The Michigan QSO Party is this weekend. The contest period is only 12
hours long - great for getting some operating in while not using up the
whole weekend. Full rules for the 2003 MiQP are at
http://www.miqp.org/MiQP_Rules.htm.
We're pleased to report that the Michigan County Map at
http://www.miqp.org/2003_Operations.htm is completely filled in - all 83 MI
counties have announced operations planned.
One of the challenges presented by Michigan's geographic location (as
opposed to California or Florida) is that we're typically not blessed with
reliable F2 propagation to the major population centers on 20/15/10. Most
MiQP activity takes place on 40, although 20 and 80 usually get their share
as well. 15 and 10 presents a dilemma for in-state stations, since the
lower bands generally offer much better rates.
To help focus high band activity, the MiQP announcement offers "activity
times" where Michigan stations will QSY to 10 and 15 and attempt to
generate activity. These are similar to the activity times recommended in
the NAQP contests.
The recommended MiQP activity times are:
10M SSB - on the hour during even-numbered daylight hours
10M CW - on the half hour during even-numbered daylight hours
15M SSB - on the hour during odd-numbered daylight hours
15M CW - on the half hour during odd-numbered daylight hours
We hope you'll come join us on the air this weekend. Log forms, software,
and other operating information is available on the MiQP web site
http://www.miqp.org.
73,
Dave Pruett, K8CC
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