The NAQCC April Challenge

I keep a clock in my shack to commemorate the last "maritime transmission" to "ships at sea" in America. This is an inexpensive clock and can easily be converted into an "Atomic Clock". The instructions and a video is here. My sincere thanks to John (W3JAR) for the link for this project.

I've become quite fond of the monthly challenges of the NAQCC club. This certificate is for completing the March "Sports" Challenge! I enjoy completing these every month.

The "challenge" is to make words out of the call signs of the stations you've worked during the month. You can find instructions and tutorials at this web site.

The game changes every month. I've found using DX stations is a much quicker solution to the puzzle. I've already completed this months challenge. The theme this month revolves around the last CW transmission of the "maritime" stations. This was a " night to remember ".

This is not a difficult game to complete. As a matter of fact, you can easily complete this game by using DX contacts. I'm amazed at the DX contacts possible with only 5 watts of power and a simple wire antenna. The trick is being able to send a receive CW at around 20 wpm.

DX can be misleading and intimidating to newcomers but with practice, you can recognize and return your call sign and signal report in a "quick exchange". Although not always, 99% of DX is "thank you and 599".

You can do this....and it's FUN !