[CQ-Contest] State QSO party questions

[Robert Chudek - K0RC]

Hello John,

My favorite is the North Dakota QSO Party. I think the last time it ran was January 1995. For a list of all QSO Parties, I found this website:  http://gqp.contesting.com/Links.htm  So, unfortunately, I can't put ND on my list right now.

What makes a good QSO Party?

1) Having all counties activated
2) Not a marathon event (6 ~ 12 hours is adequate)
3) Having a clear weekend (non-competition from other events)
4) Prompt log processing and results posting
5) Having a critical mass of participants to make it fun
6) "Advertising" and talking up the event to gain that critical mass
7) A simple exchange and scoring formula


I enjoy the CA QSO Party, but I favor regional QSO parties, like the upcoming 7-Land QSO party.  http://www.codxc.com  With 50 states, that only leaves 4th of July and Christmas open for non-radio family activities. With North Dakota out of the running recently, I guess you can count on Thanksgiving as a gimme.  :-)

The 7-Land Party obtains critical mass by combining many lower-population states. And California simply has enough hams to pull it off in style! The MN QSO Party is the best (although I can't mention that) because the mobile stations spend time coordinating their routes in order to activate all 87 counties in the state. There's several weeks of "well if you're going there, then I can drop that from my route and pickup this other one."

These Norskies pick the coldest weekend of the year to go mobiling, I might add. I heard one of them exclaiming "Yeah, we're rough and tough and used to hardships." I think they picked up this tradition from the Scandinavians who roast themselves in tiny shacks (sauna) and then run outside and jump into the nearest snowbank. This is not for the faint-of-heart! They learn at an early age not to stick their tongue on the flagpole.

Me? I'm half Dutch and half Czech. No further explanation needed why I sit at home and work the mobiles!

Okay, I'm drifting off topic here...

73 de Bob in (the next state west of Wisconsin)


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Message: 5
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:22:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Geiger <n5ten at yahoo.com>
Subject: [CQ-Contest] State QSO party questions
To: cq-contest at contesting.com, okdxa at mailman.qth.net,
ilqso at mailman.qth.net
Message-ID: <20070320022201.40790.qmail at web63315.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
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Here are a couple of questions to obtain a completely
non-scientific, unreliable poll about state QSO
parties for an article I am writing.  I would
appreciate feedback if you feel so moved.

Here are the questions:

1. Other than your own (which you should be horribly
biased in favor of), what is your favorite state QSO
party?

2. In your opinion, what makes a good state QSO party.

Thanks in advance for any answers I receive.

73s John W5TD