[3830] KsQP W0BM/M(W0BH) Mobile SO Mixed LP
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Fri Sep 4 15:58:17 PDT 2009
Kansas QSO Party
Call: W0BM/M
Operator(s): W0BH
Station: W0BM/M
Class: Mobile SO Mixed LP
QTH: 36 Kansas counties
Operating Time (hrs): 16.8
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
80: 27 0
40: 690 64
20: 905 824
15:
10:
6:
2:
----------------------------
Total: 1622 888 0 Mults = 50 Total Score = 332,100
Club: Hesston College ARC
Comments:
After all the work getting the new Kansas QSO Party off the ground, it was
finally time to enjoy the actual event. Mother nature can be really brutal in
late August in Kansas, but this year we had absolutely perfect weather as XYL
Lorna / K0WHY and I headed out at 7:00am enroute to our first county line 80
miles to the west. The only sad note was the loss of our 12-year-old black
Lab, Sasha, a few days before. Sasha often rode along with us on trips and
likely heard all of you on the air through the speaker from time to time. She
particularly enjoyed the county line stops with Lorna. This trip was for her.
Last summer in Wyoming while enroute to British Columbia, I had just finished
running a rare county with my Icom706MkIIG when we started smelling something
burning. Lorna looked in the mirror and saw thick smoke pouring out of the
radio and clouding around Sasha who was in the middle seat next to the remote
installation. Power off, windows open, emergency stop, luckily no flames, but
of course the radio was toast. I had my Icom 7000 along as a backup, so
decided to drop the 706 off in Washington for an estimate as we drove by Icom
America. Didn’t think I’d ever see it again, but the 706 is now back in my
van with a new filter board and a distinctive “smoky†smell.
My equipment configuration is pretty welled tuned in the Astro van (264,000
miles young) and hasn’t changed in the last few QSO parties with one
exception. I added an external 12v cooling fan to continuously blow air over
the 706. It worked great and will be a fixture from now on. From the 706 with
Logikey K-4 keyer and MFJ travel paddle, I’m using three Hustler vertical
sets on triple mag-mounts: 20SSB/40SSB/10, 20CW/40CW/15 and 80CW. Two Dell
laptops run NA with keying, rig control and DeLorme GPS and Street Atlas
software. The only equipment issue this time was low mike audio going through
the MFJ voice keyer. A number of you like to ask Lorna for a SSB Q as we’re
driving along, so I have a second mike available for her. The action was so
fierce this time that I really didn’t need the voice keyer, and Lorna just
talked louder!
Saturday
We arrived at the Reno/Rice county line about 15 minutes early, so I had time
to take a few pictures. Using my GPS, I always put together a “flight
plan†with estimated times of arrival at each county. The route was
ambitious with 25 counties scheduled for Saturday, but Lorna promised to keep
me on schedule and be ruthless when I asked for more time in a county. It
worked .. we stayed on schedule the entire day!
For me, Saturday was a blur. I usually have time to enjoy the sights as we
drive along, but the pileups started immediately and really never let up.
Western Kansas has some beautiful scenery, so occasionally Lorna would
“force†my attention outside. Back logging at the computer, I’d jump
from 40CW to 20CW, then SSB if I had time (and usually did). It amazed me how
many would be there waiting for me when I changed bands or modes .. some really
experienced and savvy ops out there! Since Kansas hasn’t had a QSO party in a
number of years, many of my counties were “rare†ones for county hunters,
which added to the fun. The only time I had a break was when we covered a
county enroute to a line, then had to return out through that same county to
get to the next one. I could still make Qs, but took some time off for a
sandwich or to catch my breath.
The story of this trip is that for once, there are very few “stories†to
tell. The only Saturday snag was trying to get to the Hamilton / Greeley /
Wichita county line. We had a choice of going one of two routes, and the route
we picked stopped because of a partially completed housing subdivision out in
the middle of nowhere. That cost us 15 minutes of backtracking while band
conditions took a momentary dive, so there are only 18 Qs from Hamilton county
in my log. Another noteworthy event was running through a small “dust
devil†with partially opened windows. The inside of the van and computer
screens were instantly covered in a film of dust, which stayed with us the rest
of the trip.
Other than some fierce RTTY competition on 40 later in the day, 20 and 40
stayed good. At least I didn’t have to go down to 7021 to get away from the
RTTY like I did in Oklahoma. I also went to 80CW the last hour with excellent
results. Should have gone there sooner, and should have went to 40SSB more as
well. I did check 15 and 10 from time to time, but no luck We ended Saturday
with 1,616 combined Qs in the log for 12 hours work and headed 15 miles to
Burlington CO for an overnight stop at Lorna’s cousin’s house.
Sunday
After a great breakfast we headed out into a cool, cloudy morning. My goal was
to start out part way through Cheyenne county (the furthest northwest county in
Kansas) since I knew it would be tight making the final three counties in my
run. It was not to be. Instead, we were still in Sherman and 30 minutes away
from Cheyenne when the bell rang for Round 2.
I’d worked Sherman on 40 and 80 the previous night, so started out on 20 CW.
Finally, the Cheyenne county sign appeared as did a big pileup. Unfortunately, I
sent CHE for Cheyenne instead of the correct CHY. Since CHE is Cherokee county,
which just happens to be the furthest southeast county in Kansas, I’m sure
some were confused. John, N6MU and Jeff, N8II teamed up to correct my mistake
and I changed the computer macro, but then everyone heard a “new†county
and called me again. I logged the dupes and all are now logged as CHY, so if
you worked me first thing on Sunday morning, check your log. Sorry for the
confusion and a big thanks to John and Jeff for helping me minimize the
damage.
It’s been my experience in the Oklahoma and Texas QSO Parties that six-hour
Sundays are often busier than Saturdays. Sunday in Kansas definitely started
out that way, so I was expecting a really phenomenal run when I got to the
Graham / Rooks county line. The run was good, but powerline noise made
conditions almost unbearable. Lots of folks really wanted those two counties,
so rather than leave, I asked whether Lincoln, Russell, and Ellsworth counties
had been covered on Saturday. Many said they had, so I decided to drop those
last three counties from my route and finish out the run, which put me back on
(my new) schedule.
On Sunday it always feels like you’re racing the clock, so I’d planned a
“shortcut†to get to the last Jewell / Osborne / Mitchell three-county
line. The gravel road turned to sand and then to bumpy sand. I’d just gone
to SSB, so quite a few heard Lorna and I discussing whether we really should go
over the dubious-looking bridge standing between us and the finish line. We did
and we made it, but there was some luck involved. Lorna had to dodge big holes,
bumps, and cows before we finally got back on pavement for a mile, then more
sand to arrive at the line. It seemed to take forever. By the time we
arrived, I could just feel you all out there. I set up the computer, told
everyone I was taking a final sip of green tea, took a deep breath, and QRZ?
The next 37 minutes were the stuff of mobile contester dreams. 279 contacts
later, I could finally breath again. Incredible. Thank you thank you all for
your patience and operating courtesy! That run brought the Sunday six-hour
total to 1002 Qs for a final total of 2616 Qs including Lorna’s 71 contacts.
So how do you follow that? I finally got out of the van to stretch and take my
first really good look around. As I was operating, I vaguely remember Lorna
chatting with a farmer who was driving by wondering what was up. Her
explanation must have been good, because he said his dad was a ham and might
stop by later. And so he did, 80+ year-old K0EQD, Wilford, who owns some land
nearby. His first comment to me was with a twinkle in his eye, “You know
you’re right where three counties come together?†I did indeed! Lorna and
I very much enjoyed our chat with Wilford over the next half hour. He sent us
on our way with two big watermelons from the back of his loaded pickup and an
invitation to come back again next year. Count on it!
Stats
We operated 16.8 hours, 2616 combined Qs, 398 unique calls, 35 dupes. Lorna
ended up with 71 contacts in her log.
States not worked : VT DE HI AK UT SD
Canadian mults not worked : QC MR NT
KS worked : NEM JOH OSA WYA ROO
DX worked : DL UA XE CU – DL3DXX (27 times) and UA3AGW (18 times) !
Six-hour Rates (W0BH only)
Saturday 1400-1959 145 Qs/hr
Saturday 2000-0159 114 Qs/hr
Sunday 1400-1959 164 Qs/hr
Last 37 minute rate: 452 Qs/hr
Total Bob : 2510 Qs 50 mults = 332,100
Total Lorna : 71 Qs 7 mults = 994
County Breakdown (in visited order)
Saturday (500 miles during the QP)
1 REN 41 Reno
2 RIC 40 Rice
3 STA 80 Stafford
4 EDW 114 Edwards
5 FOR 54 Ford
6 HOG 54 Hodgeman
7 PAW 66 Pawnee
8 BRT 43 Barton
9 RUS 73 Rush
10 ELL 78 Ellis
11 TRE 59 Trego
12 NES 110 Ness
13 LAN 56 Lane
14 GOV 112 Gove
15 SHE 55 Sheridan
16 THO 55 Thomas
17 LOG 56 Logan
18 SCO 75 Scott
19 FIN 52 Finney
20 KEA 45 Kearny
21 WIC 56 Wichita
22 HAM 18 Hamilton
23 GLY 44 Greeley
24 WAL 59 Wallace
25 SMN 86 Sherman (also started there on Sunday)
Sunday ( 210 miles during the QP)
26 CHY 67 Cheyenne
27 RAW 76 Rawlins
28 DEC 75 Decatur
29 NOR 79 Norton
30 PHI 96 Phillips
31 GRM 70 Graham
32 ROO 70 Rooks
33 SMI 117 Smith
34 JEW 93 Jewell
35 OSB 93 Osborne
36 MIT 93 Mitchell
Some phenomenal numbers by some incredible ops .. the highest I’ve had to
date. N8II reported 98 Qs with me in his report. I had him with 97 and two
dupes .. likely my fault when I switched bands and logged before the computer
rig control caught up. And what else can one say about John, N6MU? Once
again, he was the only one to work me in all my counties, and he does it all
with low power and low antennas!
Special thanks to the following ops for 10 or (way) more contacts:
97 : N8II and 35/36 counties
79 : K4ZGB and 27/36 counties
76 : N6MU and 36/36 counties
70 : KU5B and 30/36 counties
63 : NN8L
53 : KO1U
52 : N4IG NT2A
49 : K4BAI
43 : W2LHL
41 : N9FC
39 : K9CS
38 : AA6YX WB2ABD
34 : KS5A N4VA
32 : N4CD
31 : N4PJ
27 : DL3DXX W4RQ
25 : WB8YYY
22 : W0GXQ WF7T
21 : N2CU
20 : N9QS
19 : KS8O N0ZA N3KR
18 : AE8M KC8CY UA3AGW W6RLL
17 : K0GEO W0ZQ
16 : KD8GOX NU4C
15 : AD1C KE7DX KM1C N9HDE
14 : K4YT K9NW KC3X VE3GXW W7KAM
13 : KO7X N2JJ W4PM WB0PYF
12 : K6LJC K8QWY KS4X N4MM NM2L W4GNS W5ESE W9DC
11 : K3TN K5AEM K9EN KC0MO KD8HB W4IX
10 : K6WSC K9AAA KD7WIZ KE0G N5MLP W1END WB4YZA
Kansas mobiles worked: NU0Q/m
W0BH Award Winners
First Place Very Honorable Mention
Most overall Qs: N8II/97 K4ZGB/79 N6MU/76
Most CW Qs: N8II/62 K4ZGB/51 NN8L/48
Most PH Qs: N8II/35 N6MU/30 K4ZGB/28
Most counties: N6MU/36 N8II/35 N4IG/33
Lorna and I drove a total of 1021 miles round trip from Kansas and would do it
again tomorrow if we could (well, at least I would!). Thanks to Randy (K0LD)
for coordinating the event, to Kent (KB0RWI) for the great web site, to the
other sponsors, and to the volunteers who worked hard and will continue to work
hard over the next months. Finally, special thanks to the mobiles and Kansas
portable and base stations for being there and for putting what will likely
turn out to be 99/105 counties on the air. Until next year when we'll get them
all …
73, Bob/w0bh and Lorna/k0why
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