[3830] CaQP K6M M/MCntyExp HP

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                    California QSO Party

Call: K6M
Operator(s): K4XU KK7YC AE7IK KF7WPK
Station: K6M

Class: M/MCntyExp HP
QTH: Modoc
Operating Time (hrs): 26:30

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
--------------------
  160:    12     0
   80:   111    78
   40:   248   166
   20:   366   165
   15:   410   210
   10:   238   352
    6:            
    2:            
--------------------
Total:  1385   971  Mults = 58  Total Score = 353,394

Club: CODXC

Comments:

It just doesn't get any better than this. The weather and the propagation were
as good as can be hoped for. This was the 16th consecutive year the Central
Oregon DX Club has operated from this site at the Timber Mountain fire lookout
in the Modoc National Forest. This year we did it with a crew of only four
operators for two transmitters.

Modoc County is very sparsely populated high desert country in the very
northeast corner of California. More than once we have been the only activity
here. We have been fortunate to have a very good relationship with the fire
lookout personnel. This weekend is the opening of the deer hunting season and
the presence of our campers, antennas and activity keeps the hunters at bay...

We left Bend Oregon at 0700 Friday morning and gathered at our favorite truck
stop in LaPine to have breakfast and get everyone on board. Our very best phone
operator, KK7YC, called in at the last minute to say he couldn't make it. So we
have only four ops, not a good start. We made the 200 mile trip in about 3.5
hours and arrived at the lookout by 1400. Setup of the antennas proceeded
without a hitch. 
TH3 on a 45ft trailer tower, 
TH3jr on a 30ft tip-up mast, 
40m dipole at 40ft,  
40m sloper to the south off the fire tower, 
80m inverted V at 50ft on the fire tower
160m longwire to the south from the fire tower
400' terminated Beverage looking east.

One station was set up in a 27 ft  motorhome's rear lounge area converted for
radio: a 6 ft by 30 inch door as an operating table. The other is on a more
modest table in a 40ft 5th wheel trailer. 

We forgot the wireless router! Fortunately AE7IK was able to reconfigure the
two laptop's wifi components so they could talk to each other directly, though
he admitted they may never work normally again. After a little more work, both
the K3/KPA500 phone station and the TS480/SB200 CW station were talking to N1MM
and to each other. Yippee! Time for dinner and bed.

A word of thanks to the non-operators in our party: motorhome driver and 'radio
groupie' Sterling WN7K, his wife Gretchen, and AA5TL's wife Jackie (KA5LZQ).
They did a great job of cooking breakfasts and dinners. And to Charlie the
springer spaniel who kept the area clear of chipmunks. They all make it a
pleasure to sit in a chair for three hour operating shifts.

Things started off with a bang at 16Z with K4XU on CW and AE7IK on phone. We
had a little give and take on the best operating category - not multi-two!,
multi-multi or N1MM throws all kinds of fits. Though we started on 20m we were
soon on 10m which was getting hotter as the sun cape up. Wow! This was special.
10m hadn't been this open in a year. Europeans calling in as strong as the east
coast and without the usual flutter of trans-polar path signals. It was only
the strategic imperative to keep the per-band QSO count reasonably similar that
drove us down to the lower bands. Rate Rate Rate, right?

There's a penalty to pay for operating a 40-year old TH3jr on 200 feet of coax.
When I made the switch to 80m I too used to automated antenna switching --
forgot to use the coax switch and operated for 30 minutes using the tribander.
The SB200 didn't care with at least 4 or 5 db of return loss. Signals were
kinda weak. KF7WPK and I had the last night shift. We concluded that three
hours of sleep would serve better than the under 20 Qs per hour we were making
at 2:30AM local. We turned off the rigs, computers and generator and hit the
sack.

At 6:30 Sunday morning Murphy came to visit: the phone computer won't boot, not
even the BIOS. This one's toast. So AE7IK boots up his Linux LT and in short
order somehow has both N1MM and Wifi talking to the CW LT. We are back in
business!

It seemed very easy to keep the rate at about 75/hr on CW. Every so often a
European would spot us and there'd be a spate of SP LZ YO OK OM DL followed by
a pent-up brace of domestics. The HF propagation gods were shining on us. The
low bands seemed to be quiet and well-behaved but the participation was down.
People got worn out on the high bands and didn't have much energy left for LF?


In the end it was a great weekend. We were on the road by 4:15 and arrived back
home about 9PM too tired to do anything. Man, this getting old thing is getting
to me!

Thanks to all for the QSOs and your participation in CQP, the greatest single
state QSO party in the land.

73,
Dick  K4XU


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