"Triple Crown" Contest Weekend In USA Offers New England, Indiana and 7th Call QSO Parties

By Jamie Dupree NS3T radio-sport.net
Posted May 2, 2011

This weekend starts the run for the "Triple Crown" in horse racing, with the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, just as ham radio contesters in the US have their own triple contest battle, with the New England, Indiana and 7th Call Area QSO parties.
The action starts in the East with the New England QSO Party, which covers the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
The NEQP begins at 2000z on Saturday, going until 0500z on Sunday, and then re-starts eight hours later at 1300z until 2400z.
If you're looking for a Derby favorite in this contest, it is Paul Newberry N4PN, who has had the top score every single year that the NEQP has been contested - even in 2002, when he ran low power.
While N4PN did not break his high power US record last year, there were a number of records set from the New England side:
NE1QP/m set a new Multi-Single mobile mark
W1UE now owns the New England Single Op High Power record
K1TTT broke the Multi-Single record
W1XX set a new Single Operator QRP standard
If you don't have the best propagation into New England, then maybe you can turn your sights to the midwest, where the Hoosier State will again offer the Indiana QSO Party this year.
This is a 12-hour affair that starts at 1600z on Saturay and ends at 0400z on Sunday morning.
Like the NEQP, last year saw several records go down in the INQP:
N8II set a new out of state Single Op HP mark
WA3HAE also broke the record for Single Op LP
In Indiana, WN9O set the new Rover category record
W9ILF recorded a new Single Op QRP standard
If you are thinking "sweep" in Indiana, there are 92 counties to find in the 12 hour contest period, then you need to be pro-active, like Jeff Hartley N8II, who won the Single Op High Power category, but felt the presence of the top low power scorer as well.
"Keith, WA3HAE was like a gnat buzzing around me," Hartley wrote on 3830 after last year's contest.
"I would move someone to phone and he would be the next QSO or beat me there!" N8II said.
No one had the sweep last year in Indiana, while there were four sweeps outside New England in the NEQP by the two top scorers in each single op category, N4PN, K0LUZ, NF4A (who won low power) and NA4K.

Time To Go Out To 7-Land

Of course, don't even think about a sweep in the 7-Land QSO Party, which features 259 counties in the eight states of W7 - Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
As of a week before the test, organizers had committments to activate 90 of the 259 counties.
The 7th Call Area QSO Party begins at 1300z on Saturday 7 May and runs 18 hours until 0700z on Sunday.
To get an idea which counties will be activated - and what mobiles will be on the roads out West - you can check the 7QP web site to see how every county in Arizona will be active, but only a few maybe in Wyoming.

What About The Kentucky Derby?

If you want to contest and have a little fun watching the horses as well, post time for the 2011 running of the Kentucky Derby is 2224z - 6:24pm EDT on Saturday - the first Saturday in May.

W0BH and N4PN Streaks On Line

This first weekend of May has been dominated for years by two hams, Paul Newberry N4PN - who has won the top Single Operator spot in the New England QSO Party for nine straight years - and Bob Harder W0BH, who has a six year streak going in the 7th Call Area QSO Party.
Harder is one who dabbles in all three of the major QSO parties this weekend, as in 2010, he made 600 QSO's in the 7QP, 70 in the Indiana QSO Party and 310 in the NEQP.
"I'm a former 7-lander, so I primarily work the 7QP on Saturday before swinging the beam east on Sunday," said Harder after last year's contest weekend.
"It's fun to work a number of QSO parties at the same time, but the down side is not being able to concentrate on just one because everyone is competing for bandwidth," he added.
That will change a little this year, as the MARAC mobile contest has been moved to a different weekend.
That change occurred several months ago, when the county hunter contest was worried about being further dwarfed by the addition of a Zero-Land QSO Party, which ultimately was scrapped by its developer.
The MARAC Contest has now moved to the last full weekend in July, and will be run in two periods on Saturday and Sunday.
The contest has also undergone a rules overhaul according to organizer Scott Petty KA3QLF, with new categories to match.
It will be run the same weekend as the IOTA contest this summer.