Maj. Michael R. Hislop, communications officer for the California Wing’s Norcal Group 5, tied for first in the auxiliary division of the QRPX communications exercise hosted March 20-22 by the U.S. Army Enterprise Technical Command.
The exercise — open to Department of Defense and Civil Air Patrol communicators, Military Auxiliary Radio System operators for the Army and U.S. Air Force, and amateur radio operators — drew over 200 participants this year.
Hislop competed while helping handle VHF communications for the California Capital Airshow at Sacramento Mather Airport.
An Army Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) Facebook account post announcing the QRPX results cited the CAP member’s “sharp skills and flawless execution.”
“Knowing we could only use 20 watts” in the competition, he said, “we spent the last year developing the best deployable antennas that we could. We used a military vertical antenna with a lot of counterpoise.
“This antenna was used for our (automatic link establishment contacts. We built a half rhombic base on a military design from the 1950s.
“The antenna worked very well and was broad-banded with a tuner,” Hislop continued.
“The third antenna was a small log periodic that we modified so if could be deployed in the field. This antenna was another good choice due to it being broad-banded and giving us some gain.”
QRPX tests participants’ ability to establish communication with stations worldwide using diverse methods, such as voice, HF radio, the internet, and tactical messaging apps.
Competitors strIve to contact the highest number of stations, some thousands of miles away, reflecting the challenges of long-range communication and adaptability across different technologies.
A Civil Air Patrol member since April 1998, Hislop is not only Group 5 communications officer but also communications engineering officer, communications licensing officer, and communications training officer.
He’s assistant communications officer for the California Wing as well.
