Tnx Ken - appreciate all the QSO's. Glad you enjoyed the read; (the gator
and iguana stories are 100% true)
vy 73/OJ,
Chris, NX4N
On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 6:01 PM <ktfrog007@aol.com> wrote:
> This is the Great American QP Road Trip story. Right up there with Huck
> Finn, On the Road and Robert Frank's America.
>
> Rollickin', frolickin'' fun.
>
> Thanks for the Qs.
>
> 73,
> Ken, AB1J
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NX4N Chris <cqdenx4n@gmail.com>
> To: FQP@groups.io; fcg new <FCG@groups.io>; QSOParty@groups.io
> Notification <QSOParty@groups.io>; 3830@contesting.com
> Cc: cqdenx4n <cqdenx4n@gmail.com>
> Sent: Tue, Apr 27, 2021 6:56 pm
> Subject: [QSOParty] K4OJ Multi-Multi-Mobile 2021 FQP Results
>
> Hi FQP Fanatical Friends,
> After the Virus Apocalypse last year and a truly "special" visit from
> Murphy in 2019, the K4OJ/m team was hungry to get back on the road for some
> FB FQP action. We we're not disappointed; wht a blast! This was our 7th
> outing and we had great fun. Much to tell - read on...
>
> First, the results:
> *K4OJ - SCORE SUMMARY:*
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *Band QSOs Pts Mul Pt/Q 7 1792 7168 37 4.0 14
> 2548 10192 53 4.0 21 45 180 1 4.0 Total 4385
> 17540 91 4.0 Score: 1,596,140 1 Mult = 48.2 Q's*
>
> Please note this is a higher claimed score than in our first year 2014
> with four stations, and within a hair of our best year 2015 running three
> stations. Much of this year's results is due to our Outside-of-Florida
> Friends rabid participation - thank you you all!
> And of course, my friends and Monster Ops Kevin N4KM and Red K0LUZ took
> big advantage of all the activity. GRIN
>
> *Other Stats:*
> *20m - K4OJ Max Rates (K0LUZ Op):*
> 2021-04-24 1704Z - 5.0 per minute (1 minute(s)), 300 per hour by *K0LUZ*
> 2021-04-25 2100Z - 4.0 per minute (10 minute(s)), 240 per hour by *K0LUZ*
>
> 2021-04-25 2126Z - 3.2 per minute (60 minute(s)), 194 per hour by *K0LUZ*
>
>
> *40/15m - K4OJ Max Rates (N4KM Op):*
> 2021-04-24 2311Z - 5.0 per minute (1 minute(s)), 300 per hour by *N4KM*
> 2021-04-25 1222Z - 3.7 per minute (10 minute(s)), 222 per hour by *N4KM*
>
> 2021-04-25 0049Z - 2.9 per minute (60 minute(s)), 174 per hour by *N4KM*
>
> *TOTAL (Two Stations Combined) - K4OJ Max Rates:*
> 2021-04-25 0027Z - 10.0 per minute (1 minute(s)), 600 per hour by *N4KM
> & K0LUZ *
> 2021-04-25 2159Z - 7.2 per minute (10 minute(s)), 432 per hour by
> *N4KM & K0LUZ *2021-04-25 2126Z - 5.7 per minute (60 minute(s)), 340 per
> hour by *N4KM & K0LUZ*
>
> It was pure bedlam at times, but *soooo* much fun! And the pileups were
> generally very orderly; a real tribute to the quality of our ops outside FL.
> Considering the conditions, we all were amazed at the *many* positive
> things we observed/experienced this weekend.
>
> *B4 THE BALL - DANCING WITH THE RFI STARS:*
> In 2019, I switched vehicles to my current SUV, a 2017 Toyota Sequoia -
> and, along with frequent Murphy visits, it was a disaster. Despite my best
> efforts and hundreds of hours of work, the 20m station experienced S5-7 RFI
> from 40m. I even blew up my K3 front-end during RFI experiments (ya know,
> cracked eggs to make an omelet...).
> K0LUZ lived with the RFI but at those levels we were missing an entire
> layer of small signal to work. Frustrating!
> So we agreed we would not do this again in 2021 until two conditions were
> met-
> 1. All ops were fully vaccinated (that was the easy part)
> 2. RFI has been abated to more managable levels
> As team lead and VP of Latrines, my job is basically to keep Kevin and Red
> happy, drive them to counties on time and not get lost, and just let them
> run wild on the bands. They were watered, fed and (somewhat) rested but
> the chief challenge was the dadgum RFI. So I set out again to try to tame
> this tiger, and have worked on RFI abatement daily for the past two
> months. I've learned a lot and had some successes, and have relied on
> brilliant engineers like my friend K4SAV, VA6AM and K0BG's brilliant mobile
> website. Their inputs, direct or indirect over the years, have proven
> invaluable.
>
> In the end, the 20m RFI was improved to a manageable S2-4 - not optimal
> but workable!! And of course the K3's we use have clean TX, robust RX
> filters and super NB/NR functions to really aid this. And with zero RFI on
> 40m or 15m, so we declared it "good enough"!
> So, we hit de road, Man...
>
> *TAILS FROM THE ROAD - Positive, Negative and Just Plain Weird:*
> *Highlights:*
>
> - Ain't no Meters...40m was *huge* with nearly *1800* QSO's (wow!)
> that kept Kevin busy day and night. Kevin made a Whopping 1000+ 40m QSO's
> on Saturday alone!
> - REDY ON 20: Big numbers on 20m too - Red made 2500+ QSO's despite
> Henny Penny's Solar Event with ESP signals and plenty of QSB. This is
> where the reduced RFI levels really paid off! I'm absolutely convinced Red
> would have put at least 300-500 Q's more if conditions had been better and
> signals stronger (he's done it repeatedly in the past).
> - Terrific Teamwork: Ex. - Red would be trying to pull out a weak EU
> and asked Kevin to QRX until the QSO was complete; these two are simply
> wonder operators and team players. Much fun to watch them work together
> like that.
> - Get your Game-Face On: The new Sequoia was not nearly as roomy as
> my old trusy/rusty Suburban, so ergonomic sacrifices were required. One of
> the changes was switching to 87 key Gaming Keyboards. These are smaller,
> tactile but not too loud (I had to learn about red, blue and brown switches
> - I like brown); and they are waterproof and tough as nails. And my ops
> love that they have backlit keys - great for nighttime operating. Good
> enough for weekend Online and HF Gamers alike!
> - Traffic: In the 9 years I have been doing FQP mobile, this was the
> lightest traffic I've ever seen. Not much police activity and much of
> the*endless* road construction on our route was completed. So nice!
> - Come back another day: Very little rain and love bugs - just a
> scattering of each. One 10min downpour near BRE was it. and no biting
> flies in MON (1st year ever).
> - Rock solid station/antenna/power reliability - during the contest
> nothing stopped working, period. Almost boring, but careful what you wish
> for!
> - *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!
> With the higher activity we worried less about 'schedule' and often stopped
> in smaller counties to let 2nd and 3rd tier signal work us for the mults.
> Huge, extended pileups included stops in NAS, CLM, LAF, HEN, HIG and OKE.
> Hope you got what you wished for...
> - *MONROE!* We headed through the Grand Dragon County of CLR for
> almost an hour before getting to that sweet little swath of paradise at
> MON. We stayed in MON for a full half-hour as headphones crackled with
> dx-style pileups espcially on 20m; Red was exhausted but happy!
> - *Activity Levels *were off the charts (thanks to all of you!). We
> were driving in CLR for about an hour and we *still* had a steady stream of
> callers - WOW! It was like that all weekend - thank you!
> - Murphy was largely kept at bay (see lowlights below). You may
> recall that in 2019 we lost our first hour, both stations, when a K3 died
> five minutes after the start of the contest and had to be
> replaced/rewired. BRO county-wide roadblocks cost us another hour. Gennie
> fuel line failure - you get the drift for 2019. But not this year!
> - Driver was permitted to operate both stations during Gas/Nature
> breaks; oh my, I missed those sweet pileups!
>
> *Lowlights:*
>
> - We Be Jammin' Red Hot:
> Red had to put up with intentional, persistent QRM, as well as
> multiple FIXED STATIONS IN THE MOBILE WINDOW (bad dogs!). Red fought
> valliantly but repeatedly was driven to QSY - really, really frustrating.
> Oh well, hope we can all respect the window next year.
> - There Ain't No Meters; really!
> 15m was open Sunday but only the smart few checked it out. As we
> traveled big counties in SFL, Kevin would QSY to 15m to chum for QSO
> sharks. We had 45 takers - all with good signals from East to West coasts,
> VE and everywhere in between. Even worked an LU... Where was everyone
> else? Hopefully folks will try our forgotten band next year.
> - No LUCK, LAK - Murphy gets cute: Massive road construction near our
> starting point meant we missed our first county of LAK; we made up enough
> time to add PIN at the end of the first day instead. So 47 total counties
> instead of 48. Hopefully next year we'll be more prepared (and the
> roadwork finished!).
> - Murphy PowerPlay:
> So I pull into the Publix parking lot meeting point and our ops get
> inside to familiarize themselves with the stations. When Red hits his
> first DIT, the generator dies...Noooo! Kevin and I start debugging. I
> accuse Red of secretly smuggling an SB-220 into his setup thus killing the
> gennie. His denials seemed genuine so Kevin and I keep debugging and
> figure out that the fuel cap to the gennie from the external tank was not
> tight and thus leaked air (so no syphon). UGH
> Well, here we are - empty 50lb gen and full 35lb external fuel tank
> next to it; and no way to get gas from one to the other...yikes!
> The brilliant station engineer says, "We can use gravity!" and
> promptly asks his bestest buddy Kevin to hold the 35lb tank above his head
> while we draiin some fuel into the Gen. "Kevin, the fuel line it too short;
> can you please squat a little bit?" Tnx Kevin. With some gas in the gen
> once again and a retightened fuel cap the generator cranked up and kept
> going strong the rest of the weekend. But I still don't trust that 20m 5KW
> DIT!
> -
> *BREAKING NEWS - FQP DOPING SCANDAL! *Three weeks before FQP I was
> working on the SUV and stations and wrenched my back - ouch! So the first
> week it was Ibuprophen and cold/hot packs. The 2nd week I start to worry
> and go to my chiropractor but no treatment is working. Stiff as a board...
> The week of FQP I break down and talk to my doctor and beg her for good
> drugs - she prescibes a muscle relaxer *and* prednisone. Five day
> treatment on steroids finished Sunday and kept enough of the pain away to
> allow me to function and drive. FQP Leadership has demanded that I submit
> to a random drug test before FQP 2022...
>
>
> *STRANGE BUT TRUE 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 rewarding. Our state is so beautiful and the endless green fields,
> huge trees and inviting lakes/ponds make this part of FQP fun for me.
> However, I also noted some real weirdness including the following, *all*
> near the MON/DAD/CLR tri-county line:
>
> - LOST HIS HEAD:
> After our trip at the MON line, we start into DAD and within a mile I
> see a 10-11ft alligator with a huge belly - and *no head*. Some of our
> local swampfolk must have enjoyed the souvenir. Or had a really tasty
> meal...(er, tastes like chicken?).
> - I GWANNA FQP, MON:
> So just as we started heading north on US27 in DAD after seeing our
> headless buddy, I'm going at a pretty good clip when I see something long
> in the road. Is it a branch? A Boa? Another Gator? NOPE!
> Just chillin' there in the right hand lane across from the Seminole
> Casino is a 3-4ft Iguana. I had no time to react so I just aim the tires
> on either side and hope we both stay still. Immediately looking in my
> rearview mirror, both Guana and I say YIKES and he runs back to the edge of
> the road and into the grass unharmed...only in South FL.
> - These are *not* Steroid delusions - promise! My grown children
> still don't believe me...oh Dad!
>
>
> So there you have the 2021 FQP K4OJ MM/m adventure - it was a heck of a
> lot of fun and we'll be back next year when (hopefully) 15m will grace us
> with her presence. We may or may not add a 3rd station accordingly. Red
> and Kevin and perfect teammates; we have great synergy and encourage and
> help each other.
>
> We'd like to offer special thanks to our own FCG past president and VP FQP
> Dan Street K1TO, who has been the Foundation of and Leader for FQP since
> 1998 - tnx Dan for all you've done for us including providing such amazing
> scoring results and analyses! You are the heart and soul of all things FQP.
> Thanks also to our FCG president Chris W4WF; he is a superb, effective and
> practical leader who motivates all of us to give our best for FQP and FCG -
> tnx Chris.
> KU8E is our new FQP Webmaster and it's been a pleasure to work with him;
> sure appreciate it Jeff!
>
> 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 off antennas, rigs, pc's power plants and performing
> 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/expeditioner.
> Also have to give huge kudos to our terrific Fixed and 1x1 Spelling Bee
> partners - you all are the foundation of our way-cool QSO Party - thank you
> for standing strong on all the bands representing our Sunshine State.
>
> Red and Kevin - let's do this craziness next year! I already have top
> secret plans in the works! Batteries not required...steroids optional.
>
> Finally - our 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!
>
> Next year will be our *25th Anniversary edition *of the Florida QSO Party
> - wonder what surprises await?!?!?!?!
> *See you in FQP 2022!*
>
> *FQP - So Bright You Gotta Wear Shades!*
> 😎
>
> vy 73/OJ,
> Chris, NX4N - K4OJ MM/m Team Lead
>
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