[CQ-Contest] Rabbits and Love Bugs and the K4FCG mobile saga - very long post!

[Stuart Santelmann KC1F]

Speaking of being sucked in...

     Saturday was very rainy here in NH, so I was curious what was involved
to try to get a sweep.  I needed 10 or so at halftime, so I printed out the
map of the counties from the web site, and started plotting where the
various mobiles were headed, and asking them their plans.  I was tracking
N4TO moving toward DeSoto when I needed it, then missed them while I was
outside.  The next time I worked them, I noted I missed DeSoto, and they
said "we noticed" !  I did miss two counties (rats !) - Liberty on the
panhandle, and Bradford in the northeast.  I heard N4OO and W5WMU both in
the next county from Liberty, and I'm sure they went through, but I missed
them.  I also tracked KU8E from Putnam to Alachua to Union, either just
missing Bradford, or being there so briefly that I missed it.  I operated
about 6 1/2 hours total.  Sunday was a lot nicer weather day here, so spent
a lot of time with my kids playing baseball and riding bikes.
     I rarely do QSO parties, but OJ's promotion got me interested !  Some
other observations:

-  Packet was of minimal help.  Had I realized this beforehand, I would have
gone unassisted.  I don't think I found any multipliers from packet, but I
spotted a lot of stuff.

-  K4FCG and K4FQP were consistently s7 to s9.  N4TO did seem a bit weaker
consistently, if I remember correctly.  Maybe Doppler shift from driving
faster ?  I had the following QSO    totals with the mobiles:  N4TO 19,
K4FCG 18, K4FQP 18 (3 were on SSB), W5WMU 16, KU8E 12, W4SAA 11, W9HB 10.
Were you all running essentially the same power ?

-  It's also apparent that the mobiles may have the most fun.  Wish I could
get something together for next weekend here !  We also have 67 counties,
hi.  So, is maximizing the miles a key factor in winning ?  How often did
you guys operate while stationary ?  Who did the most miles ?

-  I was surprised at the lack of activity on 15, as the signals were good.
Nothing on 10.

-  I wouldn't have operated at all if CT didn't support the contest !



                                                                73
Stu              KC1Florida



      MODE      QSO    QSO PTS  MULTS


       CW      201      402       64
      SSB       34       34       24
      -----------------------------------------

      Totals   235      436       88  =   38,368



All reports sent were 59(9), unless otherwise noted.

Operator List: KC1F + packet

Equipment Description:

TS-850S, AL-1200
Cushcraft 20-3CD rotary at 57 feet
Cushcraft 15-4CD rotary at 49 feet