[NLRS] Last reminder - MnQP this Sat.

[w0zq at aol.com]

The Minnesota QSO Party is this Saturday, February 2 from 8:00 am to 
6:00 pm, just ten hours long. In addition to the VHF class, there is a 
HF Phone only category, HF mixed mode (CW and fone) and mobile 
category. The contest exchange is your first name and your country. 
Full rules can be found at http://www.w0aa.org/mnqp.htm .  This website 
also contains other usuful information such as suggested frequencies so 
check it out.

I do want to pass along some tips to potential first time MnQP players.

1) Minnesota stations work the World (and other Minnesota stations) and 
the World works Minnesota stations. In order for anyone to find you, 
you need to call "CQ". On phone, call "CQ CQ Minnesota QSO Party, <your 
call>". On CW, send "CQ CQ MNP <your call>".

2) If you are a mobile, indicate so with the county in your call 
extension. For example, if I am mobile in Houston county, on phone I 
would say "CQ CQ Minnesota QSO Party, W0ZQ Mobile Houston County". On 
CW, send "CQ CQ MNP W0ZQ/HOU". That is how other stations know you are 
a mobile. The three letter CW county abbreviations can be found on the 
above mentioned link.

3) On HF, given where we are at in the solar cycle, the higher bands 
are punk. 15m MAY have a little activity, but the primary bands will be 
20, 40 and 80m .... even a little 160m for those who have it. 20m goes 
long by around 3:00 or 4:00 pm. Last year, overall, 50% of ALL MnQP 
contacts were made on 40m, with 25% on 20m and 25% on 80m. 40m is the 
money band with activity from start to finish. You can usually find 
SOME 80m activity throughout the day and its the best way to work other 
Mn counties as they are multipliers too. So, in terms of what bands you 
need, 40m for sure, followed by 20m during the daylight hours and 80m 
especially towards the end - say 4 to 6pm. 160m is a bonus, plus 15m 
and 10m. For local contacts, don't forget to QSY them through whatever 
bands you have.

4) Where to find activity. The link listed above shows the suggested 
freqs. On CW, its basically 50 KHz up from the bottom of each band, for 
example 14050 KHz. Activity seems to spread out over say 030 to 060. On 
phone its 14270, 7250, and 3850. Find a hole close to these freqs and 
call CQ MNP !

Thats it.   W0ZQ/m will be out with nearly a dozen other HF mobiles 
criss crossing the State.  If you enjoy HF CW, look for me around 3550 
MHz, +/- activity, for some close in QSOs.

73, Jon
W0ZQ

________________________________________________________________________
More new features than ever.  Check out the new AOL Mail ! - 
http://webmail.aol.com