[PaQSO] PAQP 2014 Logs, comments

[w3hkk at roadrunner.com]

Thanks Mike for your tireless efforts, not only keeping all this going, but moving the PAQP to new heights!

My "speed read" count of the log submissions:
Clean Sweeps:      36 in staters + 10 Out of Staters.=    46 Total Clean Sweeps
Log Submissions:  319 in staters +  178 out of staters = 497 logs on the  posted list.

Conclusions:
-lots of ex-pat Keystone Staters (like myself) enjoy the PAQP. It's a great contest,and the BEST state QSO Party of all!
- 36% of log submissions come from hams outside PA.
-nearly 22% of Clean Sweeps go to  hams outside PA.
- 11 logs were submitted by stations in the "DX" category, including an amazing score by OM2VL, who was only 4 counties from a CLEAN SWEEP!  Wow! What a guy! :)

PS Before  this year's PAQP, I was part of the WW8OH multi-multi that  in 2013 and 2012 made 67 and 66 counties, and 2nd place ( behind powerhouse N4PN). For older guys ( 72 here) the M-O category is a lot of fun and less demanding on the mind and body.  This year  I operated S-O  from the home QTH in central Ohio with the goal of   making the Clean Sweep. 

Short story about this year's effort:  Friday night I decided to enter from home, as the club group didn't come together due to other competing demands.  So Fri night I downloaded N1MM+, and managed to populate the  PAQP log  By 11 pm it was ready to go and I hit the sack.  

Sat morning at 9 I began building  my  NVIS antennas from scratch -  inverted v's for 80m and 40m, criss-crossed on top of a 28 ft  mast to serve as guy wires as well as radiators.  Mil surplus 4 ft fiberglass mast sections  formed the mast.

#14 Home Depot insulated solid copper wire was rough cut,  old coax  soldered together to form a single coax feed, with a T shaped ceramic insulator tied to the top of the mast. PP rope was tied to the ends of the wires, the mast pushed up with the help of the xyl, and the antenna ends tied  down. Wires for 80m ran NW-SE and 40m ran NE-SW.  PA is  about 70 degrees from central Ohio with skip distances of between 100 and 400 miles.  

Three trips to  each of the 4 ends to  trim length resulted in resonances in the middle of the respective bands at  1.2:1 swrs.   And at 2:11pm Sat I made my first contact. A bit late but I was ready to roll.   

Conditions proved to be  excellent with strong sigs on 40m all day, both days.  By 1:45pm Sunday I worked my 67th county and made my personal goal.
  
Summary: 9.5 hrs operating time - 208 qsos on 40m/43 Q's on 80/ 13 Q's on 160/ 1 Q on 20m.
Station:  IC7600 - TenTec Centurion amp - inv V's for 80/40. 160m inv L for  160/20m.

de Bob W3HKK ( since 1956 )(former PA QTH's: Manayunk (Philly), Rhawnhurst (Northeast Philly),  State College, Lancaster ( Cherry Hill),  Blawnox (Pittsburgh).