Florida QSO Party
Call: K4OJ
Operator(s): K0LUZ N4KM NX4N
Station: K4OJ
Class: Multi-Op MobileCW LP
QTH: Florida
Operating Time (hrs): 20
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs
--------------------
40: 1473
20: 2326
15: 55
10: 0
--------------------
Total: 3854 0 CW Mults = 68 Ph Mults = 0 Total Score = 1,048,288
Club: Florida Contest Group
Comments:
Hello FQP Fans,
The adventure continues! The K4OJ/m mobile team had a terrific time taking
advantage of what Ole' Sol gave us this year and we had terrific fun doing it.
Much to tell about the the Suburbanites travels but first here are the numbers:
K4OJ/m 2018 FQP Results:
Band QSOs Pts Mul Pt/Q
7 1473 5892 10 4.0
14 2326 9304 56 4.0
21 55 220 2 4.0
Total 3854 15416 68 4.0
Score: 1,048,288
1 Mult = 56.7 Q's
Other Stats:
20m - K4OJ Max Rates (K0LUZ Op):
2018-04-28 1626Z - 5.0 per minute (1 minute(s)), 300 per hour by
2018-04-29 2002Z - 4.0 per minute (10 minute(s)), 240 per hour by
2018-04-29 2002Z - 3.0 per minute (60 minute(s)), 181 per hour by
40/15m - K4OJ Max Rates (N4KM Op):
2018-04-29 0109Z - 5.0 per minute (1 minute(s)), 300 per hour by
2018-04-29 1240Z - 3.4 per minute (10 minute(s)), 204 per hour by
2018-04-29 0139Z - 2.7 per minute (60 minute(s)), 160 per hour by
Positives/Highlights:
* As the sunspot cycle continues its slog, we were hoping we could take
advantage of increased 40m activity while maintaining our 20m totals - and Kevin
N4KM and Red K0LUZ delivered in spades!
Kevin made 900 Q's on 40m last year and I challenged him to 1000 this year. We
were both simply STUNNED to see him rip off a whopping 1473 40m QSO's this year.
* To all of our out-of-state and in-state mobile hunters - *you* were the
reason (and Kevin took terrific advantage) and we thank you! Kudos Kevin - next
year 1500Q? Always pushing... :-)
* 20m was FB too given the cdx. Red was Red Hot at the key to increase our
QSO's by 15% to 2326 20m QSO's - like Kevin, he crushed my challenge to him.
Great job Red.
* My, oh My - you Mobile Quail Hunters sure know how to track! Like birds, our
mobiles don't make much noise but if you listen you can bag us while we're on
the fly - and that's just what you did.
We had 117 Stations work us at least 10 times - wow, thank you guys! We
*really, really* appreciate your dedication and perseverance in those pileups.
Nearly 30 ops hit 30 Q's with us from near and far:
K9CT 85
K9NW 75
VE3DZ 52
N8II 48
K9OM 46
WI9WI 45
WN4AFP 43 (Old School - IC751 75W/dipole 10'/no assistance of any kind)
K3WJV 42
K8IR 42
VE3UTT 42
K0HC 41
VA3DF 41
AA7V 40
WA4GQG 40
WJ9B 37
W8MJ 35
K7SV 34
N2CU 34
N9CK 34
WB2ABD 34
NN3W 33
W7RN 33
K0RC 32
K5CM 30
N2CQ 30
* Special thanks to our DX participants - HI8A, HC2AO and I4VEQ (forgive me
please if I didn't mention you) but thanks for your many QSO's, Mults and
enthusiasm!
* My Rusty Trusty Going Busty?
The 2002 Suburban hit a major milestone - just 5 miles before the CLR/MON/DAD
county line, my Ol' Reliable hit 400,000 miles! I just had to pull over for a
second to take a photo. At that moment Red said, "Well, I guess it's time
for the thing to throw a rod". I scowled at him in jest and then looked
back down to see a big warning light - LOW COOLANT (yikes!).
My heart sank - how could my baby fail us in our most remote location with
bus-sized biting flies, hot tropical weather and no cell service?
We went on to the MON County Line with fingers-crossed and shut off the engine
to let it cool while we worked the Roaring Pileups for about 30 minutes. There
was no way we could get out there to look at the engine or fill it with bottled
water; with the biting flies we wouldn't last 2 minutes.
So after a very nice run of stations we started the "Sub" up again -
no warning light, engine temp normal and it stayed that way all the way home!
If a Man and his Machine were ever in a Bromance, it would be me and my
Sub...dare I think 500K miles??? :-)
* The stations performed flawlessly and the antennas just rock solid - we feel
loud on all bands and the RFI between stations is minimal. Of course, Red and
Kevin are beast operators which helps!
* We again had very little in the way of road traffic - with one exception
described in another section below. Smooth easy driving and very pleasant for
this driver to enjoy the beauty throughout our Sunshine State.
* During our visit through CLM we found "RED's TAVERN" - sorry Red, no
ditching the pileups to sneak a beer on the house!
* Once again, we had a Super-enjoyable dinner with teams AD4ES and NO5W, hosted
by my wife Lili and I at home Sat night. Thanks to Lili our usual fare of Pizza
and sodas was ready and consumed by the tired ops while trading midway scores,
tales from the road, A1 ops and lids we heard, who's going to Dayton, etc. A
little knoshing and kibbitzing...
It's always so nice to see everyone and decompress a bit with friends, new and
old alike. Let's do it again next year guys! Other fixed/mobile ops most welcome
if you're near NW HIL at half-time.
* I need to mention the Terrific stations/antennas/setups that both AD4ES and
NO5W have in their vehicles - super duper impressive guys! These guys really
have professional setups - well done gents!
* Cows and Flowers - Florida is just a beautiful state and one of the advantages
this FQP Driver enjoys. But this ain't no Joy Ride - each leg is timed and I
have written directions, a map and a GPS all working real-time to ensure we
don't miss turn-offs or county lines. We did have one closed road for
construction - CR419 going from OSC to ORA; the GPS once again saved my Bacon
and we hardly missed a beat.
Lowlights:
* 10m = didn't even set up an antenna; 'nuff said.
* 15m = 55 QSO's although Kevin noted the band was open but no one listened
there.
* Power Line Mania - it seems every year like more and more high power lines are
going up along both major and minor roads; hard to get away from those rascals
and they do make for copy rough! The K3 NB's work well though and they helped
significantly.
* This one is a both a positive and negative. Same as last year, building 'only'
2 stations is getting very routine as opposed to cramming the Sub with 3 or 4
stations; huge difference in complexity. The downside is I sure do miss
teammates N4BP, W4LT and KR4X being part of the MM/m madness. Band conditions
make the rules though, so for now two transmitters only.
Pain in the Caboose:
So we're tooling along nicely ahead of schedule heading west on CR90 in DUV
toward NAS with less than 5 miles to the county line when we see flashing red
lights in the distance - Rats! Turns out a 100++ car freight train was slowing
from 35 to 30 to 15 to 5mph and then STOPPED on the tracks. After 5 minutes it
backed up slowwwwly as our DUV Q-rate is drying up. ARGGGG - why does this have
to happen just before we get to rare NAS where we have to stop anyway on a short
one mile stretch of the county!
After 15 minutes of gnashing teeth and many cars turning around, Mr. Choo Choo
started at a painfully slow acceleration getting up to an anemic 5MPH
(!@#$%^&*!!!) until FINALLY the last car crossed our path and the crossing
guards lifted. That was 20 minutes of life we'll never get back...sigh.
In summary, our team made the most of our opportunities and enjoyed each other's
company - Red and Kevin are awesome ops and great friends and we have great fun.
If you have never done a mobile FQP you really owe it to yourself to grab a rig
and antenna and throw it in the car and hit the road. It's like being on a rare
dx-pedition - you will LOVE the pileups! - and even better sharing the
ride/operating with a buddy or two (or three or four like AD4ES!). Trust me,
you will have a blast! You out-of-state folks, come visit and give it a try too
- we've had mobile from TX, LA, GA, AL, SC, NC, VA, TN, OH and more over the
years. So start those mobile plans today; if I can help or advise please let me
know. We have other very experienced mobile ops in FCG who can help you with all
sorts of issues and solutions - just ask!
Thanks to our FQP organizers including K1TO who is the key driver of this
Outstanding contest with endless (seriously!!!) hours of leadership, hard work
and support each year - thank you so much Dan. Our FCG Prez Chris WF3C is also
a mover-shaker in making our FQP a big-time experience for all- thanks Chris!
In addition, sincere thanks to webmaster Sebastian W4AS who spent hours of work
getting our FQP website ready for the contest. Also want to mention that Floyd
KK3Q offered me wise experienced guidance for tasks I was doing - thanks Floyd!
Please forgive me if I forgot someone.
Great appreciation goes to all of you FB Gents who hosted our Spelling Bee 1x1
stations and created beacons on both modes - great job guys!
Also have to give huge kudos to our fixed stations - you are the foundation of
our way-cool QSO Party - thank you for standing strong on all our bands
representing our State.
Sincere appreciation to Bob K0RC and Chuck NO5W for their super-duper county
tracking tools - these are indispensable for working the sweeps, planning routes
and more. Bob/Chuck - you guys are the best! Thanks for your major support.
Hats off to our fellow road warriors both mobile and portable, each of who do an
amazing job of getting cobwebs of antennas, rigs, pc's power plants and vehicle
and routing set up to make the first contact. I sincerely am in awe of your
enthusiasm for hitting the road and am proud to call you fellow FQP
mobiler/rover.
Finally - our biggest, loudest applause is for all of you out-of-state operators
who are the real heroes. Whether you make a dozen or several hundred QSO's, your
enthusiastic participation and support help make the FQP fun for all. We can
throw the party, but it is you that keep coming back every year - thank you,
thank you, thank you!
See you in FQP 2019!
vy 73/OJ/AHZ,
Chris, NX4N - K4OJ MM/m Team Lead
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