[ILQSO] ramblings

[James Funk]

To KJ9C: Wow.  What more can I say? As KI9A so eloquently put it, "You
da man."

To NE0P: Propagation was weird this year. Signals seemed loud on every
band I tried, but the propagation was extremely spotty.  I had one
station (dunno who) on 20 say "15 meters 21050?" so I tried it.  I heard
no one on 21050, called several CQs.  Nada. Down the band I heard
several loud stations rag-chewing.  Went back to 20 (and my
sorta-straight-key). I was glad to work some of the DL's and a 9H.  A
KL7 called me and was LOUD. I worked a few IL mobiles, which surprised
me.  Forty meters: rates were terrific, but most calls were from
straight south. Eighty meters: KE0G (MN) at the end said I was 40 db
over S9.  The rate on 80 was unbelieveable; you'd have thought I was
signing "/P5".  But we missed a whole bunch of mults east and west.
Maybe it was just a function of our antenna orientation.  But then I see
John's note and I wonder.  When I got home, I noticed that the K index
was 4 almost the whole contest, so that may have had something to do
with it. Sorry you missed the food prize, John :(.  73, Jim N9JF