Friends QRP,
as agreed upon VHF meeting in Holice, there was a personal meeting between ČRK emissary Jirko OK1RI and the organizer of the Classic QRP race Mirkom OK1 HOUSE. The aim was to try to harmonize the dates between the two organizers of the VKV QRP competitions, in order to avoid duplication and collisions.
A number of points were considered during the meeting and scorecards from as far back as 2001 were analysed. The graphs showed that on Sunday morning the best stations had around 50 connections after 16 hours of competition, a gap that was quickly wiped out by stations coming in with fresh energy. A comparison of the results of the stations on the first rungs of the 24-hour and 6-hour race showed that the point differences were minimal and did not correspond to the 18-hour difference in the duration of the competition. For many, the 24-hour race was more of a social event, as evidenced by the interruption of activities in the evening. Therefore, it is recommended to aim for a 6-hour race with higher activity instead of the traditional 24 hours.
An analysis of club stations in 2009 showed that OK1KTT took 1st place in the 24-hour category, OK2KYJ 2nd, OK2M 3. (1./6h), OK5T 6. (24h) and 2. (6h), OK1KUO 7. (24h) and 3. (6h). The graphs may contain some inaccuracies, but the trend is clear.
The number of connections with more distant stations (F and YU) was also compared. In both the 24-hour and 6-hour categories, the results were comparable, no significant difference was evident.
The main problem for the future is fast growing Alpe Adria contest, which has LP (up to 50 W) and QRP (up to 5 W) categories. However, the QRP category is limited for OK stations - there is only one hill above 1600 m in the Czech Republic. While broadcasting QRO stations from Italy, Slovenia or Croatia does not primarily interfere, the problem is mutual interference and the fact that our weak QRP signals become unreadable. During the QRP race, the number of QRO stations that ignore requests increases every year.
We selected the stations that participated in the QRO categories: OK2POI (900 W), OK1IA (400 W), OK1DC (100 W), OK1AGE (500 W), OK1DFR (300 W), OK2DGB (100 W), OK1TEH (900 W). Some, like Matěj, broadcasted only minimally and showed few points.
After consideration of deadlines and conflicts with other competitions, it is proposed to move the QRP race to Saturday afternoon of the same weekend, with a duration of 6 hours. This term will make it possible to use stations from Poland, France and Yugoslavia, it will minimize the interference of QRO and at the same time it will enable the preparation of stations for further competitions. The start of the competition is recommended around 12 UTC, allowing two hours of competition between home stations before the arrival of the more distant ones.
The race's proposals will remain roughly the same, with an opening for foreign participants and with evaluation via Moravany or e-mail. Promotion will be ensured by both organizers - ČRK within partner organizations and Mirek OK1DOM in cooperation with the Slovak organizer om0aaa.
Mirek OK1 HOUSE, Jirka OK1RI