[NLRS] Minnesota QSO Party !

[w0zq at aol.com]

So you say 6m is flat and that last time you heard a signal on 2m is when you went to all solid state?  Is the snow up to your roof and the wolves at your back door?   Is 20 degrees starting to feel "warm"?  How about giving the winter blahs a kick in the shorts and try something new.  Tomorrow, Saturday, Feb 5 is the Minnesota QSO Party that runs from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.  The contest categories include HF through VHF, 160m through GHz.  The rules are pretty simple - the world works Minnesota stations and Minnesota stations work everyone.   For stations inside Minnesota, give them your name and county, for example "Jon in Ramsey".  Stations outside of Minnesota they will give you their name and their state, for example "Alice in New York" - its that simple.   You can work a station once per mode - for example I can work W0AA on 20m CW and 20m SSB.   Same with say 6m or 2m, etc.

Full rules and supporting information can be found at http://w0aa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=8 .  There you will find full rules, the MN county abbreviations for CW, a paper log sheet if you wish to log with paper, a nifty downloadable software logging program, and a really fun activity map.  When you go to the activity map you can click on a county to find who will be on and active.  There is also a APRS tracking page so that you can follow the mobiles around the state ... there looks to be a good dozen or so mobiles hitting the road.    

So if you are looking for some fun this weekend, and just ahead of the Superbowl on Sunday, give the Minnesota QSO Party a try, HF, VHF or both.   If you go the above web site, in the "Resource" area, there is also a nice article for first time Minnesota stations about how to operate, its very helpful for first timers.   If you play, if you generate a log, don't forget to list NLRS as your club as there is also club aggregate scoring ... for the last few years we have been #2 or #3 in the State.  

So warm up the shack this weekend and have some fun.  This is a fantasitc way to put Minnesota on the map and its alway one of my top 3 radio activities each year.

W0ZQ will be mobiling once again this year on 20, 40, and 80m.  You can follow my APRS based route as W0ZQ-15 at http://w0aa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33&Itemid=31 or through one of the standard APRS tracking websites.   I plan to visit the following counties in this order: Todd, Stearns, Pope, Douglas, Otter Tail, Grant, Wilkins, and Traverse on 20, 40, and 80m CW and 20m SSB.   

If anyone has any questions about this fun event, ask.   Otherwise, hope to work you on the bands !

73, Jon
W0ZQ/m