[3830] FlQP NO5W SO Mobile+DriverCW LP

Wed Apr 29 20:06:27 PDT 2009

                    Florida QSO Party

Call: NO5W
Operator(s): NO5W
Station: NO5W

Class: SO Mobile+DriverCW LP
QTH: TX
Operating Time (hrs): 18

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
--------------------
   40:   223     
   20:  1412     
   15:           
   10:           
--------------------
Total:  1635    0  CW Mults = 65  Ph Mults = 0  Total Score = 425,100

Club: Central Texas DX and Contest Club

Comments:

Equipment:
2002 Pathfinder
HiQ 4/80 antenna with MFJ 1924 controller
Elecraft K3 remote controller from CQ/X
Navigator USB Interface by US Interface for CAT, WinKey, and GPS Interface
Garmin GPS-18PC DLX GPS receiver 
GPS-Enabled Logging Software: CQ/X de NO5W ver 1.7.6
Deka 75 AHr AGM Auxiliary Battery with Super Power Gate charging system
Palm Paddle

2300Z Wednesday April 29 - We just got back to Houston an hour ago from our
third mobile trip in the Florida QSO Party and in this case the third one
definitely had the charm as the results were a personal best for us -- and
Murphy was no where in sight. My driver, Keri, and I drove over on Friday
before the party arriving in Pensacola just in time to join Jay N4OX, his
fiance Christina, Jim KC4HW, and Arnie W4EIP at the bar of the Ruby Tuesday
across from our hotel. After getting acquainted we went in for dinner and Jay
went way beyond the call of duty and treated us all -- thanks Jay.

We knew from announced plans that the panhandle would be smoking with QSOs on
Saturday morning as KC4HW, W4AN, NF4A, and NO5W planned to start from the same
or nearby counties mobiling east across the area. The possibility of running
into each other seemed obvious but I was surprised when shortly after noon as
we headed down US231 and right at the turning point onto SR20 I heard strong
clicks from an off-frequency signal. Figuring another station was nearby I
looked out the driver's side window and saw W4AN side-by-side with us at the
traffic light. We both pulled into a near by service station for reasons other
than fuel and after those duties were taken care of K4BAI, KU8E, Keri and I
stopped for an eyeball QSO. Both groups planned to head east on SR20 until
Liberty county where W4AN was to go south and we were to head back north to
pickup Gadsden and then I-10 for a long trek to Jacksonville. So to avoid
QRMing each other John and Jeff gave us a head start down SR20.

That was the last we saw of the W4AN crew until about half hour after the
Saturday session was over when we met them again in Orange Park at -- you
guessed it -- Ruby Tuesday. At that point we were also joined by K1TO, K8NZ,
VE7ZO, and K5KG for lively discussions about how the day went, a few station
tours, and a photo-op or two.

Meeting up with other mobiles and members of the FCG has always been one of the
big attractions of the FQP for me but of course the main attraction is the
tremendous crowd that comes to the party and the possibility of some really
good mobile contesting. This year was no different and in fact judging from my
results it was the best of the three that I have been involved in with 20M
being in excellent shape. Here are some statistics on a county-by-county basis
with the first number being the total QSOs in the county and the second number
the initial ten-minute hourly rate in the county:

Bay(117/72), Clay(105/138), Franklin(99/162), Gulf(76/120), Wakulla(71/144),
Taylor(69/36), Lafayette(64/150), Dixie(63/138), Duval(55/144), Levy(53/192), 
Putnam(50/60), Gadsden(49/156), Leon(48/156), Baker(47/186), Jefferson(47/150),
St.Johns(46/120), Walton(45/78), Alachua(43/114), Gilchrist(43/144),
Bradford(42/162), Madison(40/150), Calhoun(40/132), Washington(40/72),
SantaRosa(39/102), Suwannee(37/174), Jackson(32/162), Nassau(32/174),
Holmes(30/108), Okaloosa(30/138), Liberty(27/138), Hamilton(26/144),
Union(25/30),
Columbia(23/120), Escambia(18/90)

Regardless of the above numbers the most exciting and challenging county was
Gulf which we hit near the end of our route on Sunday afternoon. Toward the end
of Franklin, the county just prior to Gulf, things got somewhat slow and I
started getting quite a few questions concerning when I would be in Gulf. It
became obvious that quite a few folks needed Gulf. On the first announcement
that we had entered Gulf I had a "tiger by the tail" and was living on the edge
of chaos. We managed the pileup as best we could and stopped at a convenient
location to make sure we didn't leave any QSOs on the table. I hope that if you
were in there we eventually got around to getting you in the log. It was great
fun on our end, hopefully also on yours.  

Thanks to the following stations for contributing more than half the QSOs
N5WR(36), VE3UTT(33), K0RC(30), VA3DX(28), VE3KZ(25), K5WAF(25), W8MJ(24),
VE3DZ(24), DL3DXX(24), NS9I(23), K0PC(23), VE3KP(22), KO1U(22), CT1ILT(20),
CU2JT(19), K8IR(19), N9CK(19), K9LJN(19), WB8JUI(18), K6LA(18), K3WW(17), 
W9RE(17), W5TM(17), NU8Z(16), G4BUE(16), N8NA(16), VA3DF(16), K3TW(15), 
W1UJ(15), K3ONW(15), KO7X(15), N2AA(15), W7RN(15), N5PO(15), VE4EAR(15), 
N9FC(14), WA7JHQ(14), K0IO(14), NT2A(14), VE3GSI(13), WA3HAE(13), N5ZK(12),
W2LHL(12), K7QQ(12), W1DWA(11), K0JPL(11).

Thanks also to all the stations who corrected my fat-fingering of their calls
when I went back to them. In most cases I was aware of the fat-fingering but
its always a good idea to bring it to my attention. 

In the Single Op + Driver category it should go without saying that the driver
is a key contributor to the overall operation. To drive 18-20 hours covering
about 1000 miles over two days and to only miss one turn is no mean feat. So a
great big thanks to Keri for keeping us heading in the right direction and on
schedule.

Finally also thanks to the FCG for organizing such a great party and always
making us feel welcome to be a mobile participant.

Hope to see you later this year in the Texas QSO Party and other contests in
between as well as at Contest University and the contesting hospitality suites
at Dayton.

73/Chuck/NO5W

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