[3830] FlQP W4AN/M(@K4BAI/M) M/SCW LP

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                    Florida QSO Party

Call: W4AN/M
Operator(s): K4BAI, KU8E
Station: K4BAI/M

Class: M/SCW LP
QTH: 33 FL Counties
Operating Time (hrs): 20

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
--------------------
   40:   330    0
   20:  2290    0
   15:    20    0
   10:     0    0
--------------------
Total:  2640    0  CW Mults = 70  Ph Mults = 0  Total Score = 739,200

Club: South East Contest Club

Comments:

The score submittal page again this year has no place to select multi op, mobile
or rover, but that's what we were.  IC756Pro at 100W to Hustler antennas and on
20M a DX Engineering top hat.  KU8E and I have enjoyed mobiling in this contest
(and in GA, AL, and TN QSO parties) in recent years using Jeff's car. We missed
FL last year due to scheduling difficulties.  Jeff has since sold his car that
was equipped for mobile operating.  In the week before the FQP, Jeff installed
wiring for power and antennas in my newest car, a 1997 Buick LeSabre. 
Everything tested out perfectly beforehand with resonant antennas for 40, 20,
15, and 10.  The only downside was that we would have to stop to change bands
(and often that is impossible to do safely, particularly on interstate
highways).  Some times in the past we have had two masts and could go to two
bands without stopping.  Sorry that we advertised that we would be mixed modes,
but we decided for a first test of the new installation to use CW only, avoiding
antenna loading problems on the different mode frequencies.  We have in the past
logged on paper or used NA, which requires a separate contest log for each
county.  This year, we used N1MM and it was great to be able to change the
county with a few key strokes and have full functionality without having to set
up different files ahead of time and it took only a few seconds to change
counties.  As a result, we had some very short runs (only one QSO on our first
of three passes through NAS.  We made a few 40M QSOs around 17Z on the first
day and everything seemed OK.  We made only one QSO (N5NA in TX) on our only
outing to 15M on the first day.  Otherwise we were running on or about 14044
kHz Saturday until about 22Z when we went back to 40.  Almost immediately the
computer had problems and we determined that they were related to RF on 40M.
Strange that we had not had the problems earlier.  Eventually, we determined
that we could log on 40M if we disconnected the rig control and computer CW
keying from the USB port.  I sent with a paddle and the internal keyer of the
rig for the rest of the evening.  When we went back to 20M and plugged the USB
cable back in, it didn't work.  I think we could have shut the computer down
(again) and rebooted it and it would have been OK on 20M, but we didn't take
the time to do that.  

We had arranged before the contest to stay at the same Holiday Inn Express west
of Jacksonville that the K4KG team (K5KG and VE7ZO) had reservations at so we
could eat dinner and breakfast with them.  We were much later than they
arriving at the hotel and talked to them on the telephone, but didn't see them
until Sunday morning.  They got up early to work on computer logging problems
they had encountered and we hoped to put a choke in the coax and add some
toroids to try to cure our RF problems with our computer on 40M.  In the
process, we discovered that our mag mount had been broken the night before when
Jeff had tried to take it off the car to lock it in the trunk for security.  We
had ended up leaving it on the car, but didn't realize that we had broken the
coax connection to the mount and therefore to the mast until we found infinite
SWR just before the Sunday session started.  God bless George, K5KG.  He had
purchased a new mag mount just in case one of theirs failed and he loaned it to
us.  Jeff thinks he could have repaired our mag mount, but we would probably
have lost hours of the Sunday session.  So, thanks to George and Jim we got
started Sunday on time.

We started on 40M Sunday and were there for about a half an hour with only a
few RFI problems, but it was clear that the problem was not cured by the new
mount.  We stayed on 20M for most of Sunday with a couple of forays to 20M
where we worked one station each in CA, AZ, and CO and a number of Europeans
plus one in Puerto Rico.  The rate was so slow on 15M that it seemed best most
of the time to stay on 20M calling CQ after the rate dropped rather than stop
and change the resonator to check 15M.  We went back to 40 again just after 21Z
on Sunday and encountered the same RF problems.  Again the rig control and CW
keying lines were disconnected and I sent with a paddle on 40 and 20 until the
end of the contest.  I apologize for poor CW sending.  I was trying to send
with a K8RA mini paddle on the left side of the computer (I am right handed)
while logging with my left hand.  Hardly an ideal set up for sending CW.  We
had no desk in the car and the key was sitting on a yellow writing tablet on
the seat of the car.  

Band conditions seemed poor to fair on 40, 20, and 15.  But activity levels
seemed to largely make up for poor propagation conditions.  There were a lot of
DX QSOs made, but signals were often weak and 40M seemed weaker than I ever
remember it.  We had almost no west coast QSOs on 40 and only a few Europeans.
Our best DX was UA9FAR who called in toward the end of the Saturday session.  I
am almost certain that we have never made as many QSOs as we did this year,
although our score may been higher when we worked both modes.

I think we missed VT, DC, MS, UT, NE, HI, and AK.  In Canada, we worked VE1-4,
7, and 9.  Thanks for all QSOs.

Special thanks to the DX stations who hung in there chasing us from county to
county when our signals must have been very weak.  Thanks to FCG for organizing
another great QSO party.  Thanks to the fixed stations who did, for the most
part, observe the request not to CQ in the "mobile window."  And my special
thanks to Jeff, KU8E, for installing the set up for mobile operation in my car
and providing his rig and interfaces.  

W4AN is the club call for South East Contest Club, which covers most of GA, SC,
and a portion of NC.  It is in memory of the late Bill Fisher, W4AN.  All W4AN
QSLs go via K4BAI and I will be pleased to answer any QSL requests for this or
any previous use of the call.

Hope everyone is planning to be QRV in CQ WPX CW.  We expect M/M operation from
NQ4I and M/2 or M/S opertion from WW4LL and possibly W8JI.

For those who might be interested, here is our route.  We were sorry that we
didn't get to all counties as planned, but the number of "sweeps" being
reported indicates that coverage of all counties was excellent this year. 
Congratulations to all who achieved a sweep of 67 FL counties.  And congrats to
many QRPers who were QRV and some had very high scores and even sweeps.

Saturday:  JAC, HOL, WAG, JAC, BAY, CAH, LIB, GAD, LEO, JEF, MAD, HAM, SUW,
CLM, UNI, BAK, NAS, DUV, CLA, BRA, CLA, PUT, FLG, STJ.  Sunday:  DUV, NAS, DUV,
NAS, BAK, UNI, CLM, ALC, MAO, SUM, LAK, SUM, CIT, MAO, LEV, GIL, DIX, TAY, DIX,
LAF, DIX, TAY, JEF, WAK.  Total of 33 counties.

I should say that I agree with comments made by participants from VA south to
the FL state line that 80M would be a great addition to the FQP allowing for
more QSOs from the close in states.  We might not make many (or even any) 80M
QSOs from the car, but the fixed stations could work each other OK.  And, in
the GA and AL QSO parties, we have successfully run stations from the mobile
(and the AL QSO party is in June when 80 is weaker and noise levels higher).

Unfortunately, I have a judicial meeting that conflicts with the Dayton
Hamvention this year, so I hope to see many of you there next year.

73, John, K4BAI for the W4AN/M team.


Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/