[SECC] GQP Comments

[N6MU1 at aol.com]

I was really looking forward to the GQP. Adding the CW only category this 
year was a big plus as that's my favorite mode. I was drooling over the thought 
of chasing N4PN, K4BAI, KN4Y, W3DYA and NO5W all over GA as they are all 
excellent CW mobile ops and I knew they would be active. Then reality set in 
starting at 18Z Saturday. The only mobile I heard the first four hours was N4PN who 
came up out of the noise for one Q. I guess not hearing the mobiles made sense 
when you consider W4AN and K4EA were both above my noise level but no where 
near the S9+ they should have been. What was really frustrating was that guys 
like W7OM, KO7X, K5YAA, K5OT, etc, were all LOUD here as they worked the GA 
stations I couldn't even hear. How bad was it? Would you believe I never heard 
NO5W at all? Amazing.

I was particularly impressed by the number of fixed stations that hung in 
there despite the lousy conditions. There were at least fifteen of them on CW, 
which is a lot, who periodically kept coming back and calling CQ. 

The last two hours I never heard one GQP CW signal, mobile or fixed. A 
fitting end.

Congrats to all for the outstanding GA participation. Please do it again next 
year. 73...

John, N6MU