Friday, June 26, 2020

Tim Shoppa, N3QE, Named CQ Contesting Editor

New CQ Contesting Editor Tim Shoppa, N3QE
  (Hicksville, NY - June 26, 2020) -- Tim Shoppa, N3QE, of Bethesda, Maryland, has been named CQ magazine's Contesting Editor, CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, announced today. Tim succeeds Dave Siddall, K3ZJ, who is stepping down after five years of writing the magazine's monthly contesting column. Recent increases in work responsibilities limit the amount of time Siddall has available to write about contesting.
 
Shoppa is an active contester and has been secretary of the Potomac Valley Radio Club for several years. He closely tracks individual contester and contest club activities worldwide. He has a modest but active station on a suburban lot in the Washington, DC, suburbs where he consistently wins the USA TBW (Tri-Bander/Wires) category in the CQ WPX contests - despite having only a wire antenna - and guest operates several times a year at large multi-multi contest stations. He also had the top 80-meter score in the 2018 CQ DX Marathon.
 
Tim works for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, coordinating the data acquisition of 70,000 devices around the railroad and the supervisory control center computers at the Washington DC Metrorail system. He holds a patent covering track circuit monitoring and alerting in automatic train control systems.
 
Licensed since age 10, Shoppa took a 30-year break from active hamming after high school before rediscovering the hobby in 2008 and becoming heavily involved in contesting. Tim says he hopes to use the CQ contesting column "to encourage both individual operators and clubs to get on the air in ham radio contests while improving their skills and stations."
 
"I thank Dave for his five years of dedication to the CQ contesting column and input on a variety of subjects," said Moseson, "and I look forward to working with Tim as he brings his combined experience as a 'little pistol' and a 'big gun' to the pages of CQ."
 
Shoppa's first column will appear in the September, 2020 issue.