[ILQSO] K9JS Route and times

Fri, 17 Oct 2003 13:12:10 -0400

Jon,

I saw your posting.  As another SOND, I sympathize with you.  It's tough,
especially at night.

I just finished another mobile effort in the PAQP last weekend.  I always
choose my route to minimize driving and do 75% of my operating while
stopped, but in order to produce a good score, I have to drive when moving
from one location to another.  It's not so hard in the daylight but night
has always been a problem for me.  Improving my operating while driving at
night was something I gave a lot of thought to in the weeks before the
contest.  I came up with a solution that helped me a lot.  Maybe it will
help you.

First, I should say that I operate with a good sized table in the passenger
seat.  It measures about 2' by 3' and is perfectly level, just at elbow
height so I can write on paper logs (they are on the left side), use my
keyer paddle (right next to the log) and my rig (next to the paddle).  I
have tried many things over the years to light up the logs at night, but
nothing ever worked quite right.  This year, I decided that I needed a new
light that could be trained directly on the logs but that didn't shine in my
eyes and interfer with driving.  I looked in various stores to see what kind
of 12v lights or battery operated lights I could find.  At Wal-Mart, I found
a really neat "closet light" measuring 6.5 inches long, 1.5" high and 1.5"
deep.  It runs off of four AA batteries.  It uses a small flourescent (at
least it is shaped like one) bulb about 5" long.  It doesn't look too bright
in the daylight but it was perfect for night use.  I made a u-shaped wooden
support out of thin plywood measuring 10" long, 5" high and 4" deep, and
mounted the light underneath so that it shines down on the log but not in my
eyes.  The width was chosen so that 8.5" log sheets will fit nicely under my
light support.  It really helped!

Have fun and drive safely.  Hope to work you from PA.

73,

Hal W1NN

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Schulz Jonathan" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2003 12:30 PM
Subject: [ILQSO] K9JS Route and times

> Here's the route with start times expected
>
> 1800z Champaign
>
> 1845 Vermillion
>
> 1930 Iroquois
>
> 2015 Ford
>
> 2100 Livingston
>
> 2200 Grundy
>
> 2300  LaSalle
>
> 2400  Kendall
>
> 0100  Kane
>
> 0130  McHenry
>
>
> Kane/McHenry may get skipped or get really short op times depending on how
> late and tired I am by then. Also will try and op some while driving
to/from
> each county but since I am SOND (Single Op No Driver) as it gets later it
> gets harder to drive, log and not miss the route and/or crash and burn...
>
> GL to everyone, spot the mobiles early and often,
>
> 73
> Jon
> K9JS
>
>
> ** Approximately 121 days until Pitchers and Catchers Report - Wait 'Till
> Next Year yet again...  :-(
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