A growing group of hams in South Carolina are on the verge of doing some great things in the world of amateur radio contesting. The state’s last W1AW/4 effort showed that 26 radio operators statewide could be coordinated for a massively successful week-long endeavor spanning all bands and modes.

I’ll cite the last report from our state’s ARRL section manager, Marc, N4UFP:

A team of operators under the leadership of Don Crain, W4OC, put SC on the air as part of the W1AW/P centennial operation. They made just under 30,000 QSOs in one week. I want to thank Don for his leadership and also to thank all the operators for volunteering their time. They did a fantastic job!

I was lucky enough to participate in the W1AW operation and I worked hundreds of QSOs on RTTY several nights on 3-4 bands, where I enjoyed massive pile-ups, particularly on 40 meters.

Some of the folks involved in the W1AW operation have formed a statewide contest group, the Swamp Fox Contesting Group, and I’m excited to see where that club goes. I don’t have an ideal “contest” station as such, but I do enjoy working a contest every now and then to test my capabilities. Nothing will improve your skills as an operator like a contest will, and like any competitive activity, it’s a lot of fun.

I’m looking ahead to the S.C. QSO Party and it will be here next weekend. I don’t intend to go mobile this year, despite having an epic time back in 2013. I’ll try and operate SSB and digital and we’ll see what happens!