[CQ-Contest] Florida QSO Party Helper...

[Robert Chudek - K0RC]

Would you like to increase your chances of making a "Clean Sweep" in the Florida QSO Party this weekend? There are 67 counties that will be activated and many mobile operators will be driving to remote areas to ensure coverage. The FLQP website http://www.floridaqsoparty.org/index.html lists their callsigns, what counties they will activate, and in which order. That's a good start.

I created a tool that might help you achieve your "Clean Sweep" goal. It can be downloaded here: http://tinyurl.com/cm5dal

The tool is a 3-page Excel workbook that shows the estimated start time for each mobile as they activate the counties on their itinerary. (The timestamp is created from dividing the 10-hour contest period by the number of counties listed on their itinerary. This method is not foolproof, so remember these are *estimated* activation times.) That chronological list by each mobile is helpful, but wait... there's more!

A second worksheet presents the counties in alphabetic order and shows who will be activating each one and at approximately what time. This can be helpful if you missed Bay county, for example, the first day. You will quickly see you have two more shots at it on Sunday. You will also see which mobiles plan to be there and approximately what time (utc).

The third worksheet provides a quick summary of the 67 counties, their names, abbreviations, and how many mobiles will visit each one on Saturday, Sunday, and the total number of visits. You will see some counties only activated on one day or the other. This should put you on the alert to watch these closely so they don't slip away. In addition, the counties with 2 or fewer visits are highlighted to reveal the counties with lower mobile participation.

Remember this tool is based on MOBILE participants only. Fixed stations should help populate your county list as well. Good luck in your participation in the Florida QSO Party this weekend!

73 de Bob - KØRC in MN