As a resident of British Columbia, Canada, if you are at all interested in HF contesting, or love it when people want to talk to you, consider participating in the BC QSO Party this year.
Last year, Kevin VE7XY, Mike VE7KPZ and Jane VE7WWJ experienced the fun firsthand. Check out their event report here. Kevin picked a gorgeous roving location to operate and the pics were so good that they were featured in ARRL's National Contesting Journal publication.
The BC QSO Party event is put on by Orca DX Contest Club. You can find the rules for the event here: http://www.orcadxcc.org/bcqp_rules.html
The schedule for this year's event is very civilized (no overnight required):
February 6-7, 2020
Two Segments:
1. Starts 1600z Saturday, Feb. 6 -- Ends 0359z Sunday, Feb. 7 (effectively 8 AM - 8 PM local time)
2. Starts 1600z Sunday -- Ends 2359z Sunday, Feb. 7 (effectively 8 AM to 4 PM local time)
Make sure your 80m setup is tuned up as one of the primary goals of the event is to QSO with others in BC.
Also, brush up on your 42 BC electoral districts ahead of time. If you call out and get responses from British Columbians who are new to the event, you'll be helping figure out what electoral district they are in.
Here are a couple of great resources for the districts:
And then, obviously, know your own district so you are ready for the exchange with all of the local and international participants who want to QSO with you.
If you have any questions about the event, the BC QSO Party coordinator is Rebecca VA7BEC. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you are thinking about doing a roving setup and want to run your plan by someone, shoot This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. an email.
Hope to hear you on the air,
Mike VE7KPZ
NORAC Vice-President, Technical Coordinator and planned 2021 BCQP participant