Skunked in the 2020 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt!

The setup 

Last weekend on Sunday was the NJQRP club QRP Skeeter hunt I received my Skeeter number close to the Sunday start date as I was not sure if I was able to participate but things turned in my favour Sunday was open for the contest. The morning here did not look too promising as there was a steady rain, but the weather reports were calling for a nice sunny afternoon. This was important as I was planning to set up in the backyard in our dining tent. 

Just in case it rained

The weather report was correct and the skies cleared and things looked just great for operating outdoor. For my set up I was going to use my Elecraft KX3 that I put together from a kit, battery power, Palm mini paddle and finally the antenna was a mag loop. I was on checking out 20m to see how it was sounding before the contest. It was not all that great but I was coping some station so the only thing to do now was to wait for the contest to start. 

My QRP signal was being heard.

To make a long story short I was on for over 21/2 hours and I did hear some skeeter station but only at the noise floor and they were soon gone. I had my Mac laptop with me and I was checking and found some spots but I was just not able to hear ANYTHING! I did check the Reverse Beacon Network to see if my QRP CQ was being heard and it was all the way in Finland as OH6GB heard my signal. 

My score for the contest was a big fat ZERO but I did get out, had my KX3 running and had a nice time outside.