[PaQSO] rover questions

[Pete Kobak via PaQSO]

Beginners questions, just getting started in ham activities this year. I participated as a baby rover in two VHF contests this year; never entered any HF contest until yesterday when I tested out my 27ft elevated radial vertical in a South Jersey tidal swamp intending to participate in the NJ QSO party. Thanks in advance for any help, especially from other HF rovers.  1) In VHF roving, height is key, so using accessible clear elevated locations is a major goal. In HF roving, operating at elevation and with a clear horizon should be a lot less important, but I would think it's still advantageous to some extent. Reflexively, I've been looking for roads that at least get me above the valleys of the main route. What is the experience of roving/mobile operators regarding height ... should I instead just be looking for open parking lots (e.g. schools) close to the main route to assemble the vertical and forget trying to get up the hills?  2) I don't currently have mobile capability (just the vertical that requires assembly), but I have a screwdriver antenna on order that may or may not be ready by the weekend. In the last VHF contest, I used omni mobile antennas to make contacts with strong signals en route between locations where I raised beams to make longer distance contacts. If I use the same pattern in the PA contest, doing some S&P while driving, then stopping to assemble the vertical, I'm not sure of my entry category. Rule 10.d defining "rover" is pretty clear that "Rovers do not operate as a mobile en route between stations." But rule 10.c defining "mobile" says "The antenna must be of a type generally accepted as a mobile antenna", which implies that using a non-mobile antenna like my elevated vertical would not be allowed. I think I should enter as a mobile if I do make contacts between antenna assembly points, but I'm not sure. What is the intention of separate rover and mobile categories anyway? I noticed that the top scores in the 3 rover/mobile divisions in 2013 were very close, and there were only 9 total entries in the 3 divisions.  3) After I get to the county operating location and assemble the antenna, what's considered the best operating practice for rovers? I'm theorizing that it's best to immediately find an open spot on a band and start calling CQ, to give other stations the opportunity to find and work a rare county ... but I don't know if that's best for working as many stations as possible given my short window of operating at each location.  4) Similarly, what's the best practice for finding the best band to start calling CQ? Should I just quickly listen for the band with the most Party activity, and find an open spot? I see there are suggested times for high bands, but unfortunately I don't know code yet (forgive me), so the CW part of the schedule doesn't help. (In VHF contests, this isn't an issue because there are only 2 high population bands, both in a narrow frequency range.)  5) One article I read said that some rovers/mobiles exchange phone numbers to help each other out in case of emergency. I'm not comfortable sharing my phone in a reflector, but I'd be happy to exchange numbers with any mobile/rover in a private email.  Thanks for reading this far, I tend to be wordy on the keyboard. I appreciate any suggestions you can throw my way. Thank you to the organizers NARC; I am looking forward to my first HF rove. -- Pete K0BAK