[ILQSO] IL QSO Party- SVRC group in Sangamon County

[Don Pitchford]

Thanks to all who worked us. We did not use the club call W9DUA from the Red Cross in Springfield. We used our own calls instead. This turned out to be a good choice as we discovered the new Red Cross location has a nice sustained S-7+ noise level on all the HF bands. With tight CW filters this could be knocked down to S-3, but CQing even with 100 watts didn't seem like a good idea. We would have been big-time alligators. After a few hours, 100 contacts, and about as many hotdogs and bad stories around the grill, we all headed home and used better antennas from better locations to make some progress in our scores. I hope someone drove through Christian county. We just couldn't get anyone to commit to cover it. I think all those years of freezing wind on the shores of Lake Sanchris has convinced SVRC members that county line operations are for the young and hardy. Discussions are already underway to let a fixed station or 2 cover Sangamon county next year
 and those of us who used to do the county line from Lake Sangchris might hit the road in various directions to cover some of the central Illinois counties. I know great places in Cass and Christian counties if there are any campers who want a nice weekend of ham radio in some of the most quiet RF spots in the state. I think getting the camper/hams involved with the QSO party might be a great way to build up the counties that seem to always lack activity. Since I am not a camper I'm not sure how to go about this, but I'll see what I can figure out.
Don, W9EBK