Wisconsin QSO Party
Call: WI9WI
Operator(s): WI9WI
Station: WI9WI
Class: SO Mobile LP
QTH: 6 counties
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band CW-Dig Qs Ph Qs
------------------------
160: 0 0
80: 0 0
40: 236 0
20: 15 0
15: 0 0
10: 0 0
6: 0 0
2: 0 0
UHF: 0 0
------------------------
Total: 251 0 Mults = 40 Total Score = 33,120.0
Club: Four Lakes Amateur Radio Club
Comments:
My main goal in this one was to add a few more counties in my never ending quest
to operate the WIQP as a solo operator from every Wisconsin County. I had hit a
bit of a bump in the last 4 or 5 years. One year I didn't operate at all due to
a family commitment, one year I only added 2 counties due to equipment problems,
and last year I operated fixed from home after surgery kept me off the road.
This year I added 6 counties, ROC, WAL, JEF, WAU, RAC, and KEN. So I now have
18 to go. I started in ROC near the ROC/WAL line. I am a solo operator with no
driver, so I only operate while parked. My plan was to spend about 45 minutes
in each county. I had high noise levels on both 40 and 20, and it was
immediately obvious the bands were in poor shape. I was hoping the noise was
local, but it pretty much kept up all day, though it abated quite a bit as
evening approached. After WAL, I drove up into the Kettle Moraine to the
JEF/WAU line. That only took about 45 minutes. Forty seemed a little better by
this time. Before finishing in WAU I decided to try 80 meters, but my antenna
wouldn't load. I was pretty sure I knew what the problem was and figured it
would take about 15 minutes to fix it. I decided to drive over to RAC/KEN which
I figured would take an hour. I made a mistake in planning for RAC. I usually
scope out operating sites on Google Earth before the contest, but this time I
just relied on my maps. The site I chose was unsuitable, and I then made a
wrong turn, wasting another 15 minutes. I finally found a good place just north
of the RAC/KEN line, but the total time from WAU was now an hour and a half.
After about 40 minutes in RAC I moved to KEN. By now 40 was becoming
unproductive. My last QSO was with an almost inaudible Dietmar, DL3DXX. In 2011
we were in Dresden and unbidden, Dietmar gave us a tour of the city. It was now
getting dark, and there was a storm forecast, so my choice was to try to fix
the antenna on 80 or pack it up and drive home. I drove home which was probably
a good choice. It was a 2 hour drive and the last 45 minutes featured slippery
roads, and at times very poor visibility. In summary, at least for me 20 was
almost completely unproductive. Forty was OK, but very long, and signals ranged
from a few strong ones to many ESP level QSOs. I obviously missed tons on 80
late in the day. I only worked 6 Wisconsin counties, a new low. All except an
ESP QSO with W9EAU were within 50 miles of my operating locations. Quick
summary: ROC (41 QSOs/42 mins), WAL (45/42), JEF (46/48), WAU (49/33), RAC
(44/40), KEN (26/28). Hopefully next year will be better. Thanks to everyone
who participated.
73 Jim WI9WI
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