[ILQSO] ILQSO Digest, Vol 65, Issue 5

Sun Aug 29 13:22:38 EDT 2010

800 divided by 3 = more like 266 actual contacts that count as 3 contacts 
each.

I still have never figured out how to be in 3 or 4 counties at the same 
time, as close only counts in horseshoes.

Paul K9OT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <ilqso-request at mailman.qth.net>
To: <ilqso at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:00 AM
Subject: ILQSO Digest, Vol 65, Issue 5

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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Re: ILQP Modes...*was*:  KJ9C a no-show this year (James Funk)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:19:14 +0200
> From: James Funk <jfunk at fossnorthamerica.com>
> Subject: Re: [ILQSO] ILQP Modes...*was*:  KJ9C a no-show this year
> To: Illinois QSO Party <ilqso at mailman.qth.net>
> Message-ID:
> <CB456FDD0C0E3F4C921EA9296263092667B75D9FC6 at FOSS44.foss.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Jared, I have a couple of observations.  The committee has discussed over 
> the years that we do not want ILQP to be a "CW only activity".
>
> In 2009, there were 15800 CW and 11300 SSB QSOs reported.  I would suspect 
> that there were quite a few more "casual, non-reported QSOs" on SSB than 
> on CW, but I have no way of proving that.  I think the proportion of CW 
> contacts may have increased slightly, but the NUMBER of contacts on both 
> modes has increased.
>
> In 2009, we instituted a special award based upon the number of SSB QSOs.
>
> You are correct.  CW proficiency is a skill that takes practice and is 
> often intimidating to those who are newcomers.  While "we can all talk", 
> it took each of us years to get to the point where we are in 
> communications skills using voice.
>
> I am not a "great CW operator".  I am also not a "great phone operator", 
> even though I do enjoy phone contesting when I am in the proper frame of 
> mind.  Those who have mentored new operators in either mode (and we thank 
> you!) know that coaching such a person through the first few QSOs can be 
> painful to witness.  With either mode, accomplishing efficient 
> communication does not come naturally.  Properly trained, a newbie can 
> progress from stark terror to reasonable proficiency in a fairly short 
> period of time.  This assumes, however, that the basic communication 
> skills are in place.  I.e., you would have difficulty quickly teaching a 
> person who spoke only French to handle a pileup in English, just as you 
> would have difficulty teaching a person to run a pileup on CW if they did 
> not know CW!
>
> As for the reasons that more counties are not available on SSB, they have 
> been enumerated, or at least allusions have been made to them.  Mobile SSB 
> in a contest situation is difficult at best and fruitless at worst.  Take 
> a crowded band and interject your mobile signal that is several dB down 
> from even modest home stations with dipoles and verticals, and you are 
> simply lost in the noise.  Several years ago, the last time I did a mobile 
> ILQP operation from southern Illinois, we had sunspots.  We had short skip 
> on 40 meters during the daylight hours.  Life was good.  I made many QSOs 
> on 40 SSB during the daytime.  When five o'clock came, the band went long 
> and it was impossible for me to work anyone else on SSB. No one responded 
> to my CQs.  I could hear IL stations CQing, but they were coming back to 
> stations in Colorado and New York.  I went to CW and ran stations at a 
> hundred an hour on 40 and 80 CW.  Operating isn't much fun if you aren't 
> working anyone.
>
> NG9R and NA9Q can tell you how much "fun" it is to work phone only as 
> mobiles in ILQP.
>
> No amount of discussion is going to overcome physics, but we certainly DO 
> need to stimulate phone activity in ILQP!  We need, in my opinion, to do 
> this by getting more fixed and portable (i.e., with decent antennas) on 
> the air for the event.  Jared, you guys put out a good signal with your 
> portable setup and have done well.  In 2008, you made almost 800 SSB 
> contacts, and most people who worked Logan, Mason and Tazewell counties 
> got the contact from you.  We just need to figure you how to "clone you" 
> so that similar operations cover not just three counties, but forty!!  :)
>
> Any and all suggestions are welcomed as we gear up for ILQP 2010!
>
> 73, Jim N9JF
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ilqso-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:ilqso-bounces at mailman.qth.net] 
> On Behalf Of Jarrod Cook
> Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 5:15 PM
> To: Illinois QSO Party
> Subject: Re: [ILQSO] KJ9C a no-show this year
>
> Thoughts from someone who does SSB only:
>
> Maybe it's just me, but I see conflicting suggestions here.  On one had
> we're trying to get newer hams/more hams to participate in the contest, 
> but
> at the same time claiming CW is the way to go.  The fact is many newer 
> hams
> (and some who have been around a while) are not proficient enough in CW to
> use it for contesting.  This is the only negative to ILQP in my opinion. 
> I
> love setting up portable operations and playing in the contest, but most 
> of
> the action and rare counties are only CW.  After the first few hours rates
> slow down and new SSB counties are hard to find.  Every year there is more
> CW and less SSB activity.
>
> Maybe my/our situation is unique because we usually set up portable as 
> sort
> of an emergency communications drill with the goal of talking to as many 
> IL
> counties as we can.  It gets tiresome working the limited IL SSB stations
> and then hearing out of state callers the rest of the contest (no offense 
> to
> you guys, though!).
>
> If you want to hear a lot of new folks on the air (especially newer 
> no-code
> Generals), they need people to talk to! :-)
>
> Not trying to turn this into a CW vs. SSB debate, just making an
> observation.
>
> 73,
> Jarrod
> WX9JC
>
>
>
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> End of ILQSO Digest, Vol 65, Issue 5
> ************************************ 