[ILQSO] W1NN/M Final Claimed Score

[Hal Offutt]

Hello,

Here is a summary of my final claimed score.  Sorry it's so late.  =



2002 Illinois QSO Party
Summary Sheet

For   W1NN/M

Operator:                    Hal Offutt W1NN

Category:                    Mobile

Summary of Contacts =


County                 ActualQSOs       CW      SSB     TOT =

LIVG/MCLN/WOOD   96      204    102     306
WOOD            33      -       33      33
MSHL            94      64      35      99
LASA            49      49      -       49
PUTN            62      62      -       62
BURO            47      48      -       48
LEE             60      66      -       66
OGLE            21      21      -       21
DEKA            45      49      -       49
KANE            32      40      -       40
DUPG            43      45      -       45
WILL/KEND       30      64      -       64
TOTAL           612     712     170     882

Total Counties:   14

QSO Points:
                            712 X 2        =3D  1,424
                            170 X 1        =3D     170

                            Total Points =3D   1,594

Multipliers:    113 =

                             =

Illinois Counties               63
States & Provinces              42
DX countries            5
Counties worked 8 times 3
TOTAL                   113

W1NN/M Final Claimed Score:


                              1,594 points   X    113  =3D  180,122 Point=
s


Comments

It appears that the KF9D crew are the winners in the mobile division. =

Congratulations to them for a fine score.

Things went very well until the last hour or so.  I had planned to end up=

on the three county line of KEND, DUPG WILL and KANE but I couldn't find
the right exit from I-88 and I got lost.  I was planning to visit that sp=
ot
on Saturday morning before heading south but I was busy putting my route
together in my hotel room and there just wasn't enough time.  Preparation=

is everything in one of these events and when there isn't enough time to
prepare, things can go awfully wrong.

But generally things went quite well.  I got off to a great start and I
averaged 76.5 actual contacts per hour throughout the contest - a pretty
incredible rate for a state QSO party.  (I averaged only about 56 per hou=
r
in the PAQP the previous weekend.)  But I probably spent too much time on=

20 running out of state stations and not quite enough time working guys
like W9DY, W9AWE and NY4N.  Working each of them a few more times would
have added a lot to my score.  My 8 county mult total was really pitiful
this year.  Live and learn.

Mobile activity continues to grow.  I'm hopeful that someday there will b=
e
enough mobiles out there on the roads to justify two categories - single =
op
where one person handles both the driving and the operating, and two pers=
on
teams.

There have been a few suggestions to change the rules, but my opinion is
that they are generally fine the way they are.  Scores and activity
continue to rise and I think that's because the IL format is so unique an=
d
interesting.  The county-line rule encourages county line operations by
both portable and mobile stations, and it's what makes this event stand o=
ut
from all of the other QSO parties.  I really believe that variety is the
spice of life.  Why make IL a carbon copy of every other party?  =


For mobiles, it is clear now that to win, a mobile must do a mix of count=
y
line operating and driving.  Perhaps the ideal mix still has yet been
determined.  Planning has become a more important part of operating as a
mobile, and I think most operators would agree that this is a big part of=

the fun.  There is almost an infinite number of possible strategies to
follow in this event.  This makes it interesting, challenging and fun for=

everyone.  I know that county hunters don't like the 100 meter rule, but
95% of the stations in this event are operating from a single county, so =
it
is just a tiny portion of the stations that they can't use.  Perhaps coun=
ty
line mobiles should adopt the convention of giving the county they are
actually in first in their exchange.  This would at least let people know=

the county they are physically in and further reduce the number of counti=
es
that the county hunters cannot use for confirmation purposes.         =


Pete had one suggestion that I thought was really worth considering: =

moving the contest time up an hour or two.  This would be especially
helpful for the European stations, for whom the contest presently ends at=
 2
or 3 AM Monday morning.  It would also allow the mobiles to work a little=

longer in the daylight (it's much easier operating with light than in the=

dark) and allow them more time to get home after the end.  On the other
hand, 80 meter activity would probably suffer, and there might be other
good reasons for the present rule that I am not considering.    =


Anyhow, thanks to everyone for all the contacts, and thanks to the RAMS
members for handling all of the work that is involved in an event like
this.  I'm already looking forward to the next one.

73,

Hal W1NN       =

  =