[ILQSO] Time to Plan!

[James Funk]

Greetings all,
The 2003 Illinois QSO Party is only a bit over two months away.  I know
there have been lots of conversations regarding the event during the past
few months, but it's now time to get serious about plans for coordinating
operations throughout the state for Sunday, October 19, 2003.

Despite a lot of effort in 2002, we lacked ONE county of activating all 102.
Calhoun County "escaped".  Two mobile or portable operations were possible
there, but one had to be canceled at the last minute and the other simply
did not manage to reach Calhoun before the end of the contest.  Those things
happen.  The 2002 "oh, so close" experience will result in even more careful
planning in 2003 to increase the likelihood that, theoretically (I love that
word....), one station could contact ALL IL counties in an eight-hour
period.

What you can do:
1)  Mark your calendars NOW for Sunday October 19, 2003 and try to clear
your afternoon/evening schedules as much as possible.

2)  Decide how you, and your station capabilities, can best contribute to
"showcasing" IL HF and VHF activity during that eight hour period.

3)  Post your plans to the reflector as soon as possible.  This will be a
tremendous help in filling in the "holes" in the map.

4)  Encourage other Illinois stations, and those who might be persuaded to
come in from out-of-state, to participate.

5)  Encourage them to subscribe to this reflector and  to post their
intentions for operations.

The IQP is a great chance to introduce new hams, or those not familiar with
contesting, to the sport.  Many multi-ops in the past few years have served
as training grounds and encouragement as well as  enhancing camaraderie
within local clubs.

Dust off the gear in your shack.  Scope out a nearby county line or corner.
Test a new portable antenna.  Enlist new operators.  Go mobile.

Waiting to hear from a lot of you!
73, Jim N9JF