The first quarter of 2012 is in the books and so is a QSO for each and every day. While the actual Q count is dropping from the total number of QSO’s I had in February and from January, I did manage to make a much bigger impact to my DXCC list. The Q count is lower since I’ve been devoting most every weekend to working on the new basement ham shack. This is important to me and will be especially rewarding when I move into the new space. However, I’m not motivated by the total number of QSO’s I make, it is more about quality versus quantity.
Another interesting point is the total number of DX stations I worked in March is also higher. Of course, I did spend a few hours spinning the dial and working who could hear me during the March DX contest. But perhaps this also means band conditions are gradually improving. Just last night I worked E51M on 12m. I saw a tweet from my good friend Martin, and spun the dial over to 12 to see if I could hear them. E51M is working a DXpedition from Manihiki Atoll, North Cook Island. It’s always a good feeling for me when I can log a DX contact, especially so when it is a new DX entity. Of course, this goes in the books for April.
I view putting Q1 behind me as a successful milestone. However, before I schedule the parade, I know I’m just 25% into this challenge. I need to begin thinking about how I’m going to handle vacation and other travel scenarios which will eventually come into play. While my rules are somewhat relaxed, I did initially state that all QSO’s would be on HF. I’m not sure if I’ve backed myself into a corner with this or not. Time will tell…
The breakdown is as follows:
Mode
Number QSO’s
JT65
48
SSB
19
Additional notes of interest:
DX Stations Worked – 19
New DX Entities – 4
Total QSO’s for 2012 – 383
Total consecutive QSO days – 91
Days left in 2012 – 272
Until next time…
73 de KD0BIK
