Spread that ketchup around

Some catching up on things.

Flight test 13 correction: 

FT-13 is currently set for Monday evening July 20th at the same launch time of 6:45PM EDT so you can correct for your own time zone. That time has been posted since first time I looked for it, around 8:00 AM this morning (EDT), so I assume unless something major happens, it will probably be shown at least until midday Monday unless something really bad is found - or happens - this weekend.

The launch window is 90 minutes long, but as we learned yesterday, that's for holds that might be needed early in the countdown. A hold at an earlier time might be able to use that hour and a half window, but I think it's the fuel loading - which starts at about 45 minutes before the planned liftoff - that says they're done for the day.  

Could be another touch and go weekend here

Back in June, I let all my fellow hams who don't keep track of this know that the annual ARRL VHF contest was coming and I'd be trying to play it hard in the radio room. It turned out to be pretty much a waste of time. 

It's not-so-instant replay time. This weekend is CQ Magazine's big contest, and WA7BNM's Contest Calendar shows it this way:

CQ Worldwide VHF Digital Contest: 1400Z, Jul 18 to 1400Z, Jul 19
	Geographic Focus:	Worldwide
	Participation:	Worldwide
	Mode:	Digital
	Bands:	6, 2m
	Classes:	Single Op All Band (High/Low/QRP) Single Op Single Band (High/Low/QRP) Hilltopper: Single Op Low Power Portable (6hrs) Rover Multi-Op
	Exchange:	4-character grid square
	Work stations:	Once per band
	QSO Points:	1 point per 6m QSO 2 points per 2m QSO
	Multipliers:	Each grid square once per band
	Score Calculation:	Total score = total QSO points x total mults
	Submit logs by:	2359Z July 24, 2026
	E-mail logs to:	(none)
	Upload log at:	https://cqww-vhf.com/logcheck/
	Mail logs to:	(none)
	Find rules at:	https://www.cqww-vhf.com/

You'll note that the times are very unusual. The contest starts and ends at 1400 UTC, or 10:00 AM EDT. Starting at 10:00 AM would have been great today, so it looks like propagation might be better than the ARRL June contest - at least it looks that way at the moment. On the other hand, ending at 1400 UTC, making it a 24 hour contest, could well be shutting down before propagation gets good on Sunday. 

QSLing used to be quite a bit simpler in the "old days."

For non-hams that statement is as useful as if I spoke it in a strange language, while the hams will understand it. Q-signals are three letter messages that all start with letter Q, and are a shorthand way of transmitting common questions and answers, borne out of having to transmit every letter in Morse code. There's a couple of handfuls of Q signals in common use, and QSL has got to be one of the most commonly used Q signals. The precise definition is a little wordy, but a common reference says. 

I am acknowledging receipt. - ("QSL" as a statement)
Can you acknowledge receipt (of a message or transmission)? ("QSL?" as a question)

From acknowledging you received what another ham sent you, it evolved into a postcard or even letter confirming the contact, and what became known as "the final courtesy" of a radio contact. I remember sending and receiving QSL cards long before I got my ham license ("ticket") as a postcard with a 5 cent stamp on it. 

As with so much else in so many aspects of society, the computer age changed QSLing greatly and while 20 years ago, all options involved sending a physical piece of mail (postcard or paper) now we're flooded with options for electronic QSLs or eQSLs. 

I was considering writing a little summary on what options I see and what I think of it. Does anyone want to see something like that?