[3830] OkQP KS5A/M Rover-Assisted LP

webform at b41h.net webform at b41h.net
Mon Mar 22 07:19:47 PDT 2010


                    Oklahoma QSO Party

Call: KS5A/M
Operator(s): KS5A
Station: KS5A/M

Class: Rover-Assisted LP
QTH: OK
Operating Time (hrs): 9

Summary:
 Band  CW-Dig Qs  Ph Qs
------------------------
  160:               
   80:     19        
   40:    470        
   20:    118        
   15:     26        
   10:               
    6:               
------------------------
Total:    633       0  Mults = 42  Total Score = 79,758

Club: Arizona Outlaws Contest Club

Comments:

As a former military and commercial pilot, it's easy  .... build a well
thought-out plan, try not to deviate too far from the plan, take care of small
contingencies/glitches, and things normally work out for the best.  After the
event, swap lies over a brewski ... or two, and the world is great.

Well, whoever taught me those traits and techniques, never ran mobile in an OK
QSO Party, during the first weekend of spring - at least that goes for 2010. 
What do "glitches" and "snow-balling" have in common?  A lot in OK.

Linda and I delayed a family visit/business trip to MS for a week, so we could
fill in a few county holes for the OKQP. After a couple of emails with Jerry,
K5YAA, and Gene, W5LE, I committed for the OK panhandle, basically staying
along the KS/OK border the entire length of the state ... west to east.   I
distinctly remember those guys promising great scenery, fabulous roads,
exquisite cuisine and most importantly, a great time.

My checklist had a few additions:

Snow? - check.  Wind? - check.  Icy roads? - check.  Below freezing temps? -
check.  Blizzard conditions? - check (not all the time thankfully).  Detours? -
check.  Cars/semi's in the ditches? - check.  F-350 snow plowing with the
bumper? - check.

For the QSO Party on Saturday, 40m was our money band.  20m was loaded with the
Russian contest guys, and making a hole with a puny LP mobile signal was tough. 
I had expected 15m to be somewhat better than it was - A few east coast stations
and a couple of EU's - nothing to the west, and we tried often.  80m was good at
the end of the first day.  Unfortunately, that was when we had the worse weather
and driving conditions.

After a road closure and detour (thanks for the heads-up, Gene), we were pretty
much shot for the day .... ready for the hotel.  Oh, and a big thank-you to the
OK Cowboy, his dog and his truck that led us around the snow covered, muddy
roads to avoid the overturned semi blocking our route.

At day's end we hooked up with K5YAA and W5LE for a pleasant visit and meal.

Sunday was to be a better day .... we were changing our routing to a more
southerly direction to avoid the conditions we experienced on Saturday. 
However, it really did not matter as Murphy struck during the second county we
were running.  An hour of trouble shooting did not alleviate the problem.  We
were kaput!  That's the reason you did not hear me on Sunday.

Did we have fun as promised? - check.  Would we do it again? - check

Thanks to all of you for the contacts ... these log numbers are preliminary ...
but I wanted to get something out as it will be awhile before we head back to
AZ.  Atta boy to the OKDXA and all those behind the scenes that makes this one
of the best QSO Parties.


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