[InHam] First Notice - Indiana QSO Party May 2 2009

[Mel Crichton]

Every May, hams in Indiana are the target of contesters, county hunters, and 
otehr hams who just want to have fun....The Indiana QSO Party is a 12 hour 
event in which hams all over the world try to work as many Indiana hams in 
as many Indiana counties as possible... it's the Indiana QSO Party, to be 
held May 2 2009.

Some ops take it seriously and go all out with big signals and a full 12 
hour effort, hoping to win a plaque for best in-state or out-of-state score. 
Others poke around for an hour or two, enough to hand out a few dozen QSOs 
and make sure that their county or state is well represented. Most just want 
to see how well they can do in the time they have.  There are others (the 
mobiles and portables) who spend weeks scouting out operating positions in 
those "rare" counties where they can create the loudest signals with their 
limited antennas.

Some clubs use INQP as a shake down for Field Day, setting up operations on 
a county line to be able to hand out two multipliers (and double QSO points) 
with each contact. Some seriously contend for the plaque awarded to the 
Indiana club with the highest aggregate score, others just want to beat 
their last year's score.

INQP is sponsored by the Hoosier DX & Contest Club, and rules, scores, and 
activity information are posted at www.hdxcc.org/inqp.  Take a look at the 
web pages, and plan to be on the air May 2 from your county. If you don't 
have an HF station, now's the time to line up a "guest op" position, upgrade 
your station or license, set up a mobile rig, or energize your club to put 
together a multi-op effort.

Hope to hear a LOT of Indiana signals on May 2.

Mel KJ9C
(INQP mobile/portable coordinator)