[FQP] FlQP K4OJ Multi-Multi-Mobile (Rover) CW LP Results

[Christopher Blake]

Laci,
All I can say is- what a signal you have!  We worked you 98 times!  Each
time an operator worked you they called it out - you were the Force!  Thank
you for all the QSO's and see you next year...

vy 73,
Chris, NX4N and Team :-)


On Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 1:14 PM, Totya <totya at zsmkomds.edu.sk> wrote:

>  dear Chris!
>
> Congrats!! FB job!
>
> thanks  again for many QSO's!
>
> 73 Laci OM2VL
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Christopher Blake <cqdenx4n at gmail.com>
> *To:* FQP <fqp at kkn.net> ; Florida Contest Group <fcg at kkn.net> ;
> tarc at kkn.net ; 3830 at contesting.com
> *Cc:* N4KM (KEVIN) <n4kmkevin at gmail.com> ; k0luz at topsusa.com ; Bob Patten<n4bp at bellsouth.net>; W4LT,
> Lu <lromero at ij.net> ; Larry Gispert <larry.gispert at verizon.net>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 30, 2014 6:31 PM
> *Subject:* FlQP K4OJ Multi-Multi-Mobile (Rover) CW LP Results
>
> Hi Friends!
> WOW - What a wild ride!
> The K4OJ Multi-Mult-Mobile (MM/m) team crammed 4 complete stations, 4
> antennas and 4 operators plus driver into one Chevy Suburban SUV and hit
> the ground running, operating-in-motion across 47 counties!
>
> My wife Lili could not drive me this year due to another commitment so I
> was looking for something 'unusual' to do - I think we hit the mark!
> Frankly I wasn't sure a MM/m effort was even possible.  The two big
> technical issues to overcome were inter-station interference (RFI) and
> power generation and distribution.  Well, with a lot of hard work our team
> overcame them both and we had a grand time!
>
> *First, the results and some stats:*
> *3973 cw QSO's:*
> *91 Mults*
> *SCORE = 1.44M*
>
>  *Approx Band Breakdown:*
>  *40m - 494Q       45Mults*
> *20m - 2460Q     80Mults*
> *15m - 909Q       64Mults*
> *10m - 110Q       27Mults*
>
>  * BEST RATES:*
>
>
> * 40 Meters QSO Party - 2014-04-26 1600Z to 2014-04-27 2159Z - 494 QSOs
> K4OJ Max Rates: 2014-04-27 0111Z - 4.0 per minute  (1 minute(s)), 240 per
> hour by N4KM  2014-04-27 0117Z - 2.7 per minute  (10 minute(s)), 162 per
> hour by N4KM*
> * 2014-04-27 0155Z - 1.8 per minute  (60 minute(s)), 109 per hour by N4KM*
>
>
>
> * 20 Meters QSO Party - 2014-03-29 1600Z to 2014-03-30 2159Z - 2460 QSOs
> K4OJ Max Rates: 2014-04-26 1854Z - 5.0 per minute  (1 minute(s)), 300 per
> hour by K0LUZ  2014-04-27 2047Z - 4.0 per minute  (10 minute(s)), 240 per
> hour by K0LUZ*
> * 2014-04-27 2133Z - 2.9 per minute  (60 minute(s)), 174 per hour by K0LUZ*
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> * 15 Meters QSO Party - 2014-04-26 1600Z to 2014-04-27 2159Z - 909 QSOs
> K4OJ Max Rates: 2014-04-27 1344Z - 4.0 per minute  (1 minute(s)), 240 per
> hour by N4BP 2014-04-27 1438Z - 2.3 per minute  (10 minute(s)), 138 per
> hour by N4BP 2014-04-27 1359Z - 1.6 per minute  (60 minute(s)), 97 per hour
> by N4BP 10 Meters QSO Party - 2014-04-26 1600Z to 2014-04-27 2159Z - 110
> QSOs K4OJ Max Rates: 2014-04-27 1912Z - 3.0 per minute  (1 minute(s)), 180
> per hour by W4LT  2014-04-27 1917Z - 0.7 per minute  (10 minute(s)), 42 per
> hour by W4LT 2014-04-27 1703Z - 0.3 per minute  (60 minute(s)), 16 per hour
> by W4LT *
>
> *Our MM station:*
> *2002 Chevrolet Suburban, 2-wheel drive, 320K miles (Yep - your eyes don't
> deceive you; this is one tough SUV!)*
> *BAND     OPERATOR     RADIO                          ANTENNA*
> *40m        Kevin, N4KM    IC-756                         40m Hustler -
> Roof mounted*
> *20m        Red, K0LUZ     K3                               20m Hustler -
> Roof mounted 20" from 40m ant*
> *15m        Bob, N4BP      KX-3/KPA500 (100w)    15m Hustler - Roof
> mounted 30" from 20m ant*
> *10m        Lu, W4LT        K3                               10m 1/4 wave
> whip - Roof mounted 48" from 40m ant*
>
>    - *Driver, Station Engineer, Janitor, Host and Team Lead -  Chris,
>    NX4N*
>    - *Backup op and driver for dry-run road testing - Larry, KR4X*
>
>
> *Power* - A Honda EU-2000i 2KW generator driving individual switching
> power supplies for each station.  Generator was mounted with an external
> fuel tank and *K5YAA*-inspired 'plumbers delight' rain cover with vent on
> a hitch-mount cargo carrier (Thanks Jerry for the guidance!).  E0
> ethanol-free premium fuel was used.  Fuel consumed over 24 hours of actual
> run time = 6 gallons.
>
> While our operation was far from flawless (see below), we were just amazed
> by the overall reliability of the setup - we had **zero** unplanned stops
> to fix or repair anything.  That was a huge victory all by itself and meant
> maximum butt-in-chair operating time!
>
> Still, there were a few 'flies in the ointment', including:
> 1. RFI on the 15m and 10m stations - there was a whole layer of smaller
> signals that we missed (even with our excellent ops' ears) due to QRM from
> the other stations.  We easily left 500-1500 QSO's on the table.  Those of
> you who called and called - sorry, we tried our best!
> This is a non-starter for next year so we already are working plans to fix
> it.
> 2. The Cdx were down, especially Saturday - this also played a factor on
> 15m and 10m (see above) and a bit on 40m too.  I am convinced that with
> improved conditions and better managed RFI there is ample opportunity to
> increase our score substantially next year!
> 3. PC's were our biggest problems:
>
>    - 30 *seconds* before the FQP start, Bob's PC froze - YIKES!  Bob kept
>    his head, rebooted and a minute later he was off and running with the rest
>    of the stations in LAK.  After a few more occurrences (arggh!) he figured
>    out it was RFI on the cables and a handy ferrite choke solved it.
>    - On Sunday morning as we set sail, Kevin's PC's decided it was going
>    to not work.  We were already driving to our starting point and had about
>    half an hour before the contest started and with 10 minutes to spare he was
>    able to get it going again - breathing resumed shortly thereafter.
>    - Finally, Lu's 10m PC had various issues too - but he persisted in
>    repairing them one at a time.  Red had a few minor PC gliches as well; you
>    get the picture.  More opportunities for improvement...
>
> Keep in mind that in MM/m each op is on their own to fix any problem, or
> else we need to pull over. Boy Scout motto was adopted by our team - we had
> a backup for just about everything.
>
>
> All that said, the power/radios/antennas worked flawlessly  -  not bad!
>
> Now onto the fun part - operating!  We hit the ground running with simply
> glorious wx all weekend, and our route planning worked really well.  Rates
> were poor-to-great depending on the band, day and time (as usual).
> We decided Saturday night to add MON and DAD to our Sunday route; we even
> managed to hit all our counties and tame the *DRAGON* (aka- Collier, the
> beast county)!
>
> Best of all, we enjoyed just being together on this unique once (twice?)
> in a lifetime adventure.  We shared fun and aggravation, swapped scores and
> stories when things got slow (i.e.- CLR), helped each other with
> directions, passing snacks/drinks, requesting 'QRX while I copy this weak
> sig', etc. We even found "Red's Tavern" in CLM (almost stopped for a
> beer!).
>
> It was such great camaraderie - Red, Lu, Bob, Kevin and Larry each made
> personal sacrifices before, during and after the contest to benefit our
> team and maximize our score and our fun.  This team had a special chemistry
> and I enjoyed watching their world-class operating skills in action.  I
> believe this team raised the bar a bit toward pushing the state of our
> technical and operating art - I am very proud of our achievements and very
> lucky to call each of these guys my friend. In short, it was a blast!!
>
> Too much more to talk about in an email, and I am sure there are a lot of
> questions regarding Multi-Multi-Mobile; perhaps the team can talk at one of
> our FCG meetings in the future.
>
> I will gladly send out some pictures separately to FCG and FQP
> distributions, and to those who email me directly with a request for
> photos.  Believe me, some of these pics will amaze you!
>
> Our team would like to thank FCG leaders Dan, Ron, Chris, Jeff, Eric,
> George, Fred, Steve and many others who make the FQP the very best QSO
> Party around. Sincere tnx and 88 to my FB fun-loving wife Lili - she cooked
> dinners and breakfasts,  packed our lunch/snack bags/drinks and was a full
> team member in every respect! No ham could have a more supportive spouse.
>
>  Big thanks also to Bob K0RC for his amazing tracking sheets (and he is
> helping FCG big time by revamping our FQP records too - pse QRX), and to
> Chuck NO5W with his FB CQ/x contest software.  Both first rate guys with
> first rate tools that so many of us use- thanks again!
>
> To our fellow road warriors - well done!  Each of your results and
> writeups is eagerly awaited and just fantastic to read...CU on on the road!
>
> A huge tip of the hat to our many, many, many friends both in and out of
> state who tracked and worked us (or tried) repeatedly, put up with our QRX,
> QSY, QRQ, QRS, QRDeaf and QLF -
> *THANK YOU ALL!*
>
> Finally, sincere thanks to my vy FB teammates Kevin, Lu, Red, Bob and
> Larry - guys, sure hope we can do this craziness next year!  I am convinced
> Jim K4OJ is smiling down on this amazing little success story of ours.  :-)
>
> vy 73/OJ,
> Chris, NX4N team lead
> K4OJ Multi-Multi-Mobile
>
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