[PaQSO] More on 20m and Good Neighbor QSOs...

Tue Oct 22 08:52:43 EDT 2013

        As far as Good neighbor, we collected 52 US and CA section
multipliers mostly on 20, 15 and 10m. We racked up 63 CW and 46 digital
QSO's on 20m many with our neighbors. Sometimes we get in such a county
tunnel vision, especially when there are a handful of challenging ones,
that we forget there are more multipliers outside the state then inside.
>From the email's on the reflector that seem to be coming in from TX there
are 3 in that state alone.

     I get that it is tough to move from a productive band to one that will
almost assure no local contacts like 20M. The Multi-ops have an easier
time, we had the digital station on 20 most of the contest, and when it
wasn't our CW station was on that band.

     All this said we only picked up 2/3 in TX and 3/9 in CA, so there must
have been some holes in the skip to the west coast which may account for
this years group numbers.

     Next year our station will still hang 20 meters as it is good to
pickup a few multipliers from outside the state. It is also neighborly to
include the out of staters in the party too, but with the reliance on
rovers and mobiles to get the rare counties, it is a difficult to balance
in area and out of area QSO's.

     A big thank you goes out to W3ZGD for their excellent operators. Your
schedule made it rather straight forward to find you throughout the party,
and apparently we took advantage of it. Look forward to hearing you on the
air next year as a multi-op.

Regards

K3LLC operating as one of the 5 at K3IR for 2013PAQP

---------------------

>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 09:34:52 +0000 (UTC)
> From: kb3co at comcast.net
> To: paqso at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [PaQSO] More on 20m and Good Neighbor QSOs...
> Message-ID:
>         <
> 2096172313.3989779.1382434492747.JavaMail.root at sz0045a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net
> >
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
>
>
> It was not only the West coast stations that felt left out this year -
> Last week I received the below attached email from an unhappy county hunter
> from Texas.
> The truth is that we went to 20m CW very early in the contest but found
> that we had the same problem with Winkey as W3CQB and others did - the
> entire PC locked up. So we had to abandon that and settle for 20m PH which
> did not yield very much. Fortunately the problem was limited to 20m only -
> otherwise we would have had a serious contest changing problem. In past
> years we always had a good following on 20m CW - mostly Europeans, 5's,
> 6's, and 7's. We very much regret not being able to do the same again this
> year. It was my miss that I did not check out 20m CW operation prior to the
> contest.
>
> 73, Charlie KB3CO
>
>
>
> From: <Unhappy Texan >
> Date: October 15, 2013 at 5:06:30 PM EDT
> To: < kb3co >
> Subject: pa QSO party
>
>
>
>
> Next year please find a 20M cw antenna and use it.
>
> 27 counties I missed because you never ran on 20cw and of course, from TX
> to PA during the day on
> 40 and 80m isn?t going to work with my inverted vee up 30 feet.
>
> Saw your comments on 3830 reflector.
>
> Half the country had no hope of a clean sweep or getting the counties they
> needed.
>
> 647 cw contacts and not a one on 20m
>
> Maybe they can change the rules so you all don?t sit on 80 and 40 all day
> long and work each other while 70% of the country
> and 100% of the DX has no hope of working you
>
>
> 73
> <Unhappy Texan>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 10:45:07 +0000
> From: John Myers <tvguy07 at gmail.com>
> To: kb3co at comcast.net
> Cc: paqso at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [PaQSO] More on 20m and Good Neighbor QSOs...
> Message-ID:
>         <CAJ9pbrnteehG4uRQ5pwUZA3bpvYqwV_Prci-+o5vNZ=
> QvZ10wQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
>
> HI Charlie,
>
> I got a similar e-mail. It was from a 4 call in TX.
>
> ------
>
> Next year please bring a 20m antenna along so half the country and all the
> DX has a chance to work
>
> Jefferson county PA
>
>
>
> I noticed you made over 300 QSOs and not a one of them on 20M where I had a
> chance to even work you.
>
>
>
> It?s a shame half of the PA stations just talk to each other on 40 and 80
> and ignore the rest of the country.
>
>
>
> Maybe the rules/scoring needs to be changed?
>
>
>
>
>
> thanks
>
> ----------
>
> I replied in kind, then received this reply, which I found pretty
> condescending.
>
> ----------
>
> Thanks for note John....
>
>
>
> well, checking the 3830 reflector....seems N2CU and N2ZN each worked a
> hundred or more on 20cw.....while mobile. Sometimes
>
> it takes a bit of practice to know where to operate.....   everyone likes
> to be on ?the frequency? but half the time, there?s a big fixed
>
> station there like on 040..and mobiles go there, don?t hear anything and
> call away and never work anyone!   try and work on
>
> a freq like 14040.3 or 14041.3 or 14043.7.....folks will find you.    Avoid
> the even freqs......
>
>
> Worked about 35  counties on 20M cw, half of them with mobiles.
>
>
>
> It gets a bit frustrating when you see the PA QSO Party results and half
> the mobilesstations never went to 20M  leaving out half the country
>
> for the QSO parties. That?s a sure way to eventually kill interest in the
> QSO parties...with hundreds not being able to participate.
>
>
>
> I don?t know if self spotting is allowed in this QSO party...... but if you
> spot yourself on ch.W6rk.com you?ll normally get lots of activity
>
> and once the spot shows up , you?ll have a dozen quickly show up in 2 or 3
> min including the DX.
>
>
>
> See you next year....
>
>
> -------------------
>
> But, it's good to see that N2CU, and N2ZN got this dudes "gold star".
>
> so. . . . we have to spot ourselves on the internet to give the hams west
> of the Mississippi a chance to turn on the rig & work us? What? Are they
> all watching the big game on TV? Whatever happened to careful tuning, and
> searching for stations? Or, god forbid, maybe they could call CQ? <I don't
> even know if self-spotting is allowed>
> Anyhow, I never responded after that. IF I hear him next year calling me,
> I'll work him.
>
> I wonder how many of us got a similar e-mails after posting to the 3830
> reflector?
>
> I may think twice before posting scores there again.
>
> Yes, I'm still a bit PO'd.
>
> <end rant>
>
> This e-mail set me off in part because I actually put up a dedicated 20
> meter antenna, and spent more time on 20 this year, than ever before. I
> also did a LOT more (for me) CW this year, as I work on improving my CW
> skills (and boy, do they need improved! HI HI).
>
> After that, I get a whiny e-mail because I didn't spend enough time on 20?
>
> So. . . . I'm curious how many of the rest of us were so "honored"?
>
> John, KD8MQ
>
>
> On Oct 22, 2013 5:35 AM, <kb3co at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > It was not only the West coast stations that felt left out this year -
> > Last week I received the below attached email from an unhappy county
> hunter
> > from Texas.
> > The truth is that we went to 20m CW very early in the contest but found
> > that we had the same problem with Winkey as W3CQB and others did - the
> > entire PC locked up. So we had to abandon that and settle for 20m PH
> which
> > did not yield very much. Fortunately the problem was limited to 20m only
> -
> > otherwise we would have had a serious contest changing problem. In past
> > years we always had a good following on 20m CW - mostly Europeans, 5's,
> > 6's, and 7's. We very much regret not being able to do the same again
> this
> > year. It was my miss that I did not check out 20m CW operation prior to
> the
> > contest.
> >
> > 73, Charlie KB3CO
> >
> >
> >
> > From: <Unhappy Texan >
> > Date: October 15, 2013 at 5:06:30 PM EDT
> > To: < kb3co >
> > Subject: pa QSO party
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Next year please find a 20M cw antenna and use it.
> >
> > 27 counties I missed because you never ran on 20cw and of course, from TX
> > to PA during the day on
> > 40 and 80m isn?t going to work with my inverted vee up 30 feet.
> >
> > Saw your comments on 3830 reflector.
> >
> > Half the country had no hope of a clean sweep or getting the counties
> they
> > needed.
> >
> > 647 cw contacts and not a one on 20m
> >
> > Maybe they can change the rules so you all don?t sit on 80 and 40 all day
> > long and work each other while 70% of the country
> > and 100% of the DX has no hope of working you
> >
> >
> > 73
> > <Unhappy Texan>
> >
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > PaQSO mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/paqso
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:PaQSO at mailman.qth.net
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 06:51:57 -0400
> From: "John Bednar" <k3ct at verizon.net>
> To: <kb3co at comcast.net>,        <paqso at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: Re: [PaQSO] More on 20m and Good Neighbor QSOs...
> Message-ID: <003501cecf14$bb28c570$317a5050$@net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
>
> Intermittent WinKey issues are usually caused by Windows powering down the
> port. If you are using a USB port for any control (radio, WinKey, rotor,
> etc), make sure you open Device Manager, right click on every USB Root Hub,
> select Properties, click on the Power Management tab and uncheck "Allow the
> computer to turn off this device to save power". This may have to be
> repeated if the USB device is removed.
>
> It can also be caused by RF entering the computer or WinKey device. Keep
> in mind that some WinKey solutions may not be as RF prone as the original
> K1EL design. PC lock-up is one of the symptoms of RF ingress.
>
> John, K3CT
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: paqso-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:paqso-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of kb3co at comcast.net
> Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 5:35 AM
> To: paqso at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [PaQSO] More on 20m and Good Neighbor QSOs...
>
>
>
> It was not only the West coast stations that felt left out this year -
> Last week I received the below attached email from an unhappy county hunter
> from Texas.
> The truth is that we went to 20m CW very early in the contest but found
> that we had the same problem with Winkey as W3CQB and others did - the
> entire PC locked up. So we had to abandon that and settle for 20m PH which
> did not yield very much. Fortunately the problem was limited to 20m only -
> otherwise we would have had a serious contest changing problem. In past
> years we always had a good following on 20m CW - mostly Europeans, 5's,
> 6's, and 7's. We very much regret not being able to do the same again this
> year. It was my miss that I did not check out 20m CW operation prior to the
> contest.
>
> 73, Charlie KB3CO
>
>
>
> From: <Unhappy Texan >
> Date: October 15, 2013 at 5:06:30 PM EDT
> To: < kb3co >
> Subject: pa QSO party
>
>
>
>
> Next year please find a 20M cw antenna and use it.
>
> 27 counties I missed because you never ran on 20cw and of course, from TX
> to PA during the day on
> 40 and 80m isn t going to work with my inverted vee up 30 feet.
>
> Saw your comments on 3830 reflector.
>
> Half the country had no hope of a clean sweep or getting the counties they
> needed.
>
> 647 cw contacts and not a one on 20m
>
> Maybe they can change the rules so you all don t sit on 80 and 40 all day
> long and work each other while 70% of the country and 100% of the DX has no
> hope of working you
>
>
> 73
> <Unhappy Texan>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> PaQSO mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/paqso
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:PaQSO at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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>
>
> End of PaQSO Digest, Vol 110, Issue 49
> **************************************
>


-- 
Regards

Kevin Lampo
Klampo at gmail.com
(410) 980-0928