[3830] MnQP W0ZQ Rover LP

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                    Minnesota QSO Party

Call: W0ZQ
Operator(s): W0ZQ
Station: W0ZQ

Class: Rover LP
QTH: MN
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
 Band  CW-RTTY Qs  Ph Qs
-------------------------
  160:                 
   80:      96         
   40:     386         
   20:     329      151
   15:       2         
   10:                 
-------------------------
Total:     813      151  Mults = 78  Total Score = 150,384

Club: Northern Lights Radio Society

Comments:

------ CW -------   SSB
     15m  20m  40m  80m  20m   Total
KNB        42   26    6    3      77
PIN        38   28    6   11      83
CHS        29   36    5   44     114
ISA        37   38    5    1      81
WSH    2   10   17                29
ANO        50   28   24          102
RAM        27   37                64
HEN        15   30    6           51
DAK        34   34   21   14     103
SCO        18   53   25   48     144
RIC        29   59   28          116
TOTAL  2  329  386   96  151     964
 
Score:  964 x 2 x 78 mults = 150,384.
 
Soapbox:  
The Polar Vortex took a short break from hanging out over MN on Feb 1.  The car

thermometer showed 5 (above!) leaving the house at 1230 utc and it actually
rose to 24 degrees (above!) at one point.  I had a little light snow around
1500 utc but it did not amount to more than a dusting and all the roads that I
drove on were in good shape.
 
Just before the contest started at 1400 utc I had a succesful sked with SM7ZDI

from KNB to give him one of four remaining MN counties he needed; that was fun.
 After that I got out of the car to change bands and hence my antenna and I
found out my antenna's quick disconnect was frozen solid.  It seems that when I
mounted the antenna onto the quick disconnect that I had layed the bayonet part
of the quick disconnect on the ground where it ingested some snow.  Having been
inside the car the antenna had been warm and unknowing to me melted some of this
snow and when I mounted the antenna it refroze to the antenna mount.  My quick
disconnect was no longer a) quick or b) a disconnect.  So, a few minutes before
1400utc and the start of the contest found me disassembling my antenna mount and
placing it in the car under the car heater to thaw.  Note to self: throw in a
small tourch in my MnQP Go Bag.  After a few minutes I was able to take the
antenna mount apart, dry it, reassembly it, and we were off and running again.
For the rest of the contest I was careful to make sure that I never put the
bayonet part of the hamsticks on the ground in order to keep them snow free.  
 
I started the contest at the KNB/PIN/CHS/ISA boundry with hopes of makes some 
Q's from all four ctys on 80m before 1430 utc.  As you can see in my summary 
above it was not a good strategy netting me only 22 80m Q's combined.  In past

MnQPs I have been able to work into OH and out west into WA, etc, during this 
time period on 80m but not this year.  Only N2CU was "DX" and Tom was
my last 
80m Q before going to 40m.  I may need to change my strategy for next year in 
regards to starting out on 80m.
 
20m phone was a nice surprise.  I think the N0HJZ/m SSB run along with the 
addition of the Phone Only mode has made this more and more popular.  I had a 
"long" drive down 35w through CHS where I ran on 20m phone, and then
again 
moving from HEN/RAM down 35w to the DAK/SCO/RIC line.  When I was driving my 
plan was to nest up next to Rich who was hanging out on 14.255.  I could hear 
guys working Rich on that freq but just above him and just below him it was a 
mess, so I ended up higher up the band around 14.270 or so.  20m phone in the 
mid to later afternoon hours always seems pretty good and I had a small pile up

from SCO county netting me 48 Q's in 20 minutes ... not bad for 100 watts into
a 8' hamstick.
 
Over the full contest I had 48 DX contacts as follows: DK2CF(2), DK3BN(1),
DL3GA(6), DL4CW(3), DL4FN(2), DL5ME(5), DL8MLD(1), HA8IB(5), OK2EC(6),
OM2VL(10, 3 of these on 80m), SP5SA(5), UA3AGW(1)and YV5OIE(3). I did try 15m
mid day from 
WSH county netting me two lonely contacts ... I called CQ MNP on 21.050 for ten

minutes. The band did not sound very active and I did not go back any more
after that.
 
Thanks eveyone for all the Q's.  Weather permitting, see you from the WiQP next

month.
 
73, Jon
W0ZQ/m


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