[SECC] GQP rules

[John Laney]

Well, I think there were good, and possibly valid, reasons for the rules 
to be made the way they are.  There is no reason why we should not 
recognize any station who works all Ga counties in a GQP regardless of 
mode.  Correct me if I am wrong, but the Fl QSO Party counts multipliers 
per mode as we do. In fact, we copied our rules from them when we 
re-started the GQP in 1999.  But, they recognize the first station to 
work all their counties in a FQP regardless of mode.  So, there is 
recognition for a "clean sweep" even if some contacts are on CW and some 
are on phone.

The reason for making mulipliers per mode was to encourage more people 
to be more versatile and to work both modes so that no mode got left 
out.  It might tend to discourage sole mode people and that may be the 
reason that I think FQP now recognizes single modes, CW and SSB, and 
mixed for awards.  If so, that is a change since 1999.  I would hate to 
discourage folks like W3DYA, K4IR, W4BQF and others from operating since 
they don't want to work SSB.  Likewise, I don't want to discourage folks 
like W4AMP, N3AWS/M, KT4ZB and others from participating because they 
don't want to work CW.  Maybe we could look at the recognition system of 
the FL QSO Party.  Still, if you work mixed modes in FL, you get the 
mult on each mode and that adds an element of interest that we would 
otherwise lack.  If we hadn't had that in the rules, we (Jeff and I) 
probably wouldn't have made nearly 500 SSB QSOs in the FL QSO Party last 
year.

I feel more strongly about the multiplier situation.  If you allow 
unlimited DX countries as multipliers, you encourage people to get on 
and work nothing but DX.  It used to really frustrate me when the annual 
New Hampshire QSO Party was running and W1OHA (hope I got that call 
right) would come on 20 CW every year and call for DX only, depriving me 
of the chance to work his county in that contest.  Some QSO Parties 
allow for DX countries to count for two or three extra multpliers, but 
no more.  I wouldn't strongly oppose such a change.

Allowing counties as multipliers tends to turn a QSO party inward. 
Operation when bands are open for long skip disappears.  For example, no 
activity is heard above 40 meters.  Buddies work each other and the 
out-of-state stations often don't get a word in edgewise.  Think South 
Carolina QSO Party.  And others.  I strongly oppose allowing GA counties 
as multipliers for GA stations.  This is for GA to work the world.  QSO 
points should be enough incentive for us to work each other without 
encouraging us to work almost only each other.

73,


John, K4BAI.