[CQ-Contest] the wonderful world of QRP

[Richard Allisette]

Dear Contesters,

Whether signing /QRP is legal or not matters not jot or tittle. What matters 
is that it is unnecessary and irrelevant.
I hold a semi-rare callsign. I am on the receiving end of small CW pile-ups 
daily. If I had a dollar for every QRP station I have wasted time trying to 
fathom out what he was signing after /  I would have bought my own Pacific 
island by now and be signing something far rarer.
The only time signing /QRP is possibly justifiable is when calling CQ on a 
recognised QRP calling frequency. That way other stations may realise that 
you are weak because of your power, not because of lousy conditions.
Even then that's a personal choice and not something I would choose to do.
FWIW I regularly DX using 5 watts from an FT817, I also run QRO from an 
FT1000MP/Acom combo.
Which I choose depends on my mood and conditions. My operating procedure 
does not change.
The best QRP contester I know is Steve G4EDG. No-one knows he is running QRP 
until the results are announced and his call appears in the QRP section - 
usually near the top.

73

Dick GU4CHY