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The NAQCC April 2026 Challenge NAQCC Monthly Challenges are originated and information regarding rules, ideas, or suggestions go to Gary K1YAN. Email him at  .Challenge results and the Challenge App (the online Challenge tracking and reporting application) is administered by Charlie N1AOK. Email him with any questions at  PLEASE SEND ALL CHALLENGE SUBMISSIONS TO CHARLIE!!! (If you use the online Challenge App, it will automatically send it to him). LINKS: Challenge App: http://naqcc.wb5rvz.org Challenge Worksheet: challenge_tracker.pdf POWER GRID BLACK START  PREMISE: There have been times when large parts of the power grid go off line and a major blackout results. Nothing in a very large area has power. Everything is dead, including the generating stations. What happens now? The recovery process is known as a black start and it is a long, complicated sequence of events. There are a couple things that we need to know to understand how this takes place. First, it takes power to make power. A major generating station consumes perhaps 5 to 10 percent of its output to run motors, pumps, fans and other equipment needed to make the plant operate. Once you have power at the plant, the actual start up process can take many hours to get boilers running and providing steam to turn the generator's turbine. The whole grid must be brought back into synchronization. All the parts of it must be running at the same 60 Hz frequency. Voltages across the system must be in phase, rising and falling in step or damage to equipment will occur. Re-energizing the load must be handled in an organized manner. You can't just throw one switch and turn everything on at once. As soon as power returns, every device that has been off tries to start up at the same time. This is called cold load pickup and results in a much bigger demand than would occur on the normally running system. If done improperly, the result can be more outages to be dealt with. There are some small generating stations, called black start units, that are scattered across the grid. They can be brought on line using on site power sources such as diesel emergency generators. To get this power to larger generating stations, pre-selected transmission lines are stripped of all connections and made into an express circuit to a bigger station. This is called a cranking path. The process of using small units to get bigger ones started is called bootstrapping. One station is used to start the next. As more power becomes available, more of the large units can start up. A number of large units will begin to start up at the same time to speed the overall recovery. At this point nothing is connected to the grid, no customers or generation. Now we can begin to put the grid back into operation. Pieces of the high voltage grid that have been separated are reconnected. Generators begin to be connected to the grid. The phasing and frequency of each generator brought on line is matched to the energized system as they are reconnected. The overall system is re-energized starting with the highest voltage parts and working toward the lower voltage parts. Customers are reconnected in an organized process that manages the cold load pickup. Priority is often given to selected loads like hospitals, pumping stations and other critical customers. Gradually blocks of customers are reconnected until all are back in service. This whole procedure follows a well organized script that is updated and practiced to insure a successful recovery. TIME FRAME: The first day of the month 0000Z through the last day of the month 2400Z. RULES: Just make these words from calls of stations you work, subject to the General Challenge Rules. BLACK START PROCEEDURE SYSTEM SYNCHRONIZATION CRANKING PATH BOOTSTRAPPING CRITICAL LOADS COLD LOAD PICKUP The 93 total letters contain these 20 different letters: A B C D E G H I K L M N O P R S T U Y Z You can use each letter in a call TWICE. For example you could use K3WWP for 2 K's, 4 W's, and 2 P's. Subsequent QSO's with the same station cannot be used for additional letters. For example, no matter how many times you work K3WWP, you can only use his call for 8 of the letters in the words. See General Rule #5 for more details on what callsign letters can be used. If you need some help with your alphabet challenge record keeping take a look at our Alphabet Tutorial page for everything from some great pencil & paper methods to fully computerized tools. AWARDS: A certificate and Participation Point go to everyone making all the words and submitting their report before the deadline. A Participation Point goes to everyone making at least 1, but not all the words and submitting their report before the deadline. YOU MUST COMPLETE AND SUBMIT AT LEAST ONE WORD TO RECEIVE A PARTICIPATION POINT! LOGS: For your report, list the words you made and the station used for each letter in the word. The number of stations listed must be the same as the number of letters in each word, even though you use the same station for more than one letter as in: WORD - K3WWP N2OD WA8REI N2OD NEXT - NF8M W8REI N8XMS K9EYT (Note how N2OD is listed for both the O and D.) You may also include comments about the challenge. Please preface any comments you want posted with "SOAPBOX:" so we will know what you want posted and what is private. Send your results as text in the horizontal format shown above to Charlie N1AOK at: charlie.wilber AT gmail.com (You must type that address into your email program.) Subject must read: (your call) NAQCC (month year) Challenge For example: K3WWP NAQCC April 2026 Challenge All entries must be RECEIVED before the 10th of the following month at 2400Z. |