hindsight, even 45 minutes is a little too long when activity is low.
Highlights:
* Having VK4AAR call in on 20 Sunday morning. Best observed 60 Minute Rate peak was 105/hour on Sunday afternoon. Dedicated group of guys that work this contest every year. Thanks guys!
* No major technical issues during the contest, except for a mishap with a CW paddle that got damaged when it fell of my lap on Sunday (sorry K1GQ and KO1U for QLF moment)
* County plan was executed by Kurt flawlessly.
* OT: Watching bicyclists tackle RT 11 East in Bennington VT (this road is steep in spots)
The multiplier breakdown is 52 State/Prov and 27 DX mults. I missed NM, SD, KL7, SK, AB, NF, LB and the VE territories. And, despite spending the majority of the time in Vermont, I missed the VT multiplier!!! I was searching for someone in the last 30 minutes on 40 and 80 with no success. After the contest, I saw that WB1Z was just…1…k…c above me on 40 in the last hour. Somehow, I missed them.
Thanks to everyone to called in this weekend. Lots of repeat customers this year helped keep the rate up. Of the 1233 QSOs, 651 QSOs (52.7%) were “valid dupes” due to the benefit of county changes. Top repeater was N2WN with 32, followed by N4PN (30) and WA1FCN (26). Many QSOs with NT2A, K0JPL, WN1GIV, NA4K, NF4A, N8UM, K1GQ, K1GU, W8TM, W4GDG, K4BAI, NW2K, KO1U, N4CW, VE1RGB, N9AUG, and VE4VT and many others that called in more than
once…thanks!Also, thanks to all the guys who moved to phone when asked on Sunday to complete “the three-point play.” It was very hard to get anyone to answer CQs on phone, but passing worked really well and helped to keep the rate up on Sunday.
Also had a dedicated group of repeat DX callers: The most being HA8IB with 12, followed by DL3DXX, DM3ZF, G3LIK, G3XVR, IV3AOL, KH6LC (LOUD on 15), OK2EC, PA3AAV, RG5A, UA3AGW, UA6LCN, UR5MM, YO8DOH and more. Thanks for all the QSOs!
By my count, 447 unique callsigns were worked this weekend. See you again next year!!!
Tom/K1KI/m grabbed second place with more than 800 QSOs in eleven central and downeast Maine counties. Additional single operator mobile logs were sent in by Dave/KM3T/m, Brian/NJ1F/m, Nels/NA1GB/m(K1UR), and Joel/N1JEO/m.
Outside of New England, mobiles in the Indiana QP and 7th Call Area QP worked a bunch of New England stations, with Mel/KJ9C/m leading the way with 41 QSOs form Indiana, followed by Dick/N7XU/m(K4XU) from Oregon, Jim/WT9U/m from Indiana, Dave/KS5A/m from Arizona, and Dick/N7XU/m(K4XU) from Idaho.
USA/VE/DX Results
USA outside New England
Check here for detailed results –> Score detail
and for band-by-band info for the leaders –> Band-by-band
The big news outside of New England was the new single operator QRP record by Julius/N2WNfrom the Tennessee Contest Group. Julius beat his own 2009 QRP record by making 225 CW and 114 SSB QSOs in all 67 counties for 37,788 points. Only a couple of people have ever worked all of the W1 counties in a NEQP, and this is the first time for a QRP entrant.
Julius has been entering the NEQP since 2007, winning the QRP category almost every year but not quite managing to find all the counties, or maybe not always being heard with his QRP station. You can see a portion of his antenna farm to the right. –>
In line after Julius, Tom/W0EA made more than 150 QRP contacts setting the Iowa record, followed by Ken/KS4X from Tennessee and Dennis/WA8ZBT from Michigan all with more than 100 QSOs. KE0G/MN also set a state record.
In the single operator Low Power category, the top scorer was Bob/WA1FCN from Alabama set a state record with 365 QSO, a balanced 185 QSOs on CW and 180 on SSB, working 65 counties and edging out Charlie/NF4A in FLorida who had just 25 fewer QSOs and one less county. Very close behind the top three were Bob/N4BP at WN1GIV in Florida, Joel/NA4K in Tennessee, Paul/W8TM with an Ohio record, Gene/NT2A set a record in New York, Ned/K1GU in Tennessee, Dean/NW2K in New York and Paul/K0JPL set a record from Missouri, all with more than 200 QSOs. The tenth spot went to Gary/W4GDG from Virginia. Bob/N4BP also garnered the Golden Log plaque with no errors in his log of 346 QSOs. State records were also set by N7VEA/ID and NG7Z/WA.
Chas/W6UM earned the top Low Power score from the west coast with his 79 QSOs from California. Chris/NN6CH had the second highest score from the west.
Paul/N4PN continued his dominance of the High Power category, nearly breaking his record with 55,611 points from 230 CW and 373 SSB QSOs in all 67 counties from his Georgia QTH. Paul sure enjoys working his New England friends every year! John/K4BAI was next, making 257 QSOs in 59 counties, followed by Bert/N4CW in North Carolina, Bill/N5AQ set the Oklahoma record, then Tom/N2CU from New York with a record score. Other HP records were set by N5NA/TX, WY7FD/WY, and K0IO/IA.
This year, Dennis/N6KI, and with help from several friends (KI6RRQ, W2PWS, N6EEG, and K4RB), entered the Multi-Single category and took the gold, with more than 200 QSOs and 53 counties worked from southern California. You can see that his antennas help him to be heard across the country! Red/K0LUZ was second with his effort from Florida, and Barry/N2BJ came in third from Illinois. Multi-single records were set by W2DZ/NJ, AA3B/PA, W4CDA/KY, W5ASP/TX, K7EMI/OR, and N9FN/IN.
Canada
The high power effort from Mike/VE9AA was enough to claim top honors in Canada and a New Brunswick record. Ed/VE4VT improved upon his winning score from last year to take number one in the low power category with 105 CW and 69 SSB contacts in 51 counties, as well as the record from Manitoba. Gary/VE1RGB was close behind with 128 CW-only QSOs in 49 counties. Low power efforts from John/VE5KS and Bill/VY2LI also set provincial records.
DX
Gert/PA3AAV had the top multi-single score with 113 CW QSOs and 45 counties, four times his last effort in 2009. The top single operator high power score was submitted by Dima/UA3AGW with 15,504 points from 138 CW and 28 SSB contacts, and 51 counties worked. He just outpaced Curt/AH6RE at KH6LC who had almost the same number of QSOs and multiplers, setting a Hawaiian record. Szabo/HA8IB posted the top low power score with 122 QSOs and 53 multipliers.
Fulvio/IV3AOL earned the top QRP score from outside of the USA, and it was a record with 71 QSOs and was also our first entry from Italy.
Thanks to Paul/ON6NA, Stefan/YO8DOH and Yuri/UR5MM for first time entries from their countries. New multi-single records were also set by Kaz/M0CFW(JK3GAD) and Alex/RG5A, and Thierry/F8BFU and Walter/LW3EX set low power records.
For a full list of current records –> Records
New England Results
The CTRI Contest Group decided to try something different this year and fielded a large number of 1×1 special callsign stations. John/W1XX and Bob/K1XA were behind the mic and key at W1M for a Multi-single effort that earned them the top score from New England. They made 1,581 QSOs and 235,648 points from southern Rhode Island, not far from the beach. Second place went to the team using NE1QP (Mike/K1MK, Khrystyne/K1SFA, Mike/N1TA and Tom/W1TO) from K1TTT’s western MA QTH who were not too far behind with a score close to 183k.
Sean/KX9X and Mike/KI1U used W1HQ from the ARRL employees club station for third place with more than 1,000 QSOs (photo below). The WB1Z team (KK1W, N1FJ, AA1YW, W1MSW) from the Hampden County Radio Association went to Windham County VT and made 967 QSOs and set the Vermont record, and Matt/AA1JD teamed up with Hugh/NC1M for 959 QSOs and just under 100k points.
The W1ACT Multi-multi group had the highest QSO total of any station with 1,812 from their yearly visit to Martha’s Vineyard in Dukes County MA, IOTA NA-046, if you count islands worked.
In the single operator High Powwer category, Ken/W1NG from CT turned in the top score with a good mix of CW and SSB contacts for 184,600 points. Just 140 QSOs behind was Randy/K5ZD in MA operating WR1TC, the World Radiosport Team Championship club station for 158,112 points. Third place went to Paul/N1BUG in his first NEQP with 926 CW-only QSOs and 157,420 points for a new Maine record. Paul made it pretty easy to find Piscataquis County ME, usually a tough one! His web site has some nice station details at www.n1bug.com and he also maintains www.aurorasentry.com for good solar information. John/K1ESE, also from Maine, was fourth followed by Dale/AF1T with 1,050 QSOs, all on SSB for 91,350 points from NH. (The photo shows AF1T – on 10GHz)
Rick/N1DC found himself on top of the single operator Low Power crowd again this year with 529 CW and 93 SSB QSOs for 72,513 points from Norfolk County MA. His nicely arranged station has a number of operating awards to show off!
Not too far behind were Mark/K1PU with a new record in Middlesex County CT with just under 65K, edging out Sandor/NB1N with 63k, Paul/K1XM with 60k and Mark/K1RO at 56k for a new Sullivan County NH record. The top all SSB low power entry came from Paul/KB1QYS in Worcester County MA with 574 QSOs and 92 multipliers.
The Low Power category was the most popular one, with 110 entries from New England and 156 outside of W1, plus eleven mobiles.
The New England QRP leader in 2012 was Chris/W1MR from NH with 326 all-SSB QSOs. Scott/N1AIA from southern Maine edged out Ron/WB1HGA for second place.
Check here for detailed results –> Score detail
and for band-by-band leaders –> Band-by-band
Overall there were 53 New England records set in various categories during the NEQP in 2012. Check out the NEQP records page for details –> Records
How’d you do hunting multipliers?
Paul/N4PN and Julius/N2WN found a way to work all 67 counties. and another 5 had at least 60 of them. WA1FCN worked 65, NF4A and W8TM worked 64, WN1GIV found 63, and NA4K grabbed 62 counties.
Last year Suffolk County MA (Boston) was one of the rarest, this year moe than 550 QSOs were reported! The most popular county was Middlesex MA again, with 2057 QSOs reported. The hardest five counties to work were Addison VT(33), Sagadahoc ME(33), Grand Isle VT(34), Caledonia VT(37), and Essex VT(44).
Six New England stations worked all 48 contiguous US states (W1ACT, W1M, W1NG, WR1TC, AE1P, and AF1T). The top number of DXCC countries went to K1T with 53. Although New England stations don’t get extra multipliers for counties worked, they still have to copy the county in the exchange. W1DWA worked the most counties at 55, followed by W1ACT at 49 and NE1QP at 47..
Club Competition
The Tennessee Contest Group took back the title from the big group in Florida, with a dozen Tennessee entries and over 134k points. There were a record eight non-New England clubs who submitted more than five logs each.
The CTRI Contest Group tried something new for the 2012 NEQP, 1×1 callsigns. Logs were received from more than a dozen of their close to 20 1×1 callsigns active in the contest. The club group from Northeastern University Radio Club – W1KBN gave the NEQP a try for the first time and walked away with the school club plaque, narrowly besting the W1AF team from Harvard Wireless Group.
Non-New England Club Scores
| Club | Entries | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Contest Group | 12 | 134,313 |
| Florida Contest Group | 9 | 101,500 |
| South East Contest Club | 6 | 92,883 |
| Society of Midwest Contesters | 8 | 59,103 |
| Mad River Radio Club | 5 | 56,522 |
| Alabama Contest Group | 4 | 54,481 |
| Potomac Valley Radio Club | 5 | 46,132 |
| Yankee Clipper Contest Club | 2 | 28,504 |
| DELARA Contest Team | 2 | 25,356 |
| Frankford Radio Club | 5 | 22,799 |
| Russian Contest Club | 2 | 22,201 |
| San Diego Contest Club | 1 | 18,444 |
| Maritime Contest Club | 3 | 16,621 |
| North Coast Contesters | 1 | 16,219 |
| Minnesota Wireless Assn | 4 | 15,328 |
| Central Texas DX and Contest Club | 3 | 15,082 |
| HA-DX Club | 2 | 13,033 |
| Metro DX Club | 2 | 13,006 |
| Northern California Contest Club | 6 | 10,184 |
| Beemster Contest Club | 1 | 10,170 |
| Southern California Contest Club | 2 | 9,812 |
| Newton Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 9,460 |
| Contest Club Ontario | 3 | 9,193 |
| Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado | 1 | 8,004 |
| Western Washington dx Club | 1 | 7,176 |
| Wilderness Road ARC | 1 | 6,846 |
| Derby City DX Association | 1 | 6,424 |
| Arizona Outlaws Contest Club | 3 | 5,864 |
| Associazione Radioamatori Italiani – Trieste | 1 | 5,538 |
| Czech Contest Club | 1 | 5,056 |
| Bavarian Contest Club | 1 | 4,884 |
| Contest Group du Quebec | 3 | 4,642 |
| CW-ops | 1 | 4,422 |
| Clubul Sporturilor Tehnico-Aplicative Suceava | 1 | 4,216 |
| Fort Smith Area Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 3,996 |
| Southwest Ohio DX Association | 1 | 3,600 |
| Clark County Amateur Radio Club | 2 | 3,283 |
| Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 3,003 |
| Vienna Wireless Society | 1 | 2,820 |
| South Texas DX and Contest Club | 1 | 2,790 |
| Radio Club of Redmond | 1 | 2,349 |
| Northeast Indiana Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 2,300 |
| Bristol (TN/VA) Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 2,240 |
| Colorado QRP Club | 1 | 2,160 |
| Rochester (NY) DX Association | 2 | 2,088 |
| Iowa DX and Contest Club | 1 | 1,960 |
| USS Wisconsin Radio Club | 1 | 1,960 |
| Hoosier DX & Contest Club | 1 | 1,704 |
| Willamette Valley DX Club | 3 | 1,641 |
| Chesapeake Amateur Radio Service | 1 | 1,176 |
| Madison County Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 1,176 |
| DFW Contest Group | 1 | 874 |
| Orca DX and Contest Club | 1 | 672 |
| Bergen Amateur Radio Association | 1 | 638 |
| SK6HD Falkopings Radioclub | 1 | 608 |
| Louisiana Contest Club | 2 | 313 |
| Kaunas University of Technology Radio Club | 1 | 260 |
| Mississippi Valley DX/Contest Club | 1 | 238 |
| Southern Utah DX Club | 1 | 220 |
| Central Oregon DX Club | 1 | 209 |
| Jefferson Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 143 |
| Western New York DX Assn | 1 | 128 |
| Portage County Amateur Radio Service | 1 | 36 |
| Sarasota Amateur Radio Association | 1 | 36 |
| SK4DM Vasterbergslagens Sandar Amatorer | 1 | 32 |
New England Club Scores
| Club | Entries | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Yankee Clipper Contest Club | 53 | 1,930,040 |
| CTRI Contest Group | 15 | 700,550 |
| Bristol County Repeater Association | 2 | 213,228 |
| Hampden County Radio Association | 11 | 182,235 |
| White Mountain Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 105,450 |
| Contoocook Valley Radio Club | 3 | 102,498 |
| Meriden Amateur Radio Club | 5 | 101,644 |
| The Mega System Group | 1 | 99,960 |
| Northeastern University Wireless Club | 1 | 49,593 |
| Harvard Wireless Club | 1 | 46,900 |
| Falmouth Amateur Radio Association | 4 | 38,379 |
| Candlewood Amateur Radio Association | 1 | 32,376 |
| Southeastern Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association | 1 | 10,414 |
| Whitman Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 10,058 |
| Central NH Amateur Radio Club | 3 | 8,219 |
| Bears of Manchester Inc | 1 | 6,696 |
| Norwood Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 6,206 |
| Twin State Radio Club | 1 | 6,200 |
| Wireless Society of Southern Maine | 1 | 5,375 |
| Waterbury Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 4,239 |
| Green Mountain Wireless Society | 2 | 2,904 |
| Granite State Amateur Radio Association | 1 | 2,871 |
| West River Radio Club | 1 | 2,231 |
| Aroostook Amateur Radio Association | 1 | 1,700 |
| Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club | 1 | 793 |
Activity by County
| County | QSOs | Stations Active |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | ||
| Fairfield | 612 | 29 |
| Hartford | 1003 | 43 |
| Litchfield | 354 | 18 |
| Middlesex | 500 | 11 |
| New Haven | 1074 | 32 |
| New London | 516 | 21 |
| Tolland | 921 | 12 |
| Windham | 367 | 9 |
| Massachusetts | ||
| Barnstable | 805 | 29 |
| Berkshire | 840 | 13 |
| Bristol | 653 | 34 |
| Dukes | 427 | 2 |
| Essex | 1107 | 39 |
| Franklin | 95 | 5 |
| Hampden | 1035 | 33 |
| Hampshire | 107 | 7 |
| Middlesex | 2057 | 73 |
| Nantucket | 131 | 3 |
| Norfolk | 811 | 30 |
| Plymouth | 680 | 20 |
| Suffolk | 553 | 9 |
| Worcester | 1573 | 40 |
| Maine | ||
| Androscoggin | 86 | 8 |
| Aroostook | 114 | 7 |
| Cumberland | 101 | 13 |
| Franklin | 93 | 5 |
| Hancock | 267 | 11 |
| Kennebec | 263 | 10 |
| Knox | 49 | 3 |
| Lincoln | 63 | 6 |
| Oxford | 586 | 9 |
| Penobscot | 307 | 13 |
| Piscataquis | 551 | 10 |
| Sagadahoc | 33 | 5 |
| Somerset | 226 | 6 |
| Waldo | 86 | 5 |
| Washington | 302 | 5 |
| York | 301 | 13 |
| New Hampshire | ||
| Belknap | 577 | 15 |
| Carroll | 647 | 14 |
| Cheshire | 451 | 13 |
| Coos | 50 | 2 |
| Grafton | 424 | 13 |
| Hillsborough | 217 | 26 |
| Merrimack | 473 | 18 |
| Rochingham | 971 | 29 |
| Strafford | 130 | 11 |
| Sullivan | 529 | 10 |
| Rhode Island | ||
| Bristol | 270 | 5 |
| Kent | 504 | 16 |
| Newport | 784 | 11 |
| Providence | 541 | 29 |
| Washington | 780 | 16 |
| Vermont | ||
| Addison | 33 | 2 |
| Bennington | 122 | 10 |
| Caledonia | 37 | 3 |
| Chittenden | 132 | 11 |
| Essex | 44 | 2 |
| Franklin | 67 | 4 |
| Grand Isle | 34 | 1 |
| Lamoille | 104 | 3 |
| Orange | 62 | 3 |
| Orleans | 106 | 1 |
| Rutland | 198 | 6 |
| Washington | 57 | 5 |
| Windsor | 120 | 5 |
| Windham | 481 | 9 |
Certificates!
Digital (Adobe PDF) certificates will be mailed to everyone who made at least 25 QSOs. In early February we sent out a request to all participants asking if the would be OK with a digital certificate, thanks to those who replied – that will save us a fair amount of money. Those who did not opt out will be receiving paper certificates. We hope you’ll be back again in 2013 to earn another one!
Plaques and Special Awards
Special plaques have been awarded to these top scorers:
| Category | Donor | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| USA – single operator | Southborough Rod & Gun Club (W1SRG) | Paul Newberry, N4PN |
| USA – single operator low power | Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, in memory of Laci Radnay, W1PL | Bob Beaudoin, WA1FCN |
| USA – single operator QRP | Vern Brownell, W1VB | Julius Fazekas, N2WN |
| USA – single opr(W5-W7-W0) | Huckleberry Mountain Contest Club | Paul Haefner, K0JPL |
| USA – single opr(W2-W3-W8-W9) | Jim Monahan, K1PX | Gene Moshkov, NT2A |
| USA – single opr low power (W2-W3-W8-W9) | Whit Carter, K1EO | Paul Kirley, W8TM |
| USA – California/Nevada | Calif QSO Party – Northern California Contest Club | Dennis Vernacchia, N6KI (+ Rich Lippucci, KI6RRQ, Peter Singer, W2PWS, Dave Huhta, N6EEG, Bob Blumberg, K4RB) |
| USA – multi operator – single transmitter | Will and Pam Angenent, K6ND/K6NDV | Dennis Vernacchia, N6KI (+ Rich Lippucci, KI6RRQ, Peter Singer, W2PWS, Dave Huhta, N6EEG, Bob Blumberg, K4RB) |
| USA – single operator high power – CW only | K1EL Keyers | Gene Moshkov, NT2A |
| Canada – single operator high power | Chris Terkla, N1XS | Mike Smith, VE9AA |
| Canada – single operator low power | Gerry Hull, W1VE/VE1RM | Ed Richardson, VE4VT |
| Canada – single operator – CW only | Bud Hippisley, W2RU | Gary Bartlett, VE1RGB |
| DX – single operator | Yankee Clipper Contest Club | Dmitry Zaslavsky, UA3AGW |
| DX – single operator low power | Pete Chamalian, W1RM, in memory of John Thompson, W1BIH/PJ9JT | Szabo Karoly, HA8IB |
| DX – Russia – any category (min 50 multipliers/200 QSOs) | Dmitri Y Jikharev, N2OW/RA9USU | (no winner this time) |
| Clean Sweep – Not First, but Furthest | Dennis Egan, W1UE | Paul Newberry, N4PN |
| Golden Log – no errors | Jim Spears, N1NK | Bob Patten, WN1GIV (N4BP) |
| Top Club | Florida Contest Group | Tennessee Contest Group |
| New England – single operator | Yankee Clipper Contest Club | Ken Bolin, W1NG |
| New England – single operator – low power | Dave Hoaglin, K1HT | Rick Pendleton, N1DC |
| New England – single operator – QRP | Blackstone Valley Amateur Radio Club | Chris Merchant, W1MR |
| New England – mobile | Boston Amateur Radio Club | Bob Raymond, WA1Z/m |
| New England – mobile – rookie | Bob Raymond, WA1Z | Dave Pascoe, KM3T/m |
| New England – mobile – multi-single | Brian Szewczyk, NJ1F, in memory of James Szewczyk, WB1EYM | Jay Corriveau, W1UJ/m (+Kim Provencher, N1WK, Derek Olson, KB1SBC) |
| New England – County Expedition Award | Huckleberry Mountain Contest Club | WB1Z (Jim Mullen, KK1W, Frandy Johnson, N1FJ, Dave Cain, AA1YW, + Matt Wilhelm, W1MSW) |
| New England – multi-single | Wellesley Amateur Radio Society | W1M (John Lindholm, W1XX, + Bob Halprin, K1XA) |
| New England – school club | Chris Terkla, N1XS | Northeastern University RC, W1KBN (Tom Ajamian, KB1KDU, + Joe Harris, N1QD) |
| New England – single operator – CW only | Andy Bodony, K2LE | Paul Kelley, N1BUG |
| New England – single operator – SSB only | Fred Reed, KK1KW, and Woody Beckford, WW1WW | Dale Clement, AF1T |
| Connecticut – single operator high power | Candlewood ARA | Ken Bolin, W1NG |
| Connecticut – single operator low power | Mikey Mavor, W1MKM, memorial sponsored by the Barnstormers (NZ1U) | Mark Mokoski, K1PU |
| Maine – single operator | Merrymeeting ARA, Androscoggin ARC, Yankee ARC, Portland Amateur Wireless Assn | Paul Kelley, N1BUG |
| Massachusetts – single operator | Framingham Amateur Radio Association | WR1TC (Randy Thompson, K5ZD) |
| Massachusetts – single operator low power | Chuck Counselman, W1HIS | Rcik Pendleton, N1DC |
| New Hampshire – single operator | Mark Pride, K1RX | Dale Clement, AF1T |
| New Hampshire – single operator low power | SILENT Solutions EMC Consulting | Mark Wilson, K1RO |
| Rhode Island – single operator | CTRI Contest Group | K1J (Jim Bowman, KS1J) |
| Vermont – single operator | Bob Raymond, WA1Z | Brian Machesney, K1LI |
| Vermont – single operator low power | West River Radio Club | Gary Foskett, W1ECH |
| Maine – single operator low power | Augusta Amateur Radio Assn | George Monti, K1PQS |
| Maine – Kennebec County | Kennebec Amateur Radio Society | Bill Mann, W1KX |
| Massachusetts – Hampden County – single operator | Hampden County Radio Assn | Dave Cayen, WN1E |
| New England Club | Yankee Clipper Contest Club | CTRI Contest Group |
If you’d like to sponsor a plaque for 2013, please contact us at info@neqp.org
| Special Awards The top USA (non-New England) single operator winner: The Framingham Amateur Radio Association has donated a Lobster dinner for two from Legal Seafood of Boston to the USA single operator (non-New England) winner. For 2012 the winner is Paul Newberry, N4PN! Other top USA (non-New England) scorers: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream – 200+ QSOs: K1GU K4BAI K0JPL N2CU N2WN N4PN N6KI NA4K NF4A NT2A NW2K W8TM WA1FCN WN1GIV |
Log checking
The log checking process found some missed dits and dahs. There were 443 logs overall, just a few less than in 2011, with 421 in electronic format (95%) and only 22 on paper.
For non-New England stations, cross checking was possible on 15,712 of the 18,568 QSOs reported (84.6%). Of the 968 QSOs not allowed (5.2%), the breakdown was as follows:
| QSOs | Reason not allowed |
| 198 | Callsign incorrect |
| 379 | QTH incorrect * (most from 7QP stations who didn’t copy the county) |
| 98 | Not in log |
| 248 | Duplicate |
| 2 | Bad mode |
| 26 | Bad band |
| 17 | Time was outside of contest period |
| 968 | Total of QSOs disallowed |
For New England stations, cross checking was possible on 24,609 of the 52,978 QSOs reported (46.4%). Of the 2,212 QSOs not allowed (4.2%), the breakdown was as follows:
| QSOs | Reason not allowed |
| 593 | Callsign incorrect |
| 668 | QTH incorrect |
| 316 | Not in log |
| 588 | Duplicate |
| 16 | Bad mode |
| 13 | Bad band |
| 18 | Time was outside of contest period |
| 2,212 | Total of QSOs disallowed |
Logging Software
N1MM software use is still growing for logging the NEQP, followed by N3FJP’s software. Use of Writelog, NA and CT in the NEQP are declining
| Logging software | Entries | QSOs |
| N1MM Logger | 203 | 42,724 |
| N3FJP’s New England QP | 71 | 16,221 |
| WriteLog | 33 | 6,803 |
| GenLog | 15 | 3,466 |
| NA | 9 | 2,140 |
| CT | 9 | 2,077 |
| Aether | 6 | 1,152 |
| WA7BNM Web2Cabrillo | 6 | 1,032 |
| MS Word | 3 | 1,032 |
| MS Excel | 4 | 1,028 |
| Win-Test | 5 | 920 |
| TR Log | 4 | 867 |
| TR4W | 3 | 859 |
| SD | 5 | 837 |
| UcxLog | 2 | 642 |
| SkookumLogger | 2 | 529 |
| (16 others) | 20 | 3,879 |
Soapbox
Get a real feeling for the NEQP 2012 experience by taking a browse through the extensive “Soapbox” comments and stories! You’ll find some interesting advice and some good details about the 2012 event.
Thanks
Thanks to everyone for the QSOs and logs during the 2012 New England QSO Party – sure hope to see you again in the 2013 contest.