I'm playing a little in the ARRL DX contest and I've noticed something new that
I don't recall from previous years. Several DX stations have sent their power
as zero watts. I've received 5NN T, 5NN TT, and 5NN TTT so far.
(For some reason, nobody is sending something more precise like 0.0 (would
that be TRT?)
What is the reason for this? I must have missed the memo.
At least one of the stations was in Puerto Rico. So I was wondering if his zero
meant that he has no commercial power at his station. Maybe I'm reading into
it too much?
And one South American sent "LP" for his power. So does that mean he is using
a generator that runs on Liquid Propane? 😉
The rules at http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx say:
4.2 DX stations send signal report and power (number or abbreviation indicating
approximate transmitter output power).
Where I come from, transmitter power is measured in units called WATTS.
So I would expect the exchange to be either a number, or an abbreviation for a
number, for example using 'cut' numbers. "LP" is not exactly that. But I
get it - it probably means 100 watts, or at least "no amplifier". But what
does TTT mean? That must mean "approximately 0.499 watts or less". Yet the
guy was 10 dB over S9, so I doubt that.
Ahh well, got to do something to keep it interesting when condx are in the
toilet.
Hope everybody caught the brief but glorious 10m opening this afternoon.
P40W was 15 dB over S9 in NNJ for more than 10 minutes!
73,
John
W2ID
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