[CQ-Contest] QSO Parties

[JBaumgarte at aol.com]

Aw, Dave, many of these can really be interesting and fun!  I think more and 
more state groups are getting serious about making these work, by diligently 
working on getting most of their counties on the air.  MN had its first one 
in years this year and it went pretty well, even if the word didn't get out 
as good as hoped.  

The key seems to be for all but CA (maybe few others)--keep 'em short and be 
specific about the times to be on 80/160--maybe 10.  Lots of folks seem to 
like these shorties when they can try and work the key stations on many 
band/modes.  If there is action, it's a success.  No sense on having the 
contest run all night when no one is on.  

The nice part here is the stations in the sponsoring state get a chance to 
practice running, and the out-staters (with few exceptions) get to perfect 
S&P and quick band/mode changes.  

There is no problem with more than one state having the same weekend, as it 
gives the masses more stations to look for.  Might be a good idea for some 
sort of co-ordination to alleviate both (or more) states being on the same 
frequency.

John
N0IJ


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