2000 MiQP Results

What a difference band conditions can make! Compared to last year, when a solar flare disrupted the high bands and turned the contest into a single-band 80M affair by sunset, the 2000 Michigan QSO Party was blessed with stable conditions which allowed QSOs to be made on all of the contest bands. 40M and 20M were usable virtually the entire contest, and many stations made significant numbers of QSOs on 10M, particularly with freshly-minted /AG and /AE upgrades. 80M activity was low this year, which is surprising considering the short skip this band offers for working in-state stations.

Good conditions generally brings more activity, and while the number of entries was essentially the same as 1999, other indicators jumped tremendously. The total number of QSOs reported by entrants jumped over 50% to 10,713 contacts, while the total number of active stations (i.e., that appeared in one or more MiQP logs) jumped 40% to 1,972. In other indications of increased activity, the top multi-op QSO total almost doubled from 1999, and the top mobile rover jumped almost 62%.

The "All Michigan Counties" effort led by mobile rovers from the Mad River Radio Club had a major impact on the activity levels, as well as multiplier counts. The five mobile teams activated 81 of the 83 counties, missing only Menominee and Delta in the Upper Peninsula. However, Menominee had highly active fixed station and at least two stations reported QSOs with a station in Delta county, so all 83 Michigan counties were on the air during MiQP 2000! QSOs were reported with 82 counties on CW, and 81 counties on SSB. The five most active counties in terms of QSOs reported with were Oakland, Menominee, Grand Traverse, St. Clair and Lenawee, while the five least active counties were Gogebic, Schoolcraft, Allegan, Van Buren and Delta.

For the in-state stations, working county multipliers can be difficult due to skip so out-state multipliers are important. 59 of the 62 possible non-Michigan multipliers were worked by at least one station - missing were Yukon, Prince Edward Island and Labrador. QSOs were reported with 47 mults on CW and 58 on SSB.

The MiQP Committee congratulates all the entrants in the 2000 Michigan QSO Party for their participation. The 2001 Michigan QSO Party is tentatively scheduled for April 14-15, 2001, and the committee is hard at work making plans to make next year's contest even better.

Single operator entries are the life blood of MiQP. The individual amateur, operating from his or her home station make up the majority of participants every year. From within Michigan or from out of state, its the single op who pounds out contact after contact, providing county or state multipliers to other participants.

The MiQP rules were revised slightly for 2000, and the changes most affected the single-op category. The single-mode categories were eliminated, a change intended to encourage activity on both CW and SSB during the contest. Also eliminated were power multipliers for low-power and QRP entries. Instead, single operator scores are now categorized by power, with separate awards for each power level.

The Michigan single-op, high power winner is John Millet, K8JM from Lapeer County. Despite being a devout CW operator, John did what he had to for the contest and made 60% of his QSOs using the mic. His multiplier count of 154 led all single ops, doing an exceptional job of snagging the mobiles. His station (pictured at right) includes a FT-1000MP and Alpha 86 amplifier. Outside, the antenna farms consists of a pair of X7 tribanders, an A3, a 2L 40 and various wires.

Finishing in second place is Marty, K8MV from Crawford County in his first MiQP. In third place is MiQP veteran Dale, K8RO from Oakland County. Marty and Dale were close on QSO counts with Dale having the edge, but Marty's bigger multiplier total (again, gained from dilligently working the mobiles) proved to be the difference.

Out-state high power single-ops were led by veteran QSO party op Bill Hudzik, W2UDT from NY. In second was a surprise DX entry from Gedas, LY3BA who must have good ears because he managed to work many of the mobiles. In third was Tony, AK4ST from TN who enjoyed chasing the mobiles.

The Michigan single-op, low power winner is Ken Rogner, N8KR from Oakland County. Ken took an unusual path to his winning score. After missing the first three hours to another commitment, he started out on 7 MHz but quickly QSYd to 28 MHz SSB. He stayed there for the next several hours, with rates peaking at 87/hr during the 21Z hour. As sunset approached, he started working the lower bands to build his multiplier count, but made one last trip up to 28 MHz, finally leaving for good at 0233Z with over 300 QSOs on that band. Ken's station is running a IC-751A to an A3 tribander and dipoles.

In second place is Jim, K8IR from Menominee County in a close battle with Ian, K8MM who operated portable from Arenac County.

The out-state low power single-ops were led by 1999 winner Keith Pederson, WA3HAE from PA who is also the top overall out-state entry. Keith's QSO total jumped 59% from last year, but its his multiplier count which is quite amazing - 140 of the possible 166 mode-counties! In second place was Rich, KA8OKH from KY with Jeff, W9MSE from WI in third.

Repeating as Michigan single-op, QRP winner is Rick Arzadon, N8XI from Wayne County who managed to more than double his score from last year when he was WA8RXI. All of Rick's QSOs were on CW, with the majority on 7 MHz during daylight hours.

Second place goes to veteran QRPer Walt, K8CV from Oakland County in another all-CW effort. Walt's followed by Mike, KA1DDB who handed out the sometimes hard-to-find Dickenson County multiplier from way up in the Upper Peninsula.

The top out-state single-op, QRP score comes from Bob Nygren, N3RN from PA. Bob's score was also sixth highest overall among all out-state entries. In second place is Bob, N4BP from FL who had to rely on a sometimes fickle 14 MHz band for the majority of his MiQP QSOs. Art, W2NRD came in third.

For 2000, a new award was added to encourage out-state activity. This award is given to the out-state station who works the most Michigan counties during the contest. In the case of a tie in the number of counties worked, the total number of county multipliers (both CW and SSB) will be the determining factor.

Considering his winning out-state score, it might have seemed inevitable that Keith Pederson, WA3HAE would take home the award for most counties from worked out of state. And indeed he did, missing only Allegan, Benzie, Delta and Tuscola for 79 of the 83 Michigan counties. However, Keith had some serious competition from Jeff, W9MSE who worked 76 counties but did it all on CW! Rich, KA8OKH was third with 72 counties.

Multi-operator stations are the cornerstones of MiQP. The rules allow (and even encourage) the use of multiple transmitters, with the goal of making every possible QSO. Multi-operator stations can afford to spend time on bands or mode where activity is less, providing additional opportunities for QSOs.

The winning W8PIF team operated from this hunting cabin in Menominee county. They ran off generators to power TS-440, TS-450 & TS-850 rigs with SB-200, SB220 & AL-811 amplifiers. Antennas were three homebrew wires strung up in trees. This team had the largest QSO total of the contest, with their big bands being 40M and 20M, with a significant total on 10M as well. 71.2% of their QSOs were on SSB.

Last year's winning team K8DD managed to double their 1999 score, but had to settle for second place this time. They ran two transmitters, with 20M being their best band, yielding good runs in the later hours of the contest. 71.7% of their QSOs were on SSB.

The W8HP team from the Hazel Park ARC followed up their Huron county effort last year with an operation in Ogemaw county for 2000. They too were able to more than double their 1999 score, while using only 100W and wires from their portable location. 40M was their big band, and 71.5% of their QSOs were on SSB.

It is interesting to note that all three multi-operator entries had virtually identical ratios of CW to SSB QSOs. Also of note is the fact that two of the three multi-operator entries in MiQP 2000 were portable stations, set up at remote locations where a station does not normally exist expressly for the contest. In this regard, MiQP could be a "dry run" for ARRL Field Day which occurs two months later in June. Club groups take note.

Mobile rovers have always been an exciting part of the Michigan QSO Party. 2000 was no exception, as five mobile rover teams from the Mad River Radio Club set out with the goal to activate all 83 Michigan counties during the contest. The teams came within two counties of completing the goal, making over 2,600 mobile QSOs and handing out rare county multipliers to MiQP participants.

AA8U/m, operated by Bruce with second op Don-WX3M (shown at left pounding out MiQP QSOs) was to cover the central and western portions of the Upper Peninsula. Ignition noise plagued this team all weekend, and deteriorating road conditions with ice and snow at the west end of their route put them behind schedule and prevented them from activating Menominee and Delta counties. The rig was a FT-900 with homebrew and HamStick whips.

K8CC/m, operated by Dave with second op Ken-W8MJ was to cover the east end of the Upper Peninsula and the northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, 20 counties in all. This team completed its route, and activated a few additional counties to spare. The rig was a IC-756 with HamSticks for 80/40/20. The K8CC team has pioneered the use of mapping software to plan mobile routes in MiQP, and uses a global positioning system (GPS) receiver to stay on route during the contest. They almost never get lost...

K8MAD/m, operated by Tim-K9TM and Jeff-KU8E was to cover the northeast corner of the Lower Peninsula. This team completed its route, and added several counties through the middle lower portion of the state on their way home. The rig was a IC-756 and HamSticks for 80/40/10/15, and they ran a computer-generated route with GPS for navigation.

K8XXX/m, operated by Dave-K8AA, Ted-K8AQM, Brian-KG8CO and Mark-NU8Z was to cover the southwest portion of the Lower Peninsula. This team suffered RFI problems the entire trip, however they successfully completed their route, and added a few counties to spare. The rig was a FT-100 with a Yaesu whip for 40-10. They ran a computer-generated route with GPS for navigation.

W8RU/m, operated by Ron and Jim-K8MR was to cover the southeast portion of the Lower Peninsula. This team completed its route, and added a few counties to spare. The rig was a IC-746 and HamSticks for 80/40/20.

There was one additional mobile entry submitted. Jerry, N8KLX got the MiQP bug and went out mobile by himself. Problems with his mobile antenna limited power output to 30W, but Jerry put Crawford, Montmorency and Oscoda counties into a bunch of MiQP logs.

One change for MiQP 2000 concerned the method for calculating the overall score for mobile entries. Previously, mobile scores were calculated by adding up the individual county scores (QSO points x mults). For 2000, mobile scores were calculated by multiplying the total QSO points from all counties times the number of unique multipliers worked from all counties. The latter method is used by the ARRL for rover entries in VHF/UHF contests and strikes a balance between fixed and mobile scores which is important for club competition.

The K8CC/m team repeated their 1999 MiQP victory due to a clear edge in both QSOs and multipliers. Their secret was focusing equally on both CW and phone, and also having two mobile whips installed on the vehicle at all times, allowing instant QSY between two bands.

Second place was a closely fought battle between the W8RU/m and K8MAD/m teams. While both teams had essentially the same ratio of CW to phone QSOs, K8MAD had more overall QSOs but W8RU finished ahead on the basis of their higher multiplier count.

Both the K8XXX/m and AA8U/m scores show the effects of the problems experienced by these teams. K8XXX's Achilles' heel was a low multiplier count, attributable entirely to their problems on SSB. On the other hand, AA8U struggled to make QSOs due to the ignition QRN, but managed to find enough mults for the second best mult count behind K8CC.

The Michigan QSO Party Club Competition for Michigan clubs is designed to encourage activity in the contest and recognize those clubs whose efforts have contributed towards the MiQP.

The table below shows the results of the Michigan Club Competition. The number of operators which contributed to the club score is shown since it includes the operators at multi-op stations, which is more representative of the total number of people who contributed to that club's score.

Club Name	Operators	Score
Marinette & Menominee ARC	5	282,437
Eastern Michigan ARC	6	165,951
Hazel Park ARC	7	101,760
L'Anse Creuse ARC	4	54,476
Cherryland ARC	5	52,191
Motor City RC	2	11,232
Michigan QRP ARC	1	7,360

Congratulations to the Marinette and Menominee Amateur Radio Club for their victory in the Michigan Club Competition. Their club members made over 1200 QSOs in MiQP. Second place goes to the Eastern Michigan Amateur Radio Club who accumulated almost 800 MiQP QSOs followed by the Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club totaling almost 500 MiQP QSOs.

It is interesting to note that each of the top three clubs had a full-time multi-op entry as the foundation for their scores. The Cherryland and L'Anse Creuse clubs had more individual entries, however they lacked a big multi to build their score around.

Many Michigan entries failed to attribute their scores to a Michigan club. Next year, make sure your score gets credited to your Michigan club!

The following individuals and organizations will receive a 2000 Michigan QSO Party plaque for winning their respective categories. The remaining top five entries in each category will receive a MiQP Certificate of Accomplishment. Congratulations to all of the winners!

The MiQP committee expresses our thanks to the Michigan clubs and individuals who have supported the MiQP awards program.

Thanks to the many mobile CW ops who were able to activate so many Michigan counties during this event, and also to all the other CW ops who participated as well. Thanks also to the Contest Committee for keeping the two points per CW contact rule in effect - AA9KH 10 and 15 dead for local contacts from my location. enjoyed chasing the mobiles - AK4ST Having 14 MHz this time made a big improvement in our score. 7 MHz had activity around the clock, but 3.5 MHz was light compared to last year - K8CC Better band conditions, more participants, and the rovers sure made this one a lot of fun to operate this year - K8MM It was fun working the MRRC mobiles in the various counties. I had to quit to go to a concert. Next year I hope my schedule allows me to devote full time to the activity. Thanks for all the time and effort to make this event happen! - K8SB Lots of fun chasing those mobile stations as they move around - KG4BIG Aurora has played a bad role again - LY3BA Conditions seemed very poor. Almost impossible getting through to mobiles on phone with QRP. CW mobiles quickly learned to recognize my call - N4BP Last hours of operation from the Marysville QTH. Packed a box, worked a station or two, then packed another box - N8CQA First time in Michigan QSO party. Had a ball, but hard to run mobile solo. Lack of a 75 meter antenna hurt the score, and antenna problems limited power out to about 30 watts - N8KLX Loads of fun! Good time chasing the mobiles on CW - NA2X Great contest! Rules are set up just right. Keeps it interesting for out-of-state contesters. It took me a while to realize that the rovers were changing counties fast. Speaking of the rovers, they did a superb job. Good ears, good fists and always above S5. Hope to hear all of you next year - NY1S Better conditions this year, but not enough time available. See you again next year - VE3WZ Lots of fun; the mobiles did a great job! Activity on 80M was very disappointing - VA3IX Worked just about anyone I could hear. Didn't seem to be very many stations on the air or else propagation was poor. Enjoyed my first Michigan QSO party - WØEBA Sorry for the poor score. Conditions were really bad and my time was limited. Maybe next year will be better - W4NTI 14 MHz not so good. Did not try other bands. Hope CU all next time - W5NR We all had a great time. Operated Field Day style with generator power and wires in the trees from a deer camp in Menominee County. The first time we have used the club call in a contest besides Field Day. Look for us next year. Thanks to all that worked us - W8PIF I had a BLAST!!!! Missed 4 counties, so no sweep, but I enjoyed chasing all of the mobiles as they wound their way around the state. Thanks to all of you who moved to give me the mults on the other mode. See you next year for some more FUN! - WA3HAE Band conditions on 80 made it difficult to work other Michigan counties. Most of my counties came on 40M. All in all I had fun and that's what its all about. I sure worked a lot of /AG and /AE's. I took the time to congratulate all on their upgrades. Many said that I was their first HF contact. I guess I better check my supply of QSL cards - WD8DJB