The 2021 New England QSO Party – Long Live The Parallel Players! [Blog & Video]
(Want to jump right to the video? Click here!) It is no secret that we do not like to share our radios. Not so much in the “don’t touch my radio” sort of way, but in the “I want to play radio, too” sort of way. So when KB1REQ, AA1F, and I decided to get together for the New England QSO Party to activate Suffolk County from Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester, Massachusetts, I figured we could each have a station and share a call sign for a multiop/multistation event. Turns out, this could not be. The NEQP rules state that stations with multiple radio operators must only use one transmitter. After a little back and forth, we decided to operate the NEQP as a team using the New England Amateur Radio, Inc. club call sign N1VD. We would simultaneously activate PJP2 Park for Parks-on-the-Air (K-8422), and all three of us could operate at once.
Anyone travelling northbound on I93 into Boston has certainly noticed the seemingly unused pavillions in the center of the landfill turned beautiful greenspace, now known as Pope John Paul II Park. We sequestered one of these for our radio play day. Supplied with pizzas and enough communication gear for three (ok, technically four) radio stations, we were ready to get our antennas set up. We used a combination of the pillars of the pavillion, Mr. Longarms brand painter poles, paracord, and the scant supply of shrubby trees (including one that had blown over) to erect our wire antennas. Wanting the most competitive antenna, KB1REQ decided quickly to take the 40M OCF for the NEQP. We repurposed the dead tree into a tripod to hold the mast with center balun, with one leg flopped over a nearby tree, and the other secured to the shelter.
Another painter pole was lashed to a pavillion pillar, and held the free end of the 20M EFHW antenna we designated for POTA. The other end was tied to a tree.
And the third antenna? Well, I just tossed an 80M off-center fed dipole on the ground. Just kinda to see if it would work…
The plan was a solid one. Except the team sport aspect of it. Turns out that KB1REQ stayed on the N1VD/NEQP station, AA1F stayed on the POTA station, and I got the 80M-Antenna-On-The-Ground station. Except when AA1F realized I was not about to make the 10 contacts needed for a POTA success and let me on 20M.
Despite only operating the 2021 New England QSO Party team event turned single-op event by proxy, I had a wonderful day! KB1REQ made over 60 QSOs for the contest. AA1F made over 30 contacts for POTA, including 11 park-to-parks that he chased. And I made two very special contacts on the 80M OCF antenna that was lying directly on the ground (“Defying the laws of physics” according to KB1REQ), including POTA hunter champion and friend NE1D and our almost neighbor K1CWB! And I had 16 more POTA QSOs on 20M.
One of my favorite things in life is simply being around people I enjoy while doing something I love. I am finding amateur radio, especially portable operations, to be exactly like that. It turns out, that even now I still love the concept of a playground. The playground is always there. Everyone knows where it is. When you go to the playground you can feel free to play with the other kids, or keep to yourself. You don’t need any special invitation or appointment. You just show up when you want, play how you want, and leave when you want. And when it comes to my brand of ham radio? You show up, get on the air, and go home. What a nice day.
As Always,
KM1NDY