Open question to anyone who knows:
Besides promotion, defining the rules, judging the scores and announcing or awarding the winners, what else is required minimally for a QSOP? Other than participants, I mean!
It seems to me that evaluting the logs and judging scores is the most critical task. Without those, there is no QP. It's just a bunch of QSOs, right?
I think fundraising or soliciting award sponsors can require a lot of effort.
And if the sponsor does full log adjudication (checking every entry in
every log, like NO5W does for TQP), that can require a lot of effort.
NARS even types in all the TQP paper logs.
I think some of the smaller state QSO parties don't do full log checking,
but it's becoming more common.
It's hard for me to understand why State and Mobile QSOP seems to be such an arcane niche.
Sure, it takes an enormous amount of preparation and problem solving to build a moveable contest station, and there can be some frustration in that technical effort, but it is still a lot of fun. For me it is like a road trip for the sake of a road trip combined with a contest.
Got to agree with you on that.
I tried to drum up interest in TQP among some in the Austin area, but
found it to be tough. I'm unsure if I persuaded even one other op to get
on the air.
More than a few folks are interested in VHF/FM and Public Service only.
Others aren't interested unless there's a lot of DX to be worked.
For some, the limitations of their station mean that it may be difficult
to complete many contacts. My own home station is quite modest,
and only the fact that I'm "mostly morse" enables me to complete as
many contacts as I do.
State QSO parties even seem to appeal only to a few of the "big
time" contesters. There are several big contest stations in central
Texas, but few of them do TQP.
What fraction of NARS members do TQP?
And guys like Scott W5ESE have found a really cool niche by backpacking to the middle of nowhere in the Texas desert mountains and setting up wire antennas to do the contest QRP. How cool is that? Very few things get much better than a weekend like that.
Thanks, I'm glad that the style in which I participated in TQP appeals to
you, too. I sure have enjoyed it.
I've tried to encourage other QRP ops to participate in state QSO parties
that way by writing up a little puff piece about my adventures for the QRP
Quarterly. It made it into the Spring issue this year.
Hope to hear you in the TQP 2010!
73
Scott W5ESE
