[CQ-Contest] QSO Party Rules

Tue Sep 20 09:25:41 EDT 2022

I just became a big fan  of the SCQP. Double points for out of state q’s plus county mults for in state  is an excellent idea.

I regularly do the Wisconsin QP from out of state, one that awards county mults for in state stations. A look at the results shows that many in state stations don’t even bother to work 20 meters at all! On top of this, it’s a one day contest that ends around 6 pm , about the time when stations in the western states normally would go to the lower bands. Getting mults from where I live in MT is a real slog, because Many of the mults are lightly populated rural counties only covered by mobile stations, where I have to battle it out way too early in the afternoon on 40 and 80 meters with WI stations who are hearing the mobiles S-9. It’s an exercise in futility.

And then there is 7QP, which awards no county mults for 7-land stations. It’s a one day contest ending after midnight. The last several hours are mostly 7 stations working each other on the low bands because the eastern half of the country where the big ham populations are has gone to bed. Earning mults for in state counties would make this contest much more fun and interesting.

My .02.

Tom 
K0SN

> On Sep 19, 2022, at 8:06 PM, Dave Edmonds <dave at pkministrywebs.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I'm a competitive contester with a very strong fondness of the state QSO
> party contests. I have been working them since 2014 and have 20+ first
> place awards. Each QP is very unique. The rules for each QP are
> different...some more than others.
> 
> IMHO, the best QP provides a strong marriage between in-state and out of
> state ops. That is, it is a symbiotic relationship (an old Disney movie
> just entered my brian with that word). Both contesters need each other to
> make the QP a success.
> 
> In SC, we allow in-state ops to work anyone and receive mults for SC
> counties. To make sure that our in-state ops work out of state ops, we
> offer double QSO points for every 'out of state' contact. This gives the
> in-state ops a huge incentive to work the high bands as long as possible.
> 
> Another feature of the SCQP is that we have a 'balanced' awards program.
> That is, we reward both in-state and out of state for their contesting
> achievement. We don't have 10 instate awards and 2 out of state awards.
> It's much more balanced.
> 
> It's all about having a blast and competing with some of the best ops on
> the planet.
> 
> 73s Dave WN4AFP
> 
>> On Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 5:48 PM James Duffey <jamesduffey at comcast.net>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> To the extent that this is an issue, it is really only an issue for those
>> states or entities that have a lot of counties. And, then it is as much an
>> issue of how individual mobiles choose to operate as it is the rules. There
>> is a fine balance between writing rules so that there are both a lot of
>> in-state and a lot of out-of-state contestants.
>> 
>> I operate QSO parties mobile much like I operate contests from a fixed
>> station.  I suspect that most serious contesters/QSO party mobiles do the
>> same. I run until I run out of stations to work and then, if I am stopped,
>> move on to the next stop.  If I have a driver and operate in motion, I
>> usually still have stations available when I come to a new county. When the
>> sunspots are poor, as they have been for much of the time I have operated
>> QSO parties, during the day, I try to emphasize 20M, but do not neglect 40M
>> as there are usually stations there. I don’t operate 80M as that is an
>> exercise in antenna frustration. For me, time and effort are better spent
>> on 40M and up. Having said this, when 20M folds, there is no choice for a
>> competitive mobile than to go to 40M. I never stop to think that I should
>> look for more in-state QSOs to get more multi, unless there is a bonus for
>> such.
>> 
>> Having said all that, many of the mobile entries in the larger states are
>> not serious contesters and like to get on and work their friends in the
>> contest. I am not sure that would change if intrastate QSOs did not count
>> for multipliers.
>> 
>> One of the attractions of state QSON parties is that the rules are varied,
>> as is the geography and skill of operators, and each has its own
>> attraction. I operate pretty much all of them that I can get to easily or
>> put in a serious effort from home.  You can operate those you like and
>> don’t operate those you don’t like, but don’t expect the sponsors to change
>> the rules to accommodate out of state individuals.  It is not a one size
>> fits all situation, and most, but not all, state QSO parties are held
>> primarily for the benefit of the residents of the state. 73 - Duffey KK6MC
>> 
>>>> On Sep 18, 2022, at 11:00, K9YC wrote:
>>> 
>>> I've long enjoyed working QSO parties, and have won a few, but one
>>> scoring rule for many of them discourage my participation, and caused me
>>> to avoid them. The rule awarding multipliers to in-state stations for
>>> their counties causes mobiles to avoid the higher bands while those
>>> bands are still open, causing me to miss multipliers. I won't be on for
>>> TXQP and the Salmon Run, both this weekend.
>>> 
>>> Other parties that I've worked in the past but abandoned for that reason
>>> include TNQP, NEQP, and PAQP.
>>> 
>>> Parties that I will work include FLQP, GAQP, 7QP, and CQP.
>> 
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>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Dave Edmonds
> PK Ministry Webs
> 864.288.6678
> dave at pkministrywebs.com
> www.pkministrywebs.com
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