Florida QSO Party
Call: K4OJ
Operator(s): K0LUZ N4KM NX4N
Station: K4OJ
Class: Multi-Op MobileCW LP
QTH: FL
Operating Time (hrs): 20
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs
--------------------
40: 937 0
20: 2047 0
15: 54 0
10: 0 0
--------------------
Total: 3038 0 CW Mults = 68 Ph Mults = 0 Total Score = 826,064
Club: Florida Contest Group
Comments:
Hi FQP Fans,
The K4OJ MM/m had a terrific time again hitting the open roads of our Sunshine
State and having a great time along the way.
Team members Kevin N4KM, Red K0LUZ and I knew there would likely be challenges
with propagation this year but were determined to make the best of things.
Kevin felt that, given the poorer conditions, this was our best outing ever.
See lot of positives below.
Like others we dedicated this FQP to Ron WD4AHZ (sk) - Ron was a real FQP
fanatic and always went full throttle to support it.
The 2016 FQP starting operator meeting point was also one of the last times I
got to visit with my brother Matt, who passed away unexpectedly last Sept...and
you can bet this FQP, with our starting point only 5 miles from Matt's home, was
full of mixed emotions for me. RIP, dear brother - this one's for you! I even
took our Gator 2008 FBS championship caps along in your memory (he treated me
to that game!).
Lots to relay to you fanatics -
First, the results (still working to combine station logs - always trouble):
K4OJ - SCORE SUMMARY:
Band Mode QSOs Pts Mul Pt/Q
7 CW 937 3748 12 4.0
14 CW 2047 8184 55 4.0
21 CW 54 216 1 4.0
Total Both 3038 12148 68 4.0
Score : 826,064
Still checking with N4BP, our log guru, to ensure that this is a good 'final';
combining our station logs and correctly scoring the master is always a
challenge.
Other Stats:
20m - K4OJ Max Rates (K0LUZ Op):
2017-04-29 1951Z - 5.0 per minute (1 minute(s)), 300 per hour by
2017-04-30 1739Z - 3.6 per minute (10 minute(s)), 216 per hour by
2017-04-30 1916Z - 2.7 per minute (60 minute(s)), 163 per hour by
40/15m - K4OJ Max Rates (N4KM Op):
2017-04-29 1806Z - 4.0 per minute (1 minute(s)), 240 per hour by
2017-04-30 0056Z - 2.8 per minute (10 minute(s)), 168 per hour by
2017-04-30 0119Z - 2.0 per minute (60 minute(s)), 122 per hour by
Considering the conditions, we all were amazed at the *many* positive things we
observed/experienced this weekend.
Positives/Highlights:
The MUF move downward made for a Record 40m mobile QSO total of more than 900
QSO's; way overshadowed what we have done in previous years. One key
difference - We had moved the 40m antenna to the rear of the roof where the
(unneeded) 10m antenna used to be and it really played well! Kevin was working
as far away as W8, W1 at 12:30pm both days - now that was a hoot! That antenna
really worked, and Kevin played it for all it's worth. We ended up with a 40m
total of 550 Q's the first day, so there was still lots of action on Sunday,
even as we headed to South FL. We felt Loud on 40m with quiet Rx levels too;
very rewarding for this station engineer.
When 40m got slow Kevin would try 15m with a bit of success too. Overall, this
made us very happy that we decided to do the multi-transmitter thing again.
A bonus of moving the 40m antenna is that we had very little RFI into 20m,
which meant Red could run unfettered - and he ended up with 2000+ QSO's even
with the conditions (Wow - can you spell Q-S-B?). Top notch effort, Iron Butt!
That man only too one break each day :-)
A 2nd bonus of our 40m operations - we were really pleased to help our buddies
in W4-land have more fun working us nearly fully time as we roamed. MANY
thanks to you guys for tracking and calling us - I remember WN4AFP in
particular working Kevin 'endlessly'. Others were very active searching us on
40m too and were nice to occasionally spot us. Friends, we will see YOU again
next year on 40m; you can count on that! I've already challenged Kevin to
break 1K QSO's on 40m in 2018 FQP.
Rock solid station/antenna/power reliability - nothing stopped working, period.
Almost boring, but careful what you wish for! Best ever for our team; but
Murphy is always looking to visit. I guess shaking a dead chicken at the
Suburban helped. BTW, my Sub now has 378K miles with original engine and it
just keeps running. I don't ask questions; just shut up and drive.
Our route planning/execution went without any major hiccups; the driver did get
lost in ALC but allowed the copilot named Garmin to take over when there was
smoke in the cockpit.
Probably the lightest traffic on our entire route ever. Fires? What Fires?
Minimal road construction and cops/cameras too; this made for many enjoyable
driver observations - see below.
Much improved band conditions, especially on 20m, on Sunday. Gave us all
renewed hope!
The Pile ups! Both Red and Kevin enjoyed some Texas-sized pile ups, with truly
A1 operators on both ends that kept it manageable and fun! NAS and GIL pileups
were especially huge, and then there was...
MONROE! Both Kevin and Red were getting *all sorts* of inquiries as we headed
through the Grand Dragon County of CLR for almost an hour before getting to
that sweet little swath of paradise at MON.
Finally, about 5 minutes before we got there, I turned the air conditioner fans
to max cold to put us into a deep chill. You see, it is usually 90 degrees plus
at that swamp-stop, and with the difficult QRN/QSB levels we turned off the SUV
completely to minimize both electrical and audio noise to work the pileups.
Red in particular had a HUGE GRIN on his face when the pile up started; quickly
that changed to the concentration of a CW Master, making every dit count.
Kevin also had some nice action on 40m, working all the way up to W1-W8 (midday
from MON - wow!) but was fairly lonely CQing on an open 15m band with but a few
callers. I overheard at least one sweep on each band, including one guy that
thanked him about 10 times!!
With Garbage Truck sized horse flies buzzing all around us trying to find an
open window to carry us off to their young, Red and Kevin worked down those
pileups until they were no more. We even did a bit of SSB and then, after half
an hour in MON and sweltering in our Easy-Bake-Oven, on we went.
It felt so special to give many of the deserving FQP supporters help towards a
Sweep. We were hoping team K1XX/m would clean up anyone we missed but we had
not yet received word of their misfortune (so sorry Charlie and Marty - next
year!).
One TERRIFIC highlight was our dinner with teams AD4ES and NO5W, hosted by my
wife and I at home Sat night. Lili had the pizza hot and ready as we traded
stories from the road and commiserated with each other about conditions. Both
teams AD4ES and NO5W have very impressive station/antenna setups; well done,
gents.
Chuck, Eric, Wolf, Mike, Ted and Chuck - thank you so much for modifying your
routes to join us; such fun! Let's do it again, friends.
Lowlights:
10m = didn't even set up an antenna; 'nuff said.
15m = 54 QSO's (2016=300+; 2015=1300+); sure can see the Cycle at work!
Monroe SSB - We called and called on SSB on 40m and 20m for 5+ minutes without
a single answer. Still - I got to watch Red work a mic; talk about Rare DX!
:-)
This one is a both a positive and negative. Building only 2 stations is easy as
pie 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.
ROAD TALES/TAILS:
This driver really enjoys operating FQP but the Stations management, route
planning and especially Driving the road rally can be both challenging and very
reward. Our state is so beautiful and the endless green fields, huge trees and
inviting lakes/ponds make this part of FQP fun for me.
Any I also noted some real Strangeness including:
We stopped for a quick GP (not ground plane, but rather Gas & Pee) break.
As I started into the store, a man started driving away with the gas hose still
attached to his car! Fortunately he stopped, and an onlooking started running
toward him until she realized she had a cigarette in her mouth - yikes! That
was a first for me...
While waiting on the DES line in a neighborhood I saw a 3 ft black snack race
to the bushes as a Blue Jay tried to peck/claw him. Mr. Snake lived to fight
another day. Another first!
Less exciting but very enjoyable was 'racing' a 100+ car freight train heading
in parallel at night in POL
Also enjoyable to be crossing the humongous Sunshine Skyway in PIN/HIL/MTE
watching a loaded monster barge head out to the Gulf; probably headed with
chips and salsa to the "O" team's home (KN5O and NO5W) in LA.
In summary, we had a great time with a trip that once again exceeded our
expectations. Red and Kevin and perfect teammates; we have great synergy and
encourage and help each other.
Thanks to our FCG/FCP organizers including K1TO who is the heart and soul of
this FB contest with countless hours of leadership and support each year -
thank you so much Dan. Also want to give a huge bow to Floyd KK3Q for doing
Yeoman's work on our FQP website - folks, I worked with him just a bit and
observed both his technical expertise and dedication to create a new website
with much improved functionality and user experience. Thanks Floyd.
Great appreciation goes to former teammate Bob N4BP, who is helping up put
together our logs and ensure we turn in a valid workable on - thanks Bob for
helping again.
Also a *must* - 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.
A tip of the hat to our fellow road warriors, 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.
Also have to give huge kudos to our fixed and 1x1 spelling bee partners - you
are the foundation of our way-cool QSO Party - thank you for standing strong on
all our bands representing our State.
Finally - my biggest, loudest applause is for all of you out-of-state operators
who are the real heros. 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 2018!
vy 73/OJ/AHZ/MATT,
Chris, NX4N - K4OJ MM/m Team Lead
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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