Pennsylvania QSO Party
Call: W3CG
Operator(s): AA2AD N3KZI
Station: W3CG
Class: Multi-Op Mobile LP
QTH: PA
Operating Time (hrs): 19
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs RTTY Qs PSK31 Qs
---------------------------------------
160:
80: 16
40: 637
20:
15:
10:
6:
2:
---------------------------------------
Total: 653 0 0 0 Mults = 79 Total Score = 116,574
Club: Allegheny Valley Radio Association
Comments:
Driver/navigator Laurie (N3KZI) set the goal for this year's party: we would
operate from as many different counties as possible. She spent as much time
mapping our route as I spent installing a TS-480, whip, and antenna tuner into
the old Chevy Cobalt. Following her plan as closely as possible, we operated
from 31 counties, working ten or more stations from 26 counties. Best of all,
we were only 20 minutes from home at the closing bell. What can I say?
In previous years, Laurie (N3KZI) and I (AA2AD) headed east out of Erie County
around noon on Saturday, spent Saturday night in a hotel at the far end of the
state, then dropped south and headed back west on Sunday. This year, we headed
east after work on Friday and spent the night in Clearfield. After a leisurely
breakfast, I configured the new K1EL keyer, which had arrived in Friday's mail
and which I had assembled Friday afternoon just before we pulled out. It worked
perfectly in the hotel room but Murphy struck as he always does when one is in a
careless hurry. When I connected keyer to radio, the computer crashed, seemingly
catastrophically. We were prepared with paper logs as backup, but I was not
looking forward to that alternative. I convinced the laptop to reboot and
reverted to a crude, single 2N2222 transistor serial port keyer that I had
slapped together in case the Winkeyer did not arrive in time. The homebrew
keyer worked on my (very) old laptop, but timing was horrible at low speeds and
even worse at reasonable speeds. If I had realized how irritating the bad fist
would become, I would have sacrificed operating time to fix the K1EL before we
pulled out of the parking lot. My humble apologies to all who struggled to
differentiate Saturday dits from dahs at 20 WPM.
Late Saturday night, as I drifted off to sleep in Wayne County, I flashed on
some clip-on RF chokes from WA3A (thanks Steve) that I had tossed into the car
trunk, and I made the logical connection between crashing laptops and RF in the
USB port. By early Sunday AM, the K1EL keyer was working perfectly. It is an
awesome little box. N1MM's recommendation is right on the money!
Thanks to Laurie, and thanks to the many ops who made it a point to work W3CG/m
over, and over, and over.
73, Peter (AA2AD, W3CG op)
=====
As his signature sign off, “It’s a beautiful day in Pennsylvania.” Pete
Wombach knew what he was talking about. The weekend of the 2015 PA QSO party
was weather and travel perfection. Cool temps and October’s bright blue skies
and gorgeous fall foliage helped this driver of the W3CG/M station enjoy this
year’s event to the fullest.
Here are some words of advice to those who are going to attempt the multi-
mobile venue in 2016:
1. Asking our mechanic to change the oil, put on new wiper blades, check
the tire pressure and install new headlights was a smart move.
2. You need a cave-like interior to a vehicle to be able to see the
computer screen in broad daylight. Purchase some window cling to darken the
side windows, it will run about $30 but well worth the effort. Wear dark
shirts, for both the driver and operator which will cut down on the sun’s
reflection.
3. Map out your course well ahead of time. Use both a paper map and
MapQuest to calculate the quickest route between counties. Be prepared to
adjust your route due to detours and heavy traffic areas. It is surprising how
many fall leaf and apple festivals there are on this weekend. Traffic moves
slowly on the rural roads this time of year.
Other helpful hints:
1. To help keep the operator, my husband, accurately reporting our QTH, I
made flash cards with the three letter abbreviations and full name of each
county. When we crossed a county line I would put the appropriate card onto his
keyboard.
2. I would set GARMIN to as close to a county line town/village or
intersection road as possible and keep my eyes peeled for either homemade or
state issue county line signs. County lines are sometimes missing and bridges
and pavement changes can be an indicator of a county line demarcation.
3. Finding a place to pull over to make contacts is not as easy as it may
seem. There are power lines to avoid and elevation was key (no pun intended) to
helping others receive his signal. Sadly , convenience stores in gas stations
are the worst QRN generators of all.
4. Once the sun went down and we were in unfamiliar territory, I found it
very difficult to find county lines or a places to perch while Peter operated
the rig. Sometimes concessions are necessary for safety sake and I-80 offered
better visibility and actual lines painted on the road. The Pocono hills and
curves offer a scenic drive in the daylight but are treacherous after sunset.
5. After dark, keep a flashlight or two available for map gazing, use
highlighters for map marking and keep a tablet with a pen handy for making
notes on what to do (or
not) next year.
We drove a total of 861.3 miles from our home and back averaging 33.8mpg. We
hit 31 counties. Only five of the 31 did not having 10 contacts. Peter made
659 CW contacts. We had our best run ever and I doubt that weather conditions
could be better. Maybe we will do something different next year but no doubt we
will operate the PA QSO part in 2016.
73, Laurie (N3KZI, W3CG navigator)
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