[PaQSO] 2016 Pa QSO Party Operating Considerations

[Bud Trench]

Here are some considerations regarding operating the 2016 Pa QSO Party:

The North American SSB Sprint will occur on Saturday evening between 8:00 pm
and midnight.  This is a new conflict.  The Sprint is a high intensity
contest that will likely bring out some big stations; it will also likely
result in contention for frequencies on 40M and 75M.  My intuition is that
it might be best for us to concentrate on the higher portions of the 40M and
75M during this period; increased emphasis on 160M SSB might also be
appropriate.  The Sprint will not impact the CW/data bands.

As with past years, we will be co-existing with multiple other contests
(Arizona QSO Party, Scandinavian Activity Contest (SSB), Makrothen RTTY
Contest, SKKC Weekend Sprint, etc.).  I have found this to be of minimal
concern.  The Arizona QSO Party participants have generally been willing to
give the Pa QSO Party exchange and I reciprocate by giving them the exchange
they need - Serial Number + State.

There have been recent discussions about 40M vs. 20M.  For what it's worth,
here is a comparison of my QSOs on 40M and 20M SSB since 2009.  I think 20M
is very exciting and multiplier rich.

Year      40 SSB   20 SSB

2009       236       524
2010       338       453
2011       364       278
2012       285       415
2013       397       253
2014       401       358
2015       379       380

Overall, solar conditions seem to be in our favor, as compared to recent
weeks.  There will be QSOs to be had on 15M and perhaps 10M.  There are
several out of state stations that operate the Pa QSO Party very seriously
and they may ask you to move with them to different bands and modes,
particularly on Sunday afternoon.  This is a lot of fun!

There are many new plaques this year and one of them is for the highest
score on 6M.  For the last several years, several of us have been trying 6M
first thing Sunday morning.  Please listen on 50.125 MHz at the 1300z (9:00
am) on Sunday.

As was posted earlier, please watch out for emergency nets conducting
Hurricane Mathew operations.

I hope to see everyone tonight on the warm-up net at 8:00 PM, 3910 +/-, and
many times this weekend.

73,

Bud AA3B