[ILQSO] Outreach to POTA activators

[James Funk]

Mark, thanks for a thoughtful post and for getting the ball rolling in a
useful direction.
Each year, we make a concentrated effort to get all 102 counties on the
air. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. Some years, we think we
have them all covered and someone hits a snag and we lose a county or two.
In the years when we have contacts made with all counties, not all of them
are reflected in submitted logs.

With the increased interest in POTA/WWFF activations, a great opportunity
is now arising to truly get all of the counties active in one day.  Not all
counties have parks, but many of our mobiles plan their routes to cover
counties that are otherwise unavailable.  It's important that those
planning portable operations post those plans early enough so that those
with flexibility can plan to cover what's left.

Between now and October 18, make it a point to talk to known park
activators and tell them about ILQP.  The rules allow (encourage)
self-spotting.  Both phone and CW activity are encouraged.  Having a
portable station active in a county for the full eight hours (or as much as
possible) means those searching for the county don't have to find the
mobile who is only in the county for fifteen minutes or who is only on one
mode.  DX stations really appreciate those who hit the high bands at the
right times.  Locals are happy to find that rare county on 75 or 88 meters
right at sundown.

Our ideal situation would be for every one of the 102 counties to be on the
air, on both modes, for the entire eight hours, and for every single
participant to send in a log. (Though I shudder to think about the log
checking....but that's my problem....).

Please plan to find a good portable location in a "rare" county, especially
if your home station isn't particularly effective.  Post your plans to the
reflector, and we'll keep the map current.  Talk to your local club and
encourage members to get on the air on October 18!

73, Jim N9JF

On Wed, Aug 26, 2026 at 11:03 PM Mark Frost via ILQSO <ilqso at mailman.qth.net>
wrote:

> Greetings all. The QSO party is less than two months away and have been
> thinking of ways to increase coverage in underserved counties.
>
> I cross-referenced recent ILQP results, and POTA activation data to
> identify operators who could help cover some of the "most wanted" counties.
> I could only find per-county results for 2024, but I doubt the situation
> was all that different in 2025 (if anyone has 2025.data I'd be happy to
> incorporate it).
>
> In 2024 there were zero logs from: Crawford, Gallatin, Greene, Hardin,
> Jackson, Jasper, Jersey, Kankakee, Lawrence, Livingston, Monroe, Morgan,
> Richland, Saline, and Scott
>
> Recent repeat POTA activators at parks in those counties:
>
> - WB9KFA, K9RVE: McMaster Woods (GREE), Copperhead Hollow (JERS). K9RVE
> entered ILQP portable from MNRO in 2020.
>
> - KC9HEQ: Beall Woods (WABA), Crawford Co SFWA (CRAW)
>
> - WB9AUV, KC9RHF: Sam Dale Lake (WAYN)
>
> - WB9UDL: Pyramid SP (PERR), CW
>
> - KD9ZSP: Kinkaid Lake (JACK)
>
> - WD9HCF: Rock Island Trail SP (adjacent to STAR)
>
> - KJ5XC, WB9KWD: multiple parks across the southern counties this year
>
> - WA9JTG: entered ILQP from Pere Marquette (JERS) in 2020
>
> Most of these operators have little or no presence in the ILQP results, so
> they likely don't know the event exists. Some were activating these parks
> within days of the 2024 and 2025 events.
>
> I'm happy to try to reach out, but if anyone knows any of these OMs
> personally a direct contact would probably be more effective than a cold
> email from me.
>
> 73,
> Mark AC9VC
>
> PS: I have a spreadsheet with POTA entities, counties, and recent
> activations if anyone wants to expand the list to other counties besides
> the "most wanted" above.
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