[3830] KsQP K0A(W0BH) Mobile MOST LP

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                    Kansas QSO Party

Call: K0A
Operator(s): W0BH
Station: K0A

Class: Mobile MOST LP
QTH: 35 KS counties
Operating Time (hrs): 12.3

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs  Dig Qs
----------------------------
   80:     4     0       
   40:   179    19       
   20:   838   575       
   15:    24    14       
   10:                   
    6:                   
    2:                   
----------------------------
Total:  1045   608      0  Mults = 52  Total Score = 226,252

Club: 

Comments:

Category note: With three 1x1 calls all sharing the same mobile and radio, the
choice of category was interesting. While I planned to enter Kansas Mobile
Single-Op as usual, Aaron logged a few contacts for me at the very beginning
while we were trying to decide how to proceed, so all three of us will enter
Mobile Multi-Op this year. Congratulations to Chuck and Alan in N0R/m on what
appears to be a win in what has suddenly become a busy category!

The 2013 Kansas QSO Party by W0BH as K0A/m

It's hard to top the last two Kansas QSO Parties, but it feels like we did! 
Last year, we spelled KANSAS and SUNFLOWER with 33 1x1 calls, this year we
added QSOPARTY for a total of 45 1x1 calls. With just a few days to go, we were
still signing up ops. I didn't actually think we could field 12 additional
calls, but when we were down to two with no more ops in sight, my drivers
Aaron/n0qd and XYL Lorna/k0why got their own 1x1 calls to fill out the roster.
Thanks to China Chaney at ARRL, the last five calls were approved on Thursday
before the party, and we were good to go.

As we were collecting mobile routes, I noticed that Chuck/no5w (from Louisiana)
and Alan/n5na (from Texas) had planned their last county as McPherson which is
my home county. Since I hadn't met either of them, I looped my route back home
on Saturday, then invited them to stay at W0BH overnight. We planned a Saturday
evening supper in the town of McPherson, about 20 miles from home. Jerry/k5yaa
(from Oklahoma) was also mobile and arranged his route to be there, too. Now we
could look forward to both the QSO party and after the QSO party!

In the weeks before, central Kansas had been deluged with rain, and many back
roads were a mess. A week of hot weather took care of that problem for the most
part, but I still planned a route on major roads just in case. We all checked
the internet for road problems, and a number of mobiles rerouted because of
what they found. The major roads got us to counties early and it was easy to
make up time. The down side was having fewer county line operations.

Saturday

Saturday morning dawned clear and "relatively" cool as Aaron and I
headed west to 22 of our planned 35 counties. I wasn't quite sure how we would
run both calls from the same radio since my plan was made before the added
1x1s, so we changed up the plan right off the top by heading out early and
driving to the first county crossing. I ran the two-county line, then let Aaron
run the second county as I drove through. It worked, but what worked better
after a little experimenting was to have Aaron tag calls that came in for me ..
ie I'd make the contact, then Aaron would also make the contact. At first it was
by request, but after awhile, everyone expected the second contact and the
second letter, so we gave it to them unless I had a big pileup. After the
pileup went down, ops would come back asking for Aaron. No way to get bored!

Saturday conditions weren't the greatest. At first, both 40 and 20 were weak,
then 20 started coming in and rates improved (but weak DX). A number of ops
tried moving us to 15, but signals there were poor or non-existent. Many many
15m CQs went unanswered. This year with 15 mobiles, we tried a Mobile CW Window
well below Ohio QSO Party frequencies. Reports during the day said that it was
an overwhelming success. Our fixed stations stayed out of the Window, and
everyone who took the time to check the Mobile Routes link on the KSQP web site
knew right where to look for each mobile.

My favorite part about operating midwest QSO parties is the county line
operations, something I really miss when going to states where line operations
aren't allowed. I'd planned a full hour at the Hodgeman/Ford/Edwards
three-county line stop, and we approached it a few minutes early. We sometimes
stop at a three-county line near a hog farm which is unpleasant when the wind
is wrong. Not this one. Few flies and a nice breeze kept us at least not hot in
the '91 Chevy Astro with no air conditioning. Signals were also loud, so the
best kind of fun! After the pileups settled down, Aaron took over while I ate
lunch, and he had his best rates of the day as N0P/m, the P in QSOPARTY. Just
as we were scheduled to leave, a farmer stopped by, so I took some time and
explained why we were exactly here and what we were doing (nope, not
storm-spotting!). He left with a smile and so did I.

About 4pm, we turned on I-70 for the fast return back to McPherson. We had
several jogs to sit on northern county lines, the first of which was Sheridan
and the second Graham. We had good but quick runs there before continuing on. 
As we cruised homeward, a very loud N0R/m called in on CW from Ellis county. 
We were also in Ellis, as it turned out about two miles behind Chuck and Alan.
They later stopped at a rest area to work the "short" county. Then we
stopped at a different rest area for the same reason, and I actually saw them go
by. We were on schedule!

As the sun went slowly down, I got out the headlamp and turned down the screen
brightness on the GPS and logging computers as we made our last county. In the
counties where Chuck and Alan were, I concentrated more on SSB, so Aaron also
got lots more contacts. We crossed into McPherson county on schedule with just
a few minutes to go.  As we got off the exit, there was Jerry/k5yaa by the side
of the road pounding out Qs with his unmistakeable kilowatt Oklahoma Land Rush
Mobile and trailer with big Tarheel and running generator. As we pulled in
behind, I avoided his frequency since I still needed a front-end for Sunday! As
the clock turned 0200Z, we both got out and said hi. Jerry said he had waved at
Chuck and Alan a few minutes before, so we all made it through day one. The
meal and conversation at Montana Mikes was great, then we took a few pictures,
and headed back to the farm.  Aaron and I finished the 12 hour day with 1497
combined Qs in the log.

Sunday

After a too short night and a good breakfast, Lorna and I watched Chuck and
Alan head down the road to their first county about 45 minutes away, the same
place we'd started the day before. Today was Lorna's day to drive and to
activate W0Y/m, the Y in QSOPARTY. With only 6 hours of operating time, we
started 30 minutes into Marion county on an ambitious 13 county run through
northcentral Kansas. Most of the counties were also new for us in the KSQP, so
we were looking forward to checking out new scenery.

With the first CQ answered by W7GVE, I knew it was a new day! Signals on both
40 and 20 were booming in, and our "riders" from yesterday were there
waiting. Lorna tagged my call like Aaron did yesterday, and the new letter was
especially popular. She quickly got comfortable with the more rapid exchange
and we both settled in for a run.

Lorna has gotten to know a number of your calls over the years, so whenever
Paul/N4PN (who she met in GA a few months ago), Jeff/N8II, and John/N6MU came
on, extra words were often exchanged. After this weekend, many more of you are
now also familiar to her! John was especially excited because he saw a possible
Sweep emerging, and Jeff knew he would be close. As the day went on and John
picked off more counties, it appeared that he would need our last county,
Ottawa, for the Sweep. In fact, it seemed everyone needed us in Ottawa!

We stayed on schedule, even a bit ahead of schedule at times and the day went
quickly. It was just too busy to take a break, so Lorna ate lunch at a county
stop while I worked another pileup. You all were absolutely great! Big pileups
are very manageable if everyone works together. One characteristic of QSO party
pileups is cooperation (unlike many DX pileups), so we get things done and you
all get in the log. With about five minutes to Ottawa county, I was on SSB
taking a list to try and minimize the inevitable pileup. When John called in, I
put him at the top and called him first when we crossed the Ottawa county line.
SWEEP .. congratulations for a third year in a row, John! It was especially fun
to be the one to give it you you, and lots of ops heard you get it. How you do
that with low power and no beam from a California city lot no longer surprises
me, but the word "amazing" still come to mind, right aong with
"preparation," "timing," and "persistance." You
earn it, my friend!

After the dust settled, Lorna and I found 1059 combined Qs in the 6 hour Sunday
log. That works out to 176/hr .. FB in any book from one radio (an Icom 706MkIIG
with Hustler verticals)! It took awhile to figure out my own operating rate, but
I calculated that I personally worked just a bit over 12 of the 18 hours since
most of the 888 contacts Aaron and Lorna made were tagged so they didn't have
to call CQ.  You can see those calculations below.

And Jeff/n8ii .. great effort missing only Sheridan! Not sure how we failed to
connect there since your signal always booms in. You worked me in Gove at 2122
and I started running Sheridan at 2125. I normally try to tip ops off about my
next county if I'm getting close, so if I didn't do that, I'll take some
responsibility (if that helps :-)!  I also have to give a tip of the hat to
OM2VL. Laci reports working 92 counties, and he heard but couldn't break the
pileups in 8 more. He also worked 34 1x1 ops including Aaron and Lorna, and 21
contacts with me. I'd say that's a good "days" work from the Slovak
Republic!

In actual fact, none of us could do it without you all looking for us, fixed or
mobile, so we can't say thank you enough. And Lorna and Aaron want to add their
thanks to you for figuring out our sometimes call-confused operation! Next
year, anyone?

Stats

We operated 17.7 hours, 2556 combined Qs, 409 unique calls, 13 dupes, one
radio

States not worked ----- : VT OK HI* AK WY SD

*My fault .. just too busy and forgot to look for an easy HIQP mult on SSB!
Surprisingly, no one from Hawaii called us on CW.

Canadian not worked --- : QC NU YT PE NL
KS worked (5 counties)- : MIA ELL THO MCP SMI
DX worked (4 countries) : DL I OM RZ

Combined K0A, N0P, W0Y average overall rate: 144/hr

W0BH as K0A/m did not operate 888 QSOs.
Assuming 20 seconds per QSO (most were tag-along QSOs) = 4.9 hours.
4.9 + .5 (break) = 5.4 hours off.
W0BH as K0A/m operated 17.7 - 5.4 = 12.3 hours.

W0BH as K0A/m overall rate (includes 11 dupes) : 135/hr

Six-hour Rates (W0BH only)
2013 rates adjusted for 12.3 hours of operating time.

------------------- 2013--2012--2011--2010--2009
Saturday 1400-1959   124 - 114 - 129 -- 86 - 145 Qs/hr
Saturday 2000-0159   109 - 124 -- 86 -- 67 - 114 Qs/hr
Sunday   1400-1959   172 - 134 - 106 - 123 - 164 Qs/hr

County Breakdown (in visited order)

Saturday (570 miles)

01 MCP 41 McPherson
02 RIC 43 Rice
03 BRT 49 Barton
04 STA 45 Stafford
05 EDW 78 Edwards
06 FOR 53 Ford
07 HOG 53 Hodgeman
08 PAW 33 Pawnee
09 RUS 38 Rush
10 NES 35 Ness
11 LAN 41 Lane
12 SCO 60 Scott
13 LOG 40 Logan
14 GOV 48 Gove
15 SHE 37 Sheridan
16 TRE 63 Trego
17 GRM 27 Graham
18 ELL 27 Ellis
19 RSL 41 Russell
20 ELS 37 Ellsworth
21 LCN 28 Lincoln
22 SAL 37 Saline

Sunday (313 miles)

23 MRN 38 Marion
24 DIC 40 Dickinson
25 MOR 40 Morris
26 GEA 49 Geary
27 RIL 54 Riley
28 CLY 66 Clay
29 CLO 79 Cloud
30 REP 53 Republic
31 JEW 65 Jewell
32 SMI 43 Smith
33 OSB 51 Osborne
34 MIT 61 Mitchell
35 OTT 60 Ottawa


Special thanks to the following ops for 10 or (way) more contacts:

82: N6MU - Sweep for the 3rd year in a row!
68: N4PN
67: N8II
42: W4UT
40: VE7CV
34: K8MFO W7GVE
33: K7IA
31: WA2VYA
30: VE5KS
27: KS4X N4NX
24: AD1C
22: N4UF
21: KK7YC OM2VL
19: KJ4LTA
17: KK7AC KQ3F
16: K4BAI K7BX
15: K5WAF K6MM
14: N3KR
13: KN4Y ND3R
12: AD6LV K0CCM K2DSW K9WA W0GXQ
11: K0DEQ KC3X KK4HEG W1END
10: K5VWW N5MLP NN9K W9MSE WX6V

1x1 stations worked (2) : N0R/m W0S
Other Kansas worked (2) : WA0RKQ N0AG

W0BH Award Winners - First Place ----- Very Honorable Mention
--------------------------------------------------------------
Most overall Qs ---- N6MU/82* ---- N4PN/68 ------ N8II/67
Most CW Qs --------- N6MU/44 ----- N8II/37 ------ N4PN/36 
Most PH Qs --------- N6MU/38 ----- N4PN/32 ------ N8II/30
Most counties ------ N6MU/35 ----- N8II/33 ------ W4UT/32

*John claims 81 which is probably right. We logged all three 1x1s into the same
log, so it was easy to make a mistake and likely accounts for the difference
with his and other counts. I caught some of them but likely not all.

Afterwards

There are lots of people to thank for the 2013 QSO party success. The Santa Fe
Trail ARC once again ran KS0KS (the perfect Kansas call) as our BONUS station
and "wild card" in the spelling competition.  We also had a number of
non-1x1 Kansas stations on the air to thank. Our 15 mobile and 30 fixed 1x1
stations came together to really light up the airwaves. A number of them were
new this year, and we hope they'll be back! It will be fun to see how many of
them each of you worked as we process the logs and get set for the gift
certificate drawing.

Special thanks to our out-of-state mobiles (some who traded fives for zeros for
the weekend). Thanks Chuck/no5w and Alan/n5na, Jon/w0zq, Jerry/k5yaa (first
time), and Bill/nu0q for visiting our state. Missing this year were Connie/n5cm
and Pam/n5kw from Oklahoma, but they had a great excuse as they now have a new
grandson! Thanks to all the mobiles for getting their routes in early, a KSQP
first, and for improving the Kansas economy :-)

I know we were also appreciated beyond the Kansas borders. Thanks to those of
you who spotted the mobiles on the traditional spotting networks. Those spots,
and our customized spotting network link, once again set up by Richard/k0rcj,
allowed a number of you to find that last letter needed to spell KANSAS,
SUNFLOWER, or QSOPARTY and grab an antique amateur stamp or two for your
certificate. Thanks to Bruce/ki5te for his help with the stamps.

This year, our sponsors (see the KSQP Sponsors link on the KSQP web site) came
through once again to provide the funding for our operations. Our 19 plaques
were all sponsored, so if you win a plaque, be sure to thank your plaque
sponsor, and thank our corporate sponsors with a shopping visit if get the
chance! Thanks in advance to Ron/ad0dx for his help in log-checking. Thanks to
Aaron and Lorna for safely negotiating the Kansas roads for me and putting two
more 1x1 calls on the air.  And finally, thanks Kent/kb0rwi, for your usual
terrific job on the KSQP web site.
                                                                           
As before, the best part of this was getting to meet or exchange emails with
many of you as we all tried to make this work. With your help, we did. Keep in
touch. Any new ideas for the 2014 Kansas QSO Party are always welcome ... !

73, Bob/w0bh/k0a
2013 KSQP Coordinator


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