One of the Local QRPers came up the hill last week and as soon as we saw him hopping from foot to foot in exasperation, we knew something had happened. We opted for the sympathetic approach even though we were not sure what the QRPer was troubled about. "We heard you calling the P5", we said, "and we heard you telling one of the Big Guns on the DX repeater you were sure you worked him. Guess you really nailed that one down, right?"
The QRPer sat dejected in the chair and and responded "You know how I always say one should not hog the frequencies. Just make one solid contact and then stand by to let others in. And you recall I always QRT at dinner time so I can spend the time with the XYL. Remember?", he said in a low voice. We had to admit we had heard the QRPer voice these convictions many times. What we were failing to understand was why he was so depressed. As QRPers go, this one was a fair DXer. So we had to ask for clarification. "Why are you so down in the dumps", we asked, in a properly sympathetic tone. "We heard you in the pileup and we can verify the DX station got your call correct. It must be a great feeling of accomplishment to know you've worked them all and are again back on top. Now you can sit back and relax."
The QRPer was not to be soothed. And it was as if we had hit a nerve for he narrowed his gaze ever so slightly and began to glare at us with his beady little eyes. "Well, I heard the P5 called out around forteen oh oh five. It took me less than five seconds to find him rattling off QSOs. I tail-ended a station he had just worked . . . Bingo! . . . I worked him. Just had to send my call once and he came right back with 599 and verified my call." We assured the QRPer we had indeed been listening and this was the way we remembered it.
"So I shut down the rig and went for dinner because the XYL had just came home", he continued, his voice raising ever so slightly, "and I was sure I had everything under control." So far this sounded like another routine triumph. And we were becoming completely confused with the QRPer's lack of joy. The QRPer continued, "I didn't get back on the air till the next morning and one of the locals called me on the DX repeater. He was asking the QSL route for BV2AL. Said he had heard me work the BV the night before. Then I find out the North Korean crew and the Taiwan group were just about on the same frequency. And I worked the BV2!" Son of a Gun! What could we say in a situation like this? Only that North Korea will come on again, and maybe even Taiwan.
Best Regards, Paul
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