[OhQP-mail] OhQP 2010 in retrospect

w3hkk at roadrunner.com w3hkk at roadrunner.com
Wed Sep 1 08:40:14 EDT 2010


NICE job Kenny, Jim and any others who made more than 250 cw qsos.( (which is what WW8OH  did at station #2)  We had two ops and a dedicated sunroom, plus food, and a modern rig.  Doing it  from a car or  driving place to place is pretty amazing when you lok at all that is involvedd.

Some thoughts:  here in central OH, 40m was a real dud, even at the beginning.  Probably due to skip distances,  since every corner of the state is less than 200 miles or so as the crow flies, and the population centers even less.  I remember back in the early to mid 2000's, hearing Ohio counties all during the day on 40, not necessarily with strong sigs but strong enough to rack up 500+ qsos from near Cleveland, mostly in state.

So if my theory is correct, top scores Ohio county-wise, will be from stations  near Toledo, Cleveland and Cinci. having  up to 300 miles between them.  Of course, if the skip was over 300 miles then we're all in the same boat.  

80m was certainly the Main Band.  And I bet if we extended the contest to 160M we could dig out another 100 or so QSOs.  6m is another option  with the growing number of   6m rigs ( like my new one-after 31 years of using   an FT901dm and FT902dm stations, well deserved, I might add!)  So yes Im lobbying for fuller use of my new rig, HI HI.  

Seriously, 6m is underused now that Es season has passed and would be  a growing option for in state qsos, and people who's unstated goal is to work all 88 counties each OQP.  Just a thought.

It will be  interesting to see what the log submissions show, but my gut says  2010 propagation was more challenging than 2009.
Which only serves to underline those stations who worked 500+.  What a great effort that is!

WW8OH CW worked about 5 Euros on 40/80, some with impressively high numbers.  I hope they submit logs for all to see.
I had a ham friend  post the OQP announcement on the UBA ( Belgian ARRL) site for ON-land, plus some other Euro  county hunters/contesters who might read it.  Its a nicely done site. (That reminder could be extended to other Euro clubs in the future.) Its good to hear some thought that Euro participation was above  average this year. 

But at present, what we  need most is an improved, more flexible daytime operating plan, at least until 40m returns to prominence, which at the current rate could take a few years.  And  thats where 6m and 160m might play a small role.

Well my coffee cup is empty so I will end this commentary.

Again thanks to all who jumped in even for just a few contacts.  And I echo Jim's comments on  the usefulness of club activities like OQP for attracting new hams - or reenergizing older ones - through  fun, casually paced  ( for most of us) events like the OQP.  All I can say is it seemed like Grand Central Station for much of the afternoon, with comers and goers streaming past the  two WW8OH stations.




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