2025 VERMONT QSO PARTY RESULTS

ON THE AIR

Conditions this year were even better than the levels seen in 2024. All throughout the day, 10, 15 and 20 meters were hopping. There was a hours-long DX run on 10 meters Sunday morning which was absolutely amazing. Scores from even the smallest Vermont stations were up. There was even an increase in received logs from DX stations.

VERMONT LOG ANALYSIS

There were 33 Vermont stations submitting logs, up from 29 from last year. Another 29 Vermont stations were on the air, but did not submit logs, for a total of 62 Vermont stations active at one time or another. We had 3 very active rovers who put 13 of Vermont's 14 counties on the air.

The great conditions bumped up the phone QSO’s by 38% up to 10677 QSO's. CW QSO's were up by a whopping 62% to 3704 QSO's. The new scoring of 3 points per CW QSO certainly had a lot to do with this. At the same time, digital QSO's were down by 33% to 4830 QSO's. More people going to the higher scoring QSO's on CW had an effect but another factor was that some big digital operators from last year were only on part time this year. Vermont stations logged a total of 19211 QSO's, setting a new record. Who said that Vermont is hard to work?

AC1MX  WAS/FN34   KB1ODO RUT/FN33   NJ1S   CHI
K1CXS  WNS/FN33   KB1VP  WNS/FN33   W1AIM  WAS
K1LJL  CHI        KC1DPM ORA        W1DWE  CHI/FN34
K1SCE  WAS        KC1ENN ADD/FN34   W1EAT  CHI
K2AST  CHI/FN34   KC1JPD CHI        W1KOK  ORA/FN33
K2IIR  BEN        KC1KUW CHI        W1MUD  ADD
KA1BSZ ORA        KC1PBT WNS        W1TAM  CHI
KA1ZQX WNH        N1ADK  RUT        W1TIM  ORA
KB1LOT CHI        N1JEZ  CAL        WA1TBV BEN
KB1MDC GRA        N2KLC  CHI

VERMONT COMPETITION

LOGGING

Some changes were made to the submission process where the robot did more checking to make sure logs were in the proper format. Specifically, contacts made outside the contest period (February 1-2 UTC) are tossed out. Contacts are then checked for proper formatting. A contact indicating "DG" for digital needs to show grid squares, while contacts with SSB, PH, or CW, need to show states or DX. This may have cause some grief during the log submission process, but it made our job in the log checking department much less hectic. We still have a rather weird way of uploading digital and non-digital logs separately and we hope that in the future, software writers will fully embrace digital format QSO's into their logs.

The logs are automatically uploaded to a server where we can download them for log checking. This is why it is important to not try to directly e-mail the logs to the contest sponsor as it bypasses the process.

While there were less problems with logs, logging inaccuracies are still seen. For each QSO where we receive both logs, a comparison is made. If the incorrect callsign is logged, that is a busted QSO. If the incorrect state is logged, that is miscopied information. The operator making the mistake loses the contact. But there are more complicated situations where there is a mismatch with the logged bands or modes or times. The software will tag this as "Not In Log" (NIL) and will remove the QSO from both stations. Where possible, a human (me) will review the mismatch and judge who made the error and adjust the QSOs accordingly. I understand that most operators have their logging software control their radio and this type of mismatch should be a rare. Nonetheless, we see a lot of mismatches, resulting in lost QSO's and sometimes, lost multipliers. In the Vermont QSO Party, we only remove the QSO judged to be incorrect. In other contests, an additional penalty of one extra QSO is lost. Accuracy counts! Thanks to Bruce WA7BNM who maintains the log upload robot and Ken K1EA who maintains the Log Checking software for all of their work in keeping our logs accurate!

OUTSIDE VERMONT LOG ANALYSIS

OUTSIDE VERMONT COMPETITION

AWARDS

LOOKING AHEAD

We are very happy with the resurgence of CW this year. We take pride in the Vermont QSO Party that we encourage stations to get on the air with a variety of bands, modes and power levels, all in the name of having fun! If you have any ideas on how to improve the event, please let us know!

SOAPBOX

Video on my Ham Van roving expedition during the Vermont QSO Party can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOevKvoPN9A (KI1P/R)

A good portion of the weekend was dedicated to cleaning up snow and some family duties, but was still able to operate about 18 hours. The bands were kind into Europe and out west to TX, AR, MT but I only worked the west coast 5 times. 100 watts to a 135' doublet antenna and 35 watts digital. Great fun as always! (N1SP)

Operated from Manatee Springs State Park in SC. (K4FT)

Busy PVRC weekend, but made a few QSOs. (K8LF)

At 02/01/25 2240z, W1NVT sent "5NN CHI"! At02/01/25 2200z (Sunrise here), I heard K2LE on 40m CW via Long path. Vermont is a long way away! (JN4MMO)

Interesting submittal process with CW/SSB uploaded seprate from FT8/FT4, so hoping it is all good. In any case I needed VT for CW WAS which I should be able to put to rest after this weekend. Stay warm. (NN2D)

Used two indoor fan dipoles and 90 watts. (K2MN)

IC-7300 @ 60W into a PAR EndFedz EF-20 EFHW. (VA2NW)

All contacts made with an Elecraft KH1 and 34 foot EFHW ant. (VE3JO)

Rig was FTdx101 and Butternut vertical. Most qso's were made while hunting in the upper bands. Thanks for being there. (W1END)

Great fun. I missed one contact and possible multiplier because I did not understand the station that gave me two counties was sitting on the county line. I will know better next time. (W7XB)

Made more contacts this year! (WA2CNV)

It was a bit challenging finding VT signals within the huge contesting crowd. I was happy to contact W1NVT on both 20M and also cw on 80M, and then contacting K1VMT also on 80M. I had fun here on my first VTQP participation this year, and I intend to participate here (VTQP) again next year. (WB8WUZ)

This QSO Party was a big disappointment. While the contest runs 48 hours, what good is it, when there are no VT stations to be found. I worked the same handful of stations on both modes. What good is a QSO party if y'all don't play in your own event. (WQ6X)

VTQP Manager replies: It just wouldn't feel right without the annual comments from WQ6X about lack of Vermont stations! Congrats on being the high score from CA despite poor condx from the West Coast. By the numbers: 33 Vermont stations made 19211 contacts and we worked 275 CA stations from W1NVT, not counting digital. Vermont was IN THE HOUSE! Suggestions for improvement: watch the cluster late morning and early afternoon on 10-20M, run higher power (QRP is tough over a 2500 mile path), use FT8 and FT4 - a lot of stations are on digital now, and as a frequent remote op at other stations, choose a location in the Eastern part of the country and you will hear a lot more Vermont stations!

100 watts to wire antennas. Enjoyed the Party, thanks for the fun! (KE0TT)

Fun contest. Very noisy. Thanks to those who made it a successful event. (N0CK)

Thanks for the contacts. Thank you for sponsoring the contest. (W1QK)

Thank you for the 2025 Vermont QSO Party. (KF3G)

Thanks everyone for another fun event. While the weather is nice, plan for next year. Get out there and put up some bigger antennas! We look forward to upcoming years of great participation.