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[3830] Ohio QP K8MR/M Mobile

To: <3830@contesting.com>
Subject: [3830] Ohio QP K8MR/M Mobile
From: jimk8mr@aol.com (jimk8mr@aol.com)
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 11:08:34 -0400 (EDT)
                     Ohio QSO Party
                    
Call: K8MR/M
Operator(s): K8MR, W8DRZ
Station: 

Class: Mobile  Power: LP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 12
 

Summary:
 Band     CW Qs    Ph Qs
---------------------------------------------
   80:                 
   40:                 
   20:                 
   15:                 
   10:                    CW Mults   Ph Mults
---------------------------------------------
Total:     459      212      66         59  =  141,250

Club: 

Comments:

By county, in Order of Appearance:

                CW      SSB
Geauga          10      6               
Ashtabula       15      7
Trumbull        14      3
Portage         10      4
Mahoning        12      5
Columbiana      18      5
Carroll         41      18
Jefferson       14      12
Harrison        38      12
Belmont         39      15
Monroe          28      18
Noble           64      53
Washington      19      16
Morgan          38      14
Muskingum       13      2
Guernsey        22      21
Tuscarawas      37      1
Stark           27      0

Total           459     212        671 Total Qsos

Mults:  CW Counties         40
        SSB Counties        31
        CW States           26
        SSB States          28

        Total               125

Score:      141,250

Breaking the contest into three 4-hour periods:

1600 - 2000         79  CW          30 SSB
2001 - 0000         184             75
0001 - 0400         196             107


The flare sucked. It happened shortly after we entered Ashtabula county.  I 
suspected what had happened, and shortly after heard a couple of locals 
discussing that the bands died for them as well.  

We discussed the zen of flares:  like a tree falling in the middle of a 
forest, if you transmit radio signals into a busted ionosphere, have you 
activated that county?  I decided not, (plus the few signals were so weak that 
we could not have heard them over the vehicle/computer QRN) so we sat in our 
parking spot in the shade next to a cornfield for the next 1 1/2 hours waiting 
for the bands to recover.  Once the laptop battery got charged, I turned off 
the computer to minimize noise, using the memory keyer in the IC-746 and 
logging the few qsos on paper. There was lots of time to eat, take pictures, 
compare corn stalks to hamsticks, etc.  After we got going again, we could 
pretty much only work the louder fixed stations for the next hour or so.  But 
eventually things got good.

In past contests 30 qsos/county was typical, 40 was doing good, and I thought 
71 from Presque Isle county in the MiQP was great.  So making 117 qsos from 
Noble county blew me away.  We did not stop that much there;  a McDonalds stop 
where I operated while DRZ chowed down, and 5 minutes that I took to go in, 
during which time Jim tried CQing but with no luck.  We then headed south on 
I-77, getting to Washington where I had 16 SSB QSOs in 4 minutes (the 
last 10 meter hit 270), back to Noble where I made it up to 90 qsos before 
leaving.   After switching to 80 meters in Morgan and hitting Muskingum, we 
crossed a corner of Noble, so we stopped to work 80 and made it to 100 qsos.  
We then went into Guernsey, but took the advice of a sign pointing to I-77.  It 
was not the I-77 exit we planned, and it took us back into Noble and to an I-77 
exit further south. I just kept making qsos and made it to 117.  Our time spent 
in Noble was still less than we spent sitting in Ashtabula.

Activity was good; I think the flare may have chased away some out of state 
guys, especially more distant ones. I don't think most these guys will 
put up with stinko conditions; I know I generally don't for other non-Ohio 
events.  I worked LY3BA a couple of times early on, but I think we later just 
lost all propagation in that direction.  N6MU was not his loud self from last 
year.

We found DRZ a cool new winding country road for his Del Sol, Ohio 145 in 
Monroe county.  Jim & I are also planning some more mobile practice by going 
to PA for one day (Sunday) in the PaQP.

Thanks to all who got on in spite of the flare.


73  -  Jim  K8MR



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