The QRP branch of the Rochester Amateur Radio Club operated again this year as a 2A-B entry.  The main group of RARC ran 3A, 100 watts, with CW, SSB, digital, VHF, and a GOTA station, using W0MXW;  the QRP bunch ran 5 watts, with CW, SSB, and a super VHF setup provided by Jeff K0JSP.  We were all at the Gamehaven Scout Reserve south of Rochester, MN, but it's a big enough place that we were separated by a few thousand feet.  The QRP group had the scout's shotgun range, with a roof, a concrete floor, tables, and lots of open space around us.  A great site!

The separation was enough that we had essentially no interference between the 100-watters and the QRPers, but it didn't occur to us that two QRP stations could interfere with each other.  We put our main antennas, a triband hexbeam and a 40m double extended Zepp, both on the same mast -- in retrospect, a dumb thing to do.  We had the space to separate antennas widely, we just didn't use it.  Next year.

We also tried out some experimental antennas:  a 20m C-pole vertical, a multiband folded loop vertical, and a variation on a half-rhombic.  None of them worked very well.  Beams and horizontal wires seem to be the way to go.

For the first time, the QRP group had more QSO points than Bonus points.  The main RARC group put up a great score, too.  It will be interesting to see if everyone else in the country also did much better than in the past.  Will our relative position be any better this year than before?  It doesn't matter, of course -- good friends, good food, good signals.  We had a great time, as always!