The QRP zombies were out and about on the bands last night (October 25th). I got on the air for some of the annual Zombie Shuffle. This year was a little different experience for me from past years, but it was still fun.
This contest is called a shuffle because zombies don’t sprint. It kicks off at 1500 local time, but I usually don’t work too many fellow zombies in the first hour. The 40M band is usually my bread and butter band, however, I made most of my contacts in the first hour on 20M. I kicked things off by working a bonus station and worked about eight total in the first hour before taking an extended break.
I checked the bands again twice after dark, and it was slim pickings for me. There was a constant S3-S4 local noise level on 40M, which made things tough. I managed five more zombies on 40M, but it was rough going at times. From my RBN spots, I was obviously getting out better than I was receiving.
I usually pick up a few zombies on 80M, but not this year. Anyway, I wrapped things up early and submitted my entry to Paul NA5N in time to watch Game 1 of the World Series.
This year I was again running 5 watts from my KX3 into my rain gutter antenna. During exchanges, I used my zombie name, Bones.
My 13 contacts were a few off from last year’s shuffle, but it certainly wasn’t my worst year either. It’s a silly contest, but I look forward to it every year.
