[ILQSO] 2024 ILQP out of state reflections

[JOHN GEIGER]

It sure didn't feel like ILQP weekend with it being in the 90s here temperaturewise, and especially without N9JF on the bands, but I can't think of a better reason to miss the ILQP than Jim had!



Thanks to all of the mobile, portable, and home stations that made last Sunday another great contest.  



Thanks also to the WIARC and the plaque sponsors for the nice plaque I received in the mail a couple of weeks ago for the 2023 contest-I was shocked!  I didn't realize I had done that well last year, although I did know that I had posted my max county total ever last year.



This year I actually made more QSOs than last year (175 vs 159) but worked fewer counties (77 vs 85).



The high bands were in great shape.  20 was open to IL the entire contest and even near the end AD4EB was booming into Oklahoma.  I think I made more 15m QSOs this year than I have had before, but that cost me a multiplier.  I didn't see AD4EB's route plans on QRZ.COM until after the contest.  He had a short trip through Pope at the beginning of the contest, when I was focusing on 15 meters-figuring I would work what stations I could up there before we lost propagation.  I should have also been looking for him on 20 in Pope.  I know what to do next year.



40 stayed short until after the 1/2 way point of the contest-so I picked up fewer QSOs there than in years past.  Only a few QSOs on 80m this year as well.  This might have something to do with the sunspot cycle being near its peak?  Not sure how sunspot numbers affect the lower bands.  Wonder if other out of state stations noticed this as well and have any thoughts on this.  In some years I am making 40m QSOs by 1800Z.  This year it was 2100Z or later.  



Can't believe I missed Kendall country, don't know if anyone was on from there.  Not as bad as the year I missed Dupage!  How do you do that?  Also did not get Kankakee, Carroll, Madison which are usually pretty easy to work every year.



AD4EB, KY0Q, and K0PC did excellent mobile routes covering a great number of counties each and for most of their counties they were the only station I worked there.  Several portables were set up in great places also-giving out 3 or 4 counties at once.  



I am glad to have a rig with a voicekeyer built in (Yaesu FT450), that definitely helps on SSB.  Great to see the amount of SSB activity on 20m and even some on 15m.  Heard K9CT on 10m SSB but couldn't get thru to him.  Thanks to all for spotting the different stations on the DX cluster as well.  That was very helpful.



In the "I can't believe this ever happened category" the XYL and daughter have now become big NFL fans so that gave me an undisturbed Sunday afternoon for the contest.  Thanks to Taylor Swift for turning the daughter on to the NFL.  Thanks to the streaming services I could watch a couple of games on my phone while running the contest (with the sound turned down of course).  I could have done without watching the Chiefs-49ers game, though.  I see that the NFL has become ILQP aware-scheduling the Bears bye week for ILQP weekend.



Most of all, it was once again a blast!  Can't wait to see everyone in 2025!



73 John AF5CC

>From the extremely rare and always pileup causing Oklahoma section





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