[3830] TxQP N5DO Multi-Op HP

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                    Texas QSO Party

Call: N5DO
Operator(s): AD5OJ, KD5MXR, KD5RWT, KD5VUC, N5DO, W5NPR
Station: N5DO

Class: Multi-Op HP
QTH: Brewster
Operating Time (hrs): 19

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs  Dig Qs
----------------------------
  160:                   
   80:    1       9      
   40:   85     304      
   20:  140     661      
   15:   18     143      
   10:    1      20      
    6:                   
    2:                   
  UHF:                   
----------------------------
Total:  245    1137     0  Mults = 238  Total Score = 728,642

Club: Big Bend ARC

Comments:

The score includes 12,500 mobile bonus points.

I have found it almost impossible to get my log ready to submit.  I have spent
at least 6 hours working on it -- I believe the score is now correct.  The
problem is all the Texas counties (254!) and the TR logging program.  We were
using the 4 letter codes on the TQP website, and discovered a little bit into
the contest that they don't always match up with the TR list.  A worse problem
was my way to identify stations that we worked in multiple counties so that TR
would not kick it out as a duplicate.  I would put in the call with a suffix of
/XXXX, where XXXX is the  4 letter county code.  For example, working KK5LO
mobile in Uvalde County I put in KK5LO/UVAL.  The logging program assumed this
was a Russian station and put in UA in the multiplier column.  There is probably
a better way, but I'm not sure what it is!  AD5BY used N1MM Logger and he
demonstrated it to me.  It handles these problems very well, and I will probably
use it for the next TQP.  For every other contest I will stick with TR.  

I decided to go multi-op this year for the first time to get some of the newer
ops in this area a chance to operate.  In this I was following the lead of W5SB
who did the same thing a few years ago in the Houston area.  The Texas QSO Party
seems like a good spot to do this.  Two young, high school age operators (AD5OJ
and his brother KD5VUC) came from a ranch north of Ft. Davis here to Alpine,
about 40 miles.  They operated at the beginning, from about 9:00 a.m. to 12:00
noon.  They had a great time and will want to enter more contests in the future
once they get an HF rig.  They are both bright young men, but their appearance,
with cowboy hats, cowboy shirts, jeans, and boots does not make them look like
stereotypical hams (whatever that is).

>From noon to 1:00 p.m. I was alone, and operated on 20M SSB.  I had a great
hour, with 120 QSOs.  AT 1:00 p.m. KD5RWT arrived and stayed until the bitter
end on Sunday.  Ken obviously got bit by the contest bug, and now has incentive
to upgrade.  He started out a little slow, but by the end was an expienced
operator.  

Later in the afternoon W5NPR dropped by.  Billy has been a ham for just a couple
of years.  He got the W5NPR call as a vanity call to honor the previous holder,
a silent key from Marfa who Billy watched operate years ago, when Billy was in
high school.  (We have many individuals, nearing or at retirement, who are
finally getting their license after years and years of interest but no time.) 
Billy was frustrated with operating the contest.  Like many people he had a hard
time hearing, especially in the QRM and noise.  He worried that his bad hearing
was causing him trouble, and I tried to assure him that it takes a lot of
listening to get so you can hear well on a crowded ham band.  I'm not sure he
was converted into a contester, but you never know.

At 6:00 p.m., after getting off work, Joey, KD5MXR dropped in.  Joey has been a
ham for about 3 or 4 years and is a good operator.  He jumped in on 20M SSB and
had tremendous rates for the next 2.5 hours.  In the meantime Ken, KD5RWT, was
mining 40M for mobile contacts, using the second rig on low power.  At about
8:30 p.m. 20M went south.  With about 5 minutes before quitting time, I put Joey
on the 40M beam with the linear and he had an instant pileup that unfortunately
had to end at 9:00 p.m.  We were ready for more!

The next day it was just Ken and myself.  Compared to Saturday, Sunday was more
of slugfest -- like pulling teeth.  On the high bands, my good antenna is being
repaired, so we were using my old second radio antenna, a TA-33 at 30 feet that
is fixed to the northeast.  It worked great on Saturday but on Sunday conditions
were not as good.

I felt my first attempt at a multiop in the TQP was a success.  The only other
multiop I had tried from my QTH was in Sweepstakes using just one rig and
trading off with one or two other operators.

This TQP was the best yet.  The level of interest, excitement, and activity from
Texas hams was at an all time high.  Forty meters was alive with mobiles during
the whole contest.  At the same time, there were apparently other mobiles active
on 20M who we never heard.  On Saturday we never worked any Texas mobiles on
20M.  Sunday I worked Chuck, NO5W, on 20 CW for 1 QSO, but I'm see from
out-of-state reports that he was very active in many more counties.

I have always felt that the California QSO Party was the best of many good state
QSO parties, but now I feel that Texas is approaching their outstanding level. 
The one major, unique advantage we have is the large number of counties.  Now
that we have a large number of mobile operators willing to put on 1,000 or more
miles in a weekend it becomes a great experience.

73,

Dave, N5DO


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