The 1997 Michigan QSO Party

By Hank Kohl, K8DD

The "Return of the Michigan QSO Party" is history. The QSO Party has been absent for the past few years after a long run of Michigan QSO Parties run by the Oak Park Amateur Radio Club. The traditional dates for the MI QSO Party were taken by the Dayton Hamvention and since they probably get most of the Hams in the State of Michigan who would normally operate the QSO party, there were a year or two without the activity.

Sometime in 1996 there were a few conversations on the Great Lakes Packetcluster System regarding the lack of a MI QSO Party. The Eastern Michigan Amateur Radio Club (EMARC) and the Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club (HPARC) got together and decided it was time to get the MI QSO Party back on the air. We decided to keep it basically the same so that the NA Logging Program, which does a fine job on the QSO parties, and any of the other logging programs would not need any major changes.

The 1997 changes

There were two significant changes. It has always been a problem scoring VE’s. Unlike MI QSO Parties of the past, most of the other contests count States/Provinces/Countries. So we added Canadian provinces to the multiplier list. Very easy to add the provinces to the NA Logging program and an updated multiplier file was (and still is) available from K8DD (k8dd@contesting.com). This change only applies to MI stations.

The second change, which applies to all stations, was the cause of some questions this year. Every time you work a known club station (and hopefully they advertised the fact) you get five additional points for the QSO. Work K or W8XXX on a 4 county line and you get 20 points plus the QSO points. We may not have been clear enough about this change, but we checked all the logs submitted and gave credit for all the club stations that we were aware of that operated in the 1997 event.)

Plaque Winners

HPARC and EMARC would like to thank the sponsors of the following plaques and the congratulate the winners of those plaques for their fine jobs:

Plaque Sponsor Winner
High Score - Lower Peninsula Michigan Lenawee Co. Contest Club K8BK
High Score - Upper Peninsula Michigan Adrian Amateur Radio Club K8IR
High Score - MI Club Hazel Park ARC Lenawee Co. Contest Club
High Score - QRP MI QRP Club N3RN
High Score - Multi-Op Eastern MI ARC W8XXX
High Score - Mobile Law Offices of W8RC NW8W
High Score - Out of State Oakland Co ARS NY4N
High Score - Check Log Eastern MI Contest Club K8XXX

Michigan Stations

Call

Class

County

CW

Phone

QSO's

Mult

Club

Score

Club
             

Stns

    

W8XXX

M/S

7 cntys

578

1069

1647

85

5

191250

Lenawee Co. Contest Club

K8BK

S/O

Gr.Traverse

152

598

750

85

16

83470

Bay Area Dxers

W8TNO

M/S

Oakland

93

608

701

85

9

71315

OCARS

W8MJ

S/O

Livingston

163

252

415

74

15

48322

Mad River Radio Club

KB8O

S/O

Oakland

116

274

390

68

13

38828

SEMDXA

N8TC

S/O

Gr.Traverse

153

124

277

65

19

34125

Bay Area Dxers

W8JXU

M/S

Ogemaw

207

75

282

65

4

33085

HPARC

W8XI

S/O

St. Clair

11

218

229

68

11

20060

EMARC

K8IR

S/O

Menominee

122

33

155

52

17

18824

M+M ARC

K8EPV

S/O

St Clair

82

118

200

59

7

18703

EMARC

WB8BUQ

S/O

Oakland

96

89

185

52

4

15652

  

KG8OU

S/O

St Clair

  

229

229

61

5

15494

EMARC

WA9YEF/8

S/O

Houghton

101

56

157

38

25

14554

  

K8NB

S/O

Menominee

79

81

160

52

6

13988

Bay Area Dxers

W8YY

M/S

Houghton

  

193

193

56

4

11928

Husky ARC

K8RO

S/O

Oakland

89

69

158

43

3

11266

Lanse Creuse ARC

N8QVP

S/O

Gr.Traverse

  

150

150

61

6

10980

Bay Area Dxers

KB8IBS

S/O

Wayne

  

182

182

53

3

10441

  

W8WVU

S/O

Lenawee

102

  

102

43

6

10062

  

K8LJG

S/O

Genesee

95

  

95

36

4

7560

  

W8QGP

S/O

Hillsdale

  

95

95

47

11

7050

  

W8YL

S/O

Lenawee

65

  

65

35

8

5950

  

N8MG

S/O

Ogemaw

13

83

96

43

5

5762

HPARC

N8CQA

QRP

St Clair

55

17

72

32

10

5664

EMARC

KG8WI

S/O

Branch

  

85

85

45

7

5400

N8UVD

S/O

Gr.Traverse

  

88

88

44

6

5192

Bay Area Dxers

NW8W

Mobile

13 cntys

  

129

129

31

5

4774

Lanse Creuse ARC

W8MRM

M/S

Wayne

75

2

77

29

  

4408

Motor City Radio Club

WB8ATZ

S/O

Oakland

  

72

72

41

5

3977

K8CV

S/O

Oakland

46

  

46

28

2

2856

SEMDXA

W8YNY

S/O

Iron

20

21

41

19

9

2014

  

KB8WMW

S/O

St Clair

  

52

52

24

3

1608

EMARC

K8KIR

S/O

Alger

31

  

31

20

3

1540

  

WD8S

S/O

Ogemaw

  

52

52

26

  

1352

HPARC

N8KR

S/O

Oakland

14

18

32

20

1

1020

Mad River Radio Club

KA8AMX

S/O

St Clair

  

36

36

12

2

552

EMARC

AC8W

S/O

St Clair

4

15

19

12

4

516

EMARC

W8HJP

S/O

Macomb

11

7

18

10

3

440

Lanse Creuse ARC

N8SVI

S/O

St Clair

  

27

27

9

1

288

EMARC

N8LMT

S/O

Sanilac

  

15

15

7

4

245

  

N8EXE

M/S

St Clair

  

28

28

7

1

231

EMARC

W8LC

S/O

Oakland

  

14

14

11

1

209

Lanse Creuse ARC

K8DD

Mobile

St Clair

0

5

5

2

1

20

EMARC

KB8WMW

Mobile

Lapeer

  

6

6

1

1

11

EMARC

KB8QNB

S/O

St Clair

  

5

5

1

1

10

EMARC

KB8WMW

Mobile

Sanilac

  

4

4

1

  

4

EMARC

K8XXX

M/S

7 cntys

320

502

822

80

1

91760

MRRC Check Log

 

The Michigan Single Ops

Great competition in the Single Op class in Michigan. K8BK did a fine job from Grand Traverse County taking first place in the state. Congratulations to Barry. Ken, W8MJ, came in second, and KB8O third with N8TC a close fourth. It was really nice to see the Michigan stations turn out for the QSO Party.
Call Class County CW Phone QSOs Mults

Club

Stns

 Score   Club
K8BK

S/O

 Gr. Traverse 152 598 750 85 16 83470   Bay Area DXers
W8MJ S/O Livingston 163 252 415 74 15 48322   Mad River Radio Club
KB8O S/O Oakland 116 274 390 68 13 38828   SEMDXA
N8TC S/O Gr. Traverse 153 124 277 65 19 34125   Bay Area DXers
W8XI S/O St. Clair 11 218 229 68 11 20060   EMARC
K8IR S/O Menominee 122 33 155 52 17 18824   M&M ARC
K8EPV S/O St. Clair 82 118 200 59 7 18703   EMARC
WB8BUQ S/O Oakland 96 89 185 52 4 15652    
KG8OU S/O St. Clair   229 229 61 5 15494   EMARC
WA9YEF/8 S/O Houghton 101 56 157 38 25 14554    
K8NB S/O Menominee 79 81 160 52 6 13988   Bay Area DXers
K8RO S/O Oakland 89 69 158 43 3 11266   L'Anse Creuse ARC
N8QVP S/O Gr Traverse   150 150 61 6 10980   Bay Area DXers
KB8IBS S/O Wayne   182 182 53 3 10441    
W8WVU S/O Lenawee 102   102 43 6 10062    
K8LJG S/O Genesee 95   95 36 4 7560    
W8QGP S/O Hillsdale   95 95 47 11 7050    
KG8WI S/O Branch   85 85 45 7 5400    
W8YL S/O Lenawee 65   65 35 8 5950    
N8MG

S/O

 Ogemaw 13 83 96 43 5 5762   HPARC
N8UVD

S/O

 Gr. Traverse   88 88 44 6 5192   Bay Area DXers
WB8ATZ S/O Oakland   72 72 41 5 3977    
K8CV S/O Oakland 46   46 28 2 2856   SEMDXA
W8YNY S/O Iron 20 21 41 19 9 2014    
KB8WMW S/O St. Clair   52 52 24 3 1608   EMARC
K8KIR S/O Alger 31   31 20 3 1540    
WD8S S/O Ogemaw   52 52 26 0 1352   HPARC
N8KR S/O Oakland 14 18 32 20 1 1020   Mad RIver Radio Club 
KA8AMX S/O St. Clair   36 36 12 2 552   EMARC
AC8W S/O St. Clair 4 15 19 12 4 516   EMARC 
W8HJP S/O Macomb 11 7 18 10 3 440   L'Anse Creuse ARC
N8SVI S/O St. Clair   27 27 9 1 288   EMARC
N8LMT S/O Sanilac   15  15 7 4 245    
W8LC S/O Oakland   14  14 11 1 209    L'Anse Creuse ARC
KB8QNB S/O St. Clair   5 5 1 1 10   EMARC 

Soapbox I discovered a new type of interference - modem, kids, homework, and wife interference. HI (W8HJP) How about that KB8O with 351 QSO’s. Must be a professional contester. (WB8LCZ) Nice party - wish I could’ve spent more time on air (W8YNY) Not as much activity as expected. Many of the counties I would always expect were not heard such as: Macomb, Wayne, Kent, Saginaw (W8QGP) Had old version of NA Canada only gives 1 mult worked VE3, VE4, VE2 (2 more mults) Good contest! Lots of fun. (WB8BUQ) My first QSO Party (K8KIR) [And we hope to see you next year - ed] Glad the QSO Party is back. I had a lot of fun. Very little 75 activity during the day, where was the rest of Michigan (K8NB) Great fun!! Tnx for all your efforts in sponsoring this test!! (N8QVP) Great Contest - Glad you revived it. Hopefully we can get a few more club stations involved next year!. (N8TC)

 

The Multi Ops

W8XXX, the Lenawee County Contest Club, operated from 7 counties and made over 1600 QSO’s. It sure helps to operate from county lines! They not only won the Multi-Single plaque, but they also get the club plaque. The operators were N8CC, K8AQM, NU8Z and KG8CO. The second place Multi-Single, W8TNO from the Oakland County ARS, with 8 operators, did a fine job from Oakland County. And the third place went to W8JXU/8 with two operators - WD8S and N8MG - in Ogemaw County. In fourth place was W8YY from Michigan Tech in the UP. Six ops and all bands from 80 M through 70 cm. The fifth place Multi did a fantastic job - Mobile. Ted, NW8W, and John, N8FYL, operated from 13 counties. In sixth place not far behind Ted and John was the Motor City Radio Club, W8MRM, with a group of ops that the club is training for Field Day and future QSO Parties. And in seventh place was a grandmother and grandson team of Ellie, N8EXE, and her grandson Dan, KB8TIO. And last, but not least, was a CHECK LOG! The club station K8XXX turned in 822 QSO’s, 4 operators from 7 counties. Check logs don’t count for score, but they do count for the "new for 1997" Check Log Plaque!

Call Class County CW Phone QSOs Mults

Club

Stns

 Score
W8XXX

M/S

 7 counties 578 1069 1647 85 5 191250
W8TNO M/S Oakland 93 608 701 85 9 71315
W8JXU M/S Ogemaw 207 75 282 65 4 33085
W8YY M/S Houghton   193 193 56 4 11928
W8MRM M/S Wayne 75 2 77 29 0 4408
N8EXE M/S St. Clair   28 28 7 1 231

The Mobiles

There were several Mobile stations this year. Mobile has never been defined as Single-Op Mobile or Multi-Op Mobile. Besides, there were no serious contenders for the Plaque, so it goes to the Multi-Op Mobile crew of NW8W + N8FYL of the Lanse Creuse ARC. The other mobiles were K8DD, K5XY (New Mexico) and KB8WMW (two counties) in that order. Mobile can be a lot of fun, but it is probably one of the hardest classes in which to compete.

Call Class County CW Phone QSOs Mults

Club

Stns

 Score
NW8W

Mobile

 13 counties 0 129 129 31 5 4774
K8DD Mobile St. Clair 0  5 5 2 1 20
KB8WMW Mobile Lapeer 0 6 6 1 1 11
K5XY Mobile NM 2  0 2 1 1 9
KB8WMW Mobile Sanilac 0 4 4 1 0 4

The QRP’ers

This year there were some serious QRP ops out there. Most of them were from out of state in New Jersey and Pennsylvania! The plaque for the "High Score QRP" is sponsored by the Michigan QRP Club. Congratulations to N3RN for a fine effort. The QSO counts were low for QRP, but the Club Station count really helped get the scores up!

Call Class County CW Phone QSOs Mults

Club

Stns

 Score
N3RN

QRP

 PA 40 29 69 25 27 6100
N8CQA QRP St. Clair 55  17 72 32 10 5664
K3WWP QRP PA 21 0 21 13 7 1001
N2CQ QRP NJ 11  0 11 22 3 814

The Club Competition

These were are where the 5 point stations come from. Five points every time you work the club stations. We do not think we missed any MI club stations that participated in the Michigan QSO Party. In several cases the points from working club stations changed the standings. We checked all logs for club station points and in almost every case the scores went up!

After many years (about 8 or 9) of MI QSO Party domination by the Lanse Creuse ARC, followed by the Eastern Michigan ARC for a lot of years, we have a new leader in club competition. The Lenawee Co. Contest Club edged out the Bay Area Dxers followed by the OCARS with the single entry of W8TNO. Not far behind OCARS came EMARC, the Mad River Radio Club, SouthEastern MI DX Association and the Hazel Park ARC all within a few points apart.

Score Club Name Club Station
191250 Lenawee Co. Contest Club K8XXX
148755 Bay Area DXers
71315 OCARS W8TNO
56636 EMARC K8EPV
49204 Mad River Radio Club
41684 SEMDXA
40199 HPARC W8JXU
21443 Outlaw Wireless League
18874 M&M ARC
16249 LCARC N8LC
11928 Michigan Tech University W8YY
4406 Motor City Radio Club W8MRM
No score submitted Lapeer Co. Contest Club KK8U
Check Log Eastern MI COntest Club W8XXX

The Michigan Certificates

The following stations will be getting Michigan QSO Party certificates for the high score in their classes in their MI county.

Call

Class

County

CW

Phone

QSO's

Mult

Club

Score

Club
             

Stns

    

K8KIR

S/O

Alger

31

  

31

20

3

1540

  

KG8WI

S/O

Branch

  

85

85

45

7

5400

K8LJG

S/O

Genesee

95

  

95

36

4

7560

  

K8BK

S/O

Gr.Traverse

152

598

750

85

16

83470

Bay Area Dxers

W8QGP

S/O

Hillsdale

  

95

95

47

11

7050

  

WA9YEF/8

S/O

Houghton

101

56

157

38

25

14554

  

W8YNY

S/O

Iron

20

21

41

19

9

2014

  

KB8WMW

Mobile

Lapeer

  

6

6

1

1

11

EMARC

W8WVU

S/O

Lenawee

102

  

102

43

6

10062

  

W8MJ

S/O

Livingston

163

252

415

74

15

48322

Mad River Radio Club

W8HJP

S/O

Macomb

11

7

18

10

3

440

Lanse Creuse ARC

K8IR

S/O

Menominee

122

33

155

52

17

18824

M+M ARC

W8TNO

M/S

Oakland

93

608

701

85

9

71315

OCARS

KB8O

S/O

Oakland

116

274

390

68

13

38828

SEMDXA

W8JXU

M/S

Ogemaw

207

75

282

65

4

33085

HPARC

N8MG

S/O

Ogemaw

13

83

96

43

5

5762

HPARC

N8LMT

S/O

Sanilac

  

15

15

7

4

245

  

W8XI

S/O

St Clair

11

218

229

68

11

20060

EMARC

KB8IBS

S/O

Wayne

  

182

182

53

3

10441

  

W8MRM

M/S

Wayne

75

2

77

29

  

4408

Motor City Radio Club

Congratulations to all the county certificate winners. There were some counties that we noticed in logs where entries were not turned in. Certificates go to the high score from each county in each class. The certificates are being printed by the Adrian Amateur Radio Club.

 

The Out-of-State Stations

Call

Class

State

CW

Phone

QSO's

Mult

Club

Score

Club
             

Stns

    

WA5PTI

S/O

AR

  

50

50

20

17

2700

  

N6PE

S/O

CA

5

3

8

8

7

384

  

NY3C

S/O

DE

32

45

77

25

25

5850

  

K4BAI

S/O

GA

53

12

65

20

32

5560

  

W9OO

S/O

IL

56

67

123

38

34

13262

  

K9OM

S/O

IL

42

37

79

25

24

6025

  

K9ZZE

S/O

IL

  

16

16

13

4

468

Wheaton Comm. Amateurs

K9DIY

S/O

IN

23

1

24

13

8

1131

  

K9JWI

S/O

IN

12

  

12

9

4

396

  

K4WW

S/O

KY

15

50

65

32

10

4160

KY Contest Group

KE4LIA

S/O

KY

9

  

9

9

4

342

  

WA1LXP

S/O

MA

  

30

30

19

15

1995

  

AK7J

S/O

MN

19

11

30

21

12

2289

  

K0SGV

S/O

MO

41

27

68

24

18

4776

  

K0YIP

S/O

MO

32

25

57

20

18

3580

  

K0LWV

S/O

MO

23

  

23

17

6

1292

  

K1BV

S/O

NH

23

14

37

22

15

2970

  

KB2JTY

S/O

NJ

  

22

22

15

7

855

  

N2CQ

QRP

NJ

11

  

11

22

3

814

  

K5XY

Mobile

NM

2

  

2

1

1

9

  

W2EZ

S/O

NY

12

  

12

13

9

897

  

W2HCA

S/O

NY

16

11

27

12

6

876

  

WB2AIV

S/O

NY

  

14

14

12

9

708

  

N2KYP

S/O

NY

  

3

3

3

  

9

  

VA3TEE

S/O

ON

36

4

40

16

21

2896

  

VE3WZ

S/O

ON

23

18

41

19

16

2736

  

WA3HAE

S/O

PA

59

105

164

46

34

18078

Weekend Warriors

WT3H

S/O

PA

60

68

128

33

46

13794

Outlaw Wireless League

WB3AAL

S/O

PA

46

39

85

23

34

6923

Outlaw Wireless League

N3RN

QRP

PA

40

29

69

25

27

6100

  

WA3JXW

S/O

PA

36

15

51

18

11

2556

  

K3WWP

QRP

PA

21

  

21

13

7

1001

  

KM3D

S/O

PA

18

  

18

11

6

726

Outlaw Wireless League

VE5BCS

S/O

SK

3

8

11

8

7

392

  

NY4N

S/O

TN

71

91

162

36

56

18468

  

K5LH

S/O

TX

68

  

68

21

24

5376

  

W3DYA

S/O

TX

27

  

27

16

13

1904

  

N5TU

S/O

TX

14

21

35

16

11

1664

Texas DX Society

W5NR

S/O

TX

8

3

11

9

4

351

  

K4UK

S/O

VA

47

6

53

23

20

4600

Roanoke Valley ARC

W4XD

S/O

VA

39

  

39

20

9

2460

  

W4ZPR

S/O

VA

18

  

18

13

10

1118

  

WA8WV

S/O

WV

30

4

34

17

9

1853

  

The Out-of-State Certificates

The following stations will be getting Michigan QSO Party certificates for the high score in their classes outside the State of MI.

WA5PTI

S/O

AR

50

50

20

17

2700

N6PE

S/O

CA

5

3

8

8

7

384

  

NY3C

S/O

DE

32

45

77

25

25

5850

  

K4BAI

S/O

GA

53

12

65

20

32

5560

  

W9OO

S/O

IL

56

67

123

38

34

13262

  

K9DIY

S/O

IN

23

1

24

13

8

1131

  

K4WW

S/O

KY

15

50

65

32

10

4160

KY Contest Group

KE4LIA

S/O

KY

9

  

9

9

4

342

  

WA1LXP

S/O

MA

  

30

30

19

15

1995

  

AK7J

S/O

MN

19

11

30

21

12

2289

  

K0SGV

S/O

MO

41

27

68

24

18

4776

  

K1BV

S/O

NH

23

14

37

22

15

2970

  

KB2JTY

S/O

NJ

  

22

22

15

7

855

  

K5XY

Mobile

NM

2

  

2

1

1

9

  

W2EZ

S/O

NY

12

  

12

13

9

897

  

VA3TEE

S/O

ON

36

4

40

16

21

2896

  

WA3HAE

S/O

PA

59

105

164

46

34

18078

Weekend Warriors

VE5BCS

S/O

SK

3

8

11

8

7

392

  

NY4N

S/O

TN

71

91

162

36

56

18468

  

K5LH

S/O

TX

68

  

68

21

24

5376

  

K4UK

S/O

VA

47

6

53

23

20

4600

Roanoke Valley ARC

WA8WV

S/O

WV

30

4

34

17

9

1853

  

Soapbox Enjoyed the contest very much. The Michigan operators were very courteous on the air. Would like to thank theMobiles for their help, especially K8GM and NW8W…… NY4N Few MI signals heard here on 40 and 20 Hope condx improve next year. W5NR I enjoy working QSO Parties & will give urs a try again next year.Your method of multi-numbers for multi-county contacts is confusing --- why not one number as others do? (Done! Ed.) Cu next year. VE3WZ Would have liked to spend more time on the air but not this time. N2 CQ I enjoyed the 1997 Michigan QSO Party very much. Sory I couldn’t hear MI stations on 20M from my QTH. I like the layout of your log sheets. AK7J Nice turnout from MI. WA8WV Nice to work old friends again. W9OO Had great time for this years QSO Party. No prop on 20 or 15 K0GSV Activity was fair, but conditions not too hot during the day. Not sure whether I have scored it properly. …. K4UK Enjoyed your restart. Put more CW stations on next time 73 W4XD I enjoyed the MI QSO Party. Was surprised to hear W8XXX after having worked K8XXX earlier. 73 W4ZPR Was fun. Cu next year. NY3C Enjoyed the party; just wish I’d had more time to participate KM3D Glad to have theMI party back. Hope more activity next year K1BV Thanks for a nice QSO Party - See you next year… WA3JXW I had lot of fun. Hope to hear everyone in the PA QSO Party! WB3AAL All contacts 5 watts or less. I had a real nice time! I appreciate the "honest" signal reports I received from many stations. N3RN Welcome back! I did not remember until Sunday. I will be back next year for more than 1 hour. K9JWI Thanks to all who participated! I missed a few years due to college and I decided to give it another try. Boy, am I glad I did… NW8W/M really gave me some needed counties and the club stations, the points! Thanks again and hope to see you again next time WA3HAE

 

73 and thanks to everyone who operated in the 1997 "Return of the Michigan QSO Party". EMARC & HPARC hope to see you back in 1998.

 

Mark your calendars!

Michigan QSO Party

April 18 - 19, 1998

 

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