[PaQSO] TIOGA County was not rare this year!

[Tim Ertl]

NR3K 
As some of you know NR3K is a local club that has attempted for the last
few years to make TIOGA County un-rare. Being new to contesting we hunt
and pounce more than sit still but we are getting better every year. The
chili gets better every year as well. We have a great party with food to
the point of making us sleepy! NR3K was run this year by WB3DLN, WO3C,
KE3HT, KA2VSR, KA3VRW (and friend), KK5SS and a bunch of other visitors.


Even with our presence these past few years it is still sometimes hard
to find TIOGA. Not this Year! We had a great time and so did 5 other
stations that I know of from TIOGA County. I also saw Potter and
Bradford represented by more stations than I have ever seen before.

High bands (non-40/80), this is the first year I can remember having a
real serious number of contacts on 10/15/20. On Saturday we thought we
might work all sections! DX was pouring in! We also discovered our beam
was pointing 180 degrees from the rotor markings and we were still doing
great! Unfortunately Sunday was a bust. There was a short opening on 10
and 15 on Sunday but it did not last long.

IMHO these three North Central PA counties have seen an Increase in
activity unlike Green and Clarion who seem to have had a decrease. 

When I was a mobile with KA3MMM I used to look at last years results to
see if we could hit a rare county just to get more of a pile up going.
Being mobile is hard and has no real rewards (contest wise). I did it
for a bunch of years so I have compassion for Mobiles. They do the work
of dozens of stations sometimes and yet they don't have much to look
forward to other than our thanks. SO THANKS TO ALL THOSE MOBILES! Oh
yea, thanks to W3USA also! How does he do it? Someday he may retire! (
/M humor-sarcasm ) 

The NR3K score will be posted soon.

 ,,,, Tim KE3HT/R

http://www.ke3ht.org