[3830] MiQP N8MR Mobile Multi-Op LP

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                    Michigan QSO Party

Call: N8MR
Operator(s): N8MR, KC8NAH, KC8OBH, KC8PKY
Station: N8MR

Class: Mobile Multi-Op LP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 11

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
--------------------
   80:   53      2
   40:   77      9
   20:   54      4
   15:            
   10:            
--------------------
Total:  184     15  CW Mults = 45  Ph Mults = 12  Total Score = 21,831

Club: Motor City Radio Club

Comments:

This was our first attempt at contesting while mobile and we knew that our final
score would not be anywhere close to competitive. But the challenges of
operating a highly enjoyable contest from a moving vehicle were intriguing. 

Dave, KC8OBH, had been wanting to operate the MiQP mobile since he (well, both
of us) got involved with it last year. He invited me and Lynette, KC8NAH, to
operate this year's MiQP with he and his wife, KC8PKY the week before the
contest. We took him up on his invitation. The day before, Dave outfitted his
brand new F-150 Super Cab with his TS-570 and two three-magnet mount antenna
bases. Dave brought along his bouquet of hamsticks, though I had a feeling we'd
only be needing three of them, at most. 

We made no strategic plans other than to enjoy the ride, get on the radio and
hand out mulitpliers to other contestants. Our route, which we agreed upon
moments before we left, was to drive north on I-75, stop at the 5.5-hour mark,
have dinner wherever we were, then turn back and head home via US-27, which took
us through different counties. 

Operating HF mobile presented plenty of challenges in itself. There's a big
difference between using a hmastick on a truck and a Carolina Windom 80 strung
between two 70' trees. Operating CW with a key balanced on your foot or knee
also presents a sizeable challenge, epsecially when bouncing down our lumpy
Michigan roads. Many times, my intended callsign, N8MR/8, came out as N8MRC8. I
did not bring along a memory keyer, nor did I plug the laptop into the keyer
port on the 570 - two big mistakes. 

As noted in other summaries, propagation was less than optimal. After 100+ miles
of Linda and Lynette calling CQ on Phone, with only nine QSOs in the log, I
switched to CW. This proved to be the mode to operate, as our rate increased
substantially with this switch. But as my CW operating increased our rate, it
also increased the boredome factor of the other three - all Phone ops. The only
thing keeping them awake was the ever-changing scenery whisking past us on a
lovely Michigan Saturday. 

At the 5.5-hour mark, we were in Emmet County, minutes away from the Mackinac
Bridge. We stopped in St Ignace, had dinner, drove to a scenic outlook, took
pictures of us with the bridge in the background and started our journey back
down to Detroit. While at the northern toll booth, we gave two lucky stations in
AZ multipliers from MACK County. 

At 0100 UTC, we decided to switch out our 20 Meter hamstick with the 80 Meter
antenna. Our biggest mistake with this was in not switching it our earlier, as
KC8OBH had suggested. We found 80 crowded with many MI stations calling CQ. The
last few hours of the contest on 80 Meters were our most productive. Shoulda,
coulda, woulda...

Operating mobile was a real education in contesting in a much different
environment. It also gave us a whole new respect for K8MR, AF8A, WT9U, K8IR and
the other perennial mobile stations, all of whom generate unbelievable scores.


CU all next year. 


Hours we operated

Hour	CW	PH
1700		3
1800		6
1900	32	
2000	26	
2100	17	
2200		
2300	23	
0000	22	
0100	11	4
0200	9	2
0300	44	



Counties we operated from

County	CW	PH
AREN	6	
BAY		3
CHEB	34	
CLAR	3	
CLIN	21	
CRAW	25	
EMME	5	
GENE		1
GRAT	4	3
INGH	8	
ISAB		3
LIVI	20	
MACK	2	
OGEM	12	
OTSE	13	
ROSC	31	
SAGI		5


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