The 2025 CQ World Wide DX SSB Ham Radio Contest, A.K.A. The Return Of The Girls’ Weekend Getaway

We need to talk. It’s not you. It’s me. Look, its not like I am selfish or anything. But there are only six bands. And one of them is 160 meters for crying out loud! I can’t even get my antenna to tune up on 160, let alone make international contacts. And should I mention 28MHz…yup, the magic band…or is that 6 meters? I forget, doesn’t matter. Like, sure, for the few hours during the day that ten meters is open, I may even get into VK-land. But you and I both know that it is often closed. Like, a lot. Especially at night. Eighty meters is not much better. What am I supposed to do with that? Talk to Canada all night??? Forty is iffy…sure it will probably go long, but long enough for me?! And when? At three o’clock in the morning when I am finally ready to go to sleep? Getting into Europe on 7MHz with an 40M off-center fed dipole less than twenty feet off the ground and transmitting only a hundred watts is not particularly easy. What are we left with? Twenty and fifteen meters? And you want to split them?? Oh sure, of course you want to take 20. Don’t worry, I won’t mind listening to 21MHz die a slow, fade-y, warbling death soon after the sun goes down. I know, I know, I too remember that one Field Day when 15 was open all night long…Don’t worry, I don’t mind going to bed early either. Yes, of course I am being sarcastic. Look, this is just not going to work out between us. I thought I could handle multi-multi, but I can’t. I am just not that type of YL. I want my own transceiver. And I want space, like lots of space. Like enough space that when you key down on the same band as me, I can’t hear your RF bleeding into my radio type of space. Look, I’m sorry, but I am contesting alone from now on. I mean, except for Field Day, of course. What did you say? Not a contest? Field Day? Oh no, you didn’t just say that. You know what? I take it back… It’s not actually me. It really is you.

I rolled into the Salisbury Beach State Reservation campground Friday afternoon and quickly set up my trusty 40M off-center fed dipole (an older design by Frequency Devices, Inc.). Notice that it is not even 20 feet above ground level. Below you can see the little gallon ziplock bag skirt that I tape around the balun to keep the water out…don’t judge, it works! I check the analyzer and see that I have VSWRs below 2 on 10M, 20M, and 40M, and below 5 on 15m. The CQ Worldwide SSB contest would be starting at 8:00pm EST and would run through Sunday. I had a few hours, more than enough time, to get the radio set up and walk Georgie (my shepherd).

Limey, my van, is backed into my favorite space. I have been contesting from Salisbury Beach for several years now. The yellow wire is an extension cord hooked up to the campground shore power tower. The black wire is 100 feet of RG8X coaxial cable that runs back to my antenna.

Both the power cord and the coax are fed through a crack in the driver side window.

I am expecting temperatures to drop into the high 30s tonight and need to try to retain as much heat as possible. I have a 0°F sleeping bag (that I highly recommend) that I invested in a few years ago that will keep me warm and toasty. I have a couple 20°F sleeping bags for Georgie. We should be okay.

The radio is set up and ready to go. Thanks to AA1F who was fretting about me and Georgie a bit, I managed to bring plenty of food and drinks to last through the weekend. Also thanks to AA1F, he had zero interest in joining us for this adventure, thus leaving me to my own devices. I paused to gobble some pizza and was able to jump on the air all fueled up and ready to go exactly when the clock struck eight.

I was on the air periodically from Friday at 8pm to Sunday at 9:23am. In between, Georgie and I hung out and had fun together.

We romped the beach.

And Georgie danced over the waves, trying to drag me in with her.

Happy doggie…

I also brought my DSLR camera which I have been trying to get some practice with due to a project I am working on. I stood by the side of the road using my new 18mm to 300mm superzoom lens. In particular, I have been trying to improve my use of flash, in this case an on-camera speed light. I have to admit, I am finding the dialing in of aperature, ISO, focal length, and flash quite compelling.

These are not meant to be good photos, just test subjects to appreciate “painting with light”.

A surprising amount of people drive in to use this park, even on a chilly fall morning.

As I was standing on the shoulder of the road, taking pictures into trees, I kept noticing others were slowing down in their cars a little too much as they passed by. Seemingly way more interested in me than my actions warranted. Who the heck cared what I was taking a picture of?! Even more odd is when a pedestrian crossed the street to see what I was doing. And then a car parked nearby. A woman holding a lens with a diameter larger than her head rushed out and started running toward me. “What do you see? What is it? What do you got?” Ummmmm…. “A pine cone…”
“You’re taking pictures of pine cones?”
“Yes. What are you photographing?”
“Birds.” She scoffed and quickly got back in her car.

It honestly did not occur to me that birdwatchers were real. I have never really encountered them, at least none so obvious, in real life. It turns out that they all congregate on the service road into Salisbury Beach State Park. The evidence is discreetly documented below.

So, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em…

Below is a, uhhh, gray-black two legged flying birdy bird…

And this one is a partridge in a pear tree…

These are classic Hitchockers (some of you will get it)…

And then an artistic shot of a puddle. Hey, I never said I was going to make a living with my camera.

Okay, back to the radio. In total I was on the air for 9 hours. I made exactly 100 QSOs. Because I wasn’t going to stop until I got to 100.

Poor Georgie kept squeezing herself into the front cab to get away from me. Big doggie living out of a van down by the seashore.

I managed to get 42 distinct countries. That dotted line bleeding off of the left side of the map lands in Australia. On 15 meters. In my opinion, pretty incredible for my very modest radio station.

Georgie and I had a blast. Another Girls’ Weekend Getaway in the books! I enjoyed every band except 160M, which I did even try to tune up but no luck. I was delighted to not have to share anything RF with anyone else. And I am already ready to do it again…

Once I thought I saw you.

KM1NDY