7th Call Area QSO Party
Call: N7XU/M
Operator(s): K4XU KI6Y
Station: N7XU/M
Class: MobileCW LP
QTH: ID/OR
Operating Time (hrs): 16:50
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160:
80: 46
40: 206
20: 524
15: 116
10:
6:
2:
----------------------------
Total: 889 0 0 Mults = 69 Total Score = 184,023
Club: Central Oregon DX Club
Comments:
This year we ran in the new multi-op mobile class, CW low power, using a TS-480
and a Hustler tri-band "pitchfork" fixed to a ball mount on the left
rear fender. The vehicle is a VW Jetta TDI diesel - no ignition noise.
Here's the route:
IDTWI IDCAS IDMIN IDJER IDLIN IDGOO IDELM IDOWY IDELM IDADA IDBOI IDADA IDCAN
IDGEM IDPAY ORMAL ORBAK ORGRA ORHAR ORLAK ORDES ORCRO ORDES ORJEF ORCRO
That's 21 counties in two states. Charlie, KI6Y, did all the driving until
ORDES where we had dinner at my house. Charlie left for a well deserved rest
and I continued up to Jefferson County and thence to Crook Co before returning
home to Bend. The total trip on the car is just under 720 total miles.
Since the 7QP is a single day 18 hour event, we drive 630 miles east to Twin
Falls, ID on Friday where we stay for the night. It's not too bad going east
because we gain an hour. We get to bed early and don't have to start the
contest until 0700 Mountain Time -- gentlemen's hours!
IDTWI IDCAS IDMIN IDJER IDLIN IDGOO IDELM IDOWY IDADA IDBOI IDCAN
IDGEM IDPAY ORMAL ORBAK ORGRA ORHAR ORLAK ORCRO ORDES ORJEF
The land is quite flat from south central Idaho west to the Oregon border,
generally following the old Oregon Trail wagon route along the Snake River.
Entering Malheur ("unhappy" if you're French) County and heading NW
into the snow-covered Strawberry Mountains, we gradually pick up altitude and
the road has more curves. Crossing into Baker County we descend slightly into
the Sumpter River valley, follow it west, up over Dixie Summit at 5279' (yes,
there was snow on the south side of the road), and down into the John Day River
valley and Grant County. This is in the Oregon Gold Country. From John Day we
turn South over the Strawberry crest into the valley going towards Harney
County.
You can imagine that an ol' Navy P2 pilot like Charlie gets his kicks on those
windy roads. I just concentrate extra special hard on the CW in the headphones
and the laptop monitor, lest I turn somewhat green. Some of our QSOs were made
by the persistence of the party on the other end as we went down canyons where
the earth rises at 45° or more on each side of the road as the it constantly
changes direction following some creek down a slope. We drop down the south
side of the Ochoco Mountains and down into Burns in Harney County: 10,000 sq
miles and just 7600 population, the 7th largest county in the country.
It's a long way, 77 miles, across Harney Co but the roads are unpopulated by
tourists, commerce or gendarmes so we make it in under 70 minutes. From here
it's a straight shot into the sunset towards home and a hot dinner. We arrive
in Bend at 7:30 PM Pacific time. I eat a hasty dinner, say goodnight to Charlie
and head out again on the road to Jefferson County.
Do not try to operate while in motion. Entering callsigns on a laptop on the
passenger seat while driving is foolish, trust me on this. 20 minutes later I
open in ORJEF. Here I have the benefit of exchanging the pitchfork for a
somewhat more efficient 40m Hamstick . The downside is I have to get out and
change antennas to go to other bands. For the first time I tried an 80m
Hamstick and was very pleasantly surprised that I could raise KH6LC with a 10%
efficient antenna. Good ears, LLoyd! An LED headlamp is the perfect accessory
for operating a parked mobile operating in the dark.
At 10 PM I left Jefferson and drove over to Crook County, about 2 miles away,
and set up shop on a nice wide berm away from the noisy power lines on the
border. The reason I did not run a county line was the power lines plus what I
perceive as a slowing factor in handling a more complex exchange. Crook Co was
also handled by CODXC member AA5TL, so it was not a new mult for most but more
Q's in the log for me. I ended at 0651Z when calling CQ and S&P on either
40 or 80 produced no response. Last Q was KH6LC on 40m for QSO #899 with dupes,
about 100 Q's ahead of last year.
Since I log with TR it will take an hour reformatting it to Cabrillo quality
and a real score. Then it goes into the famous K2DI 7QP scoring machine and we
will await the results, to be published on the 7QP web page one day after the
log deadline.
>From a 7-lander's perspective, the bands were in good shape. Not as good to
Europe as last year, but with lots of participation from the US and JA. 10m was
not checked but judging from 15m, it would have been counter-productive to add
another band to the pitchfork. There were more mobiles this year. K5YAA made
the trip from FQP to 7QP and lit up Wyoming. Great sigs from Jerry's rig.
7QP starts at 13Z and we get off to a good start. Just as things start
moderating a bit, the InQP starts at 16Z and the rates pick up again. It gets a
further boost at 20Z when the NEQP starts. Many of the fixed New England
stations start with their beams on Europe, but as Eu goes to sleep, the rates
pick up even more.
I'd like to thank all the folks who followed us along and strained to hear us.
It was a good day on the radio. And thanks for your support of the 7QP.
Dick, k4xu
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