N8A / N8ZYA Special Event Station

The North American QRP CW Club ( NAQCC ) will be holding it's 5th Anniversary celebration from Oct 12th to Oct 18th. As a "special event", there will be QRP operators in all 10 sections of the United States. (Alaska and Hawaii are included in these zones).

I've decided to be the #8 operator and will be using the special call sign of "N8A" while on the air. You should be able to catch me near the standard QRP frequencies every day on 40 and 20 meters. I will transmit on 40 meters for an hour in the morning and also an hour in the afternoon on 20 meters.

The exact times and frequencies are posted on the NAQCC web site under the caption of " N#A Operation ".

I'm the ONLY operator in the #8 zone so I expect to be a popular guy. I also expect this event to be a real "eye opener" for a lot of operators not familiar with low power QRP operations.

I've worked QRP operators at 2,000 miles. I've also worked over 20 QRO DX operators in Europe with a very simple wire antenna. Most of them had NO idea I was using the power it usually takes to light an old Christmas Tree bulb.

These are minimum times for me.....In reality, you might find me on the air anytime this week on 40 and 20 meters near the QRP frequencies (7040 and 14060). My normal transmitting spot is from my QTH near the State Capitol building in Chareston, WV.

My elevation is only 600 ft and I'm between two 400 ft hills, on the river, and beside a tall apartment complex. My normal patterns usually get me into the Great Lakes area and the Northeast VERY well but when weather permits, I'll try to transmit from an a better location in the mountains.

I should be able to work into Europe on 20 meters if the bands are favorable.

Folks....I'm NOT a "hot shot" CW operator. I usually send and recieve at about 15 wpm. I'll be using a "paddle" on this contest but will keep the speed down to accomodate slower operators.

My exchanges will be brief to allow as many as possible to work me from other areas.

This is the first time I've participated in this type of capacity. I'm looking forward to hearing and working as many stations as possible this week.

72's N8A / N8ZYA