[NLRS] MNQP

[goverby@charter.net]

Jon (W0ZQ) wrote:
> Anyone else going to be active on VHF for the MNQP ?

I am currently planning to go mobile for MNQP.  I think a good, simple plan is
to work one county per hour, with a goal of being in a new county at the top
of the hour.

I haven't seen what other VHF mobile stations are planning, so I might change
plans after seeing their schedules.  Here's what I'm thinking:

	Dakota
	Scott
	Carver
	McLeod
	Sibley
	Renville
	Kandiyohi
	Meeker
	Write
	Hennepin

I made a rough plan of this trip using RandMcNally's map site and it looks
like I can pick points in the counties so that most of the driving time
between counties is about 30 minutes, with Renville to Kandiyohi being the
longest stretch, and a break for lunch in the McLeod / Sibley / Renville area.
I'm not sure how much VHF activity there will be out that way, so I may cut
Kandiyohi and go to, say, Anoka at the end.

If it's as cold as it is today, I probably won't go.  If I don't go mobile,
I'll put something up on the deck at home.

In Dakota county, I'm going to operate from the Park-And-Ride in Eagan at
Cliff Road and I35E.  I drive by this place frequently, but didn't look it
over until last night: it has a good view to the north and west.  However,
I'll have higher ground to the east and at least southeast.  While it's not a
better operationg location than the Burnsville Parkway & I35W location, it's
closer to home :-)

I hope to have a GPS/APRS/Map program installed on my laptop for the trip
("xastir").  I should be able to do some map-based scouting of locations
beforehand.  If anyone has good operationg sites in the various counties that
they're willing to share, I'd appreciate them!

> From the www.w0aa.org website, a cut  & paste of some of the more VHF
> significant rule clarifications follows:

> Q - Does FM count as a separate mode on VHF?
> A - FM, SSB, and AM all count as Phone. CW and RTTY count as CW.

Is there much use of PSK on VHF around here?  I picked up a PSK interface and
software but have yet to make a contact with it.

I noticed that the Q&A had a "VHF Mobile" category listed, but the rules
themselves didn't.  *shrug*  Either way, my goal is to have fun and lear

Glen