[3830] TxQP K5YAA/M SO Mobile HP

[webform at b4h.net]

                    Texas QSO Party

Call: K5YAA/M
Operator(s): K5YAA
Station: K5YAA

Class: SO Mobile HP
QTH: 29 Counties
Operating Time (hrs): 17

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs  Dig Qs
----------------------------
  160:     0     0      0
   80:    27     0      0
   40:   542     9      0
   20:   651   180      0
   15:   137    25      0
   10:     0     0      0
    6:     0     0      0
    2:     0     0      0
  UHF:     0     0      0
----------------------------
Total:  1357   214      0  Mults = 115  Total Score = 546,885

Club: Oklahoma DX Association

Comments:

The "score" includes 29,000 bonus points for the 29 counties I ran in
plus a 500 point sum for working Alan N5NA in one more than 5 counties. I came
close with 4 for Bob N4CD but he went home for Sunday and put his mobile in the
barn.

Plenty to write about but I think I will keep it fairly short. First though I
want to pass along a suggestion (actually a complaint) to the organizers for
their continued insistence that County Line Operations, as per N1MMs method of
performance is not valid and results in not actually making a second Q. I yield
to the organizers the last word on logs, scoring and final results but want to
join others with the objection to that county line rule. 

I drove to Texas with the intention to setup N1MM to perform by sending two (2)
"nowadays type" signal reports and both county abbreviations plus the
ENTER key which results in two log two entries within N1MM, one logged Q for
each county. 

Being of the old school and not looking to upset any ones apple cart, I changed
my mind and decided I would rather have my log scored as I was pretty sure I
could whip some of those good old Texas boys at the mobile game. I had made a
fairly stout run in Kansas operating solo, recording as I moved along, so I
figured I could also do that in the Texas Party. I decided to outsmart N1MM and
place the second county abbreviation of a county under the macro key F9. The
entry under F9 was AND EC <cnty>. I reasoned when operator A copied the
first exchange I would punch F9 and give 'em the second county. It turns out
that roughly 1 out of 5 or fully 20% of the ops didn't seem to hang around for
that F9 or maybe they are still scratching their ass 'er I mean head trying to
figure out what they just heard. Regardless, that was only half the problem.
N1MM only knew about the ROVERQTH county. It had no idea there was a second one
hidden under F9 which it knows by COUNTYLINE. So, on my very first early morning
Q at the GRAYson/FANNin county line I hit <ENTER> and only one log entry
for GRAY showed up. After realizing what just happened with that ENTER I
quickly, and I do mean quickly, decided a complete second entry for that same
station had to be typed in. Call sign and Mult abbreviation then ENTER again.
Two entries now existed in the log for GRAY none for FANN but I knew I could do
a bit of search and replace on the Cabrillo back home. I got pretty swift at
doing that second entry and missed maybe 6 or 7 out of hundreds of entries both
days. What a grind and also a shame since N1MM has been coded up so nicely to
bang two entries in the log with one swipe of the enter key. I guess minor
potatoes, not to me but perhaps to the organizers. My suggestion? Since other
logging programs, even the ones that require bucks, never seem to be up to
speed on rules that change just go with the flow of N1MM and get rid of that
bold typed warning in the rules that says a Q is not a Q unless a Q is made.
What? In one swift move with N1MM more info is exchanged and anyway I bet the
fixed station that was just logged didn't change his/her QTH in the 1/2 second
it took to send and receive that ENN, 599, 5NN, 5C or EC (my favorite) and
their location code. My two cents worth to the organizers. I'm now up to
roughly twenty cents worth of suggestions to organizers of these state parties
over the years. Now off my soapbox and on to the party happenings of K5YAA/M. A
flawless equipment run and near perfect weather for an outing in the piney woods
of East Texas.

No AK or VT ever came to my party but 48 other states made it - just one WY
however as our good friend Alan left us without his guaranteed WY mult. 14 DX
countries called in. They included DL, EA, ES, F, HA, I, LY, OK, ON, PA, PY,
UA9, SM and SP. Several of each country except EA, ES, UA9, LY, PA and the PY.
Again, as in the Kansas run, the Canadian provinces were not to be logged
except for VE3, VE4 and VE7. Only one VE4 but several VE3s and 7s. I heard
VO1DD calling CQ on "my" 20 meter CW frequency but he didn't hear my
calling effort to bag a VO1. One other Canadian comment. VA3OSO called in on 20
SSB. I had a bit of trouble but copied him pretty well. He said running 1 watt
here. Geeze, no wonder I had to squint and squeeze the steering wheel.

Thanks to all the DX and Canadians who called in. A thanks to SP9LJD, DL3GA,
DK2OY, F5FJ and DK3BN all of which made the log several times each. A special
thanks to Les, SP9LJD for his swift moves to and from 15 CW and SSB. His SSB
signal was "louder" than his CW signal or maybe it was just his good
English.

Many US call signs made the log numerous times. Way too many to list. Having
just transcribed 21 out of the 29 counties I ran in from recordings I am a bit
worn so I won't tally up the Honor Roll winners this time. The Gator is a
master at SO2R as almost every time I went to 40 he found me quickly. Qs with
him on 20 and also 15 were an added treat. His West Texas signal was always
strong. Thanks Gator for the S&P effort. 

Rates are sometimes listed by ops. I saw as I strolled through the log several
minutes that had 6 and 7 Qs in the same minute a rate of roughly 360/hour. Of
special note was the last county I ran, Hopkins. I had 15 minutes to whack down
any pileup so I cranked it up to 40 WPM and moved on along with only one
interruption. I had backed the trailer into a dirt drive that meandered over to
what looked like some sort of water treatment facility. Fenced in and not a soul
in site. Sunday so I figured I would not be in any ones way. Well, 5 minutes
into the run up pulls a red pickup to my left on the county road. One of those
bigguns that Texas like to drive. I saw his turn signal saying he wanted to
come down that dirt drive. I put the van in D and moved a few feet toward the
road all the while pounding away. I got a mild wave to come further. I moved 8
or 10 more feet. The wave got more motion then it became a sweep of the arm
motioning me to get out of the way. Up on the Hwy I drove. With no traffic in
site, except for that red truck with two lawn mowers on a trailer I decided I
could sort of sit just to the side of the right lane and continue since I was
down to 8 minutes or so left. That worked. As I finished up I looked over and
saw those two old boys riding those mowers cutting what I guess was grass in a
four acre or so field. Hmmm, I thought busy work as what neighbor cared if that
field was mowed or not. There wasn't a house for some miles and they weren't
cutting it for hay just tidying up the lawn I guess. 

Needless to say there are many ops who are always a guaranteed entry in a
mobiles log in one of these things. You folks are appreciated. Just one note.
K5ME resides in ANGE and as I was passing through ANGE reading his 599+ signal
he asked, "Time to have dinner with me?". I told Bob, "I'm
running quite a ways behind schedule so better keep rolling." Maybe next
time through Bob and thanks for the invite. I finished off my pork rinds and
washed them down with my grape soda. Those things have to be washed down. I
would just wait until after the end of the party on Saturday night to have
dinner.

This year the RTTY on 40 did not seem to be as prevalent as it has been in past
years. As long as I stayed below .040 a fairly clear frequency could be found.
The last hour or so Saturday night I ventured up to 80 and worked quite a few
folks but 20 and 40 were again the big producers. 40 even more so in the Texas
party than other states. 15 was amazing Sunday morning. By 9AM local it was
wide open to Europe. I logged very few US stations on 15 so the band was quite
long.

That's my story on this one. I always enjoy going "home" to Texas.
Having spent my first 35 years in the Dallas area I consider Texas my real home
and my heart resides there. Oklahoma however is far enough away from the hustle
and bustle of the large cities in the Lone Star state so I have decided to
finish my days here in the country.

73, Jerry K5YAA

Rig: K3, Skymaster solid state amp, 3 HP Hustler resonators for 15, 20 and 40
plus a Tarheel that rests on 10 during the day and 80 at night.


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