It's a typical Saturday in April.  The weather in Michigan is warming as spring takes over from winter's icy grasp on the state.  Outside, a few dedicated individuals are starting their yard work.  A few even more dedicated individuals are testing the weather out on the golf courses.  But the most dedicated of them all are ignoring the attractions of the warming weather outside and are preparing for the 2004 Michigan QSO Party.

All over the state, Michiganders ready their stations.  Some, like the W8PIF team in Menominee County, the N8OS team in Cheboygan County, or the solitary N8EA in Tuscola County are readying wires hung from trees and other portable setups.  Some, like the K8MR, AF8A and WT9U rover teams are driving in from out of state to race around Michigan and activate multiple counties.  Some, like WB8ICU and KF8F in Bay County, K8UO in Macomb County, or K8MHO in Oakland County are readying MiQP operations from their club stations, in some cases for the first time.  But for many, getting ready for MiQP simply meant walking into the shack with some snacks to last the duration, switching on the gear, and getting ready to make QSOs.

At the start of the contest, WWV was reporting a solar flux of 123, with a K-index of 2, an A-index of 7 with a geomagnetic field that was quiet to unsettled.  There were few, if any thunderstorms nearby so the potential for quiet low-band conditions was good.  The big unknowns were the high bands; old Sol gave MiQPers some flux for the weekend, would the high frequencies (particularly 21 MHz) come through like they did in 2003?

Results

The results of the 2004 MiQP show the number of entries received were down 13% versus 2003 (178 vs. 206), but this is still the second highest number of entries received in modern era of MiQP.   Almost the entire drop came in the number of single-op logs (145, down from 178 in 2003). Multi-op entries (17) matched 2003, but the number of mobile rovers almost doubled (15 vs. 8 last year).  There was one checklog.

The number of unique callsigns appearing in the 2004 MiQP logs recovered slightly from 2003 - from 2418 to 2466.  The number of reported QSOs dropped from 29,840 in 2003 to 27251 - a 9% decrease.  Here is the breakdown of QSOs by band:

Compared to 2003, the biggest drop came on 40M SSB; almost 1700 QSOs or 18%.  80M CW was up 300 (16%) but 20M CW was down 600 (also 16%).  But by far the worst hit was 15M, dropping from 961 QSOs in 2003 to only 91 this year; a loss of 870 QSOs or 91%.  In 2004, CW took back some of the lead that it's historically held over SSB with regards to total QSOs, but the results still show a pretty even mix of activity.

While some of the activity metrics may be down, scores certainly weren't.  New scoring records were established for the in-state Multi-Op and Single-Op-QRP categories, while 26 new fixed station and 11 new mobile records were set this year at the county level.  New records were set in both the in-Michigan and outside-Michigan Club Competitions.  A new overall QSO record of 1315 was set by multi-op station W8MJ, and a new overall multiplier record of 212 by multi-op station K8AQM.  The K8MR/m rover station made 1052 QSOs - the first time ever the 1000 QSO milestone has been broken by a mobile.

For the fifth year straight we can report that all 83 Michigan counties were active during MiQP.  The five most active counties were Lenawee, Oakland, Washtenaw, Menominee and Livingston.  Four of those are repeats from 2003, with Livingston taking the place of Lapeer.  The five least active counties were St. Joseph, Allegan, Benzie, Newago and Luce. It's interesting to note that none of these were on the "least active" list last year.

From the out-of-state areas, QSOs were reported with 52 of 63 on CW, 59 of 63 on SSB and 59 of 63 overall.  This is almost identical to 2003. The five most active out-of-state areas were FL, PA, CA, WI and OH. Four of the five are repeats from 2003, with FL bumping IL and taking top spot.  The "no show" list dropped to four this year as one lucky MiQPer snagged a QSO with NF, while YB, PEI, NU and YT were still nowhere to be found.

Single Operator

Michigan High Power

High power wasn't very popular during MiQP this year as several of the usual participants moved into other categories.  Nonetheless, it was Duane Puro, K8AO operating from his home station in Delta County who took advantage of his louder signal to score the highest single-op score of the contest.  Second place goes to Neil, NX8C operating from home in Washtenaw County, while third goes to Cletus, K8TLT whose portable operation put rare Presque Isle County into a bunch of logs.

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: K8AO made most of his QSOs (255) on 40M SSB so we can't blame Duane for the contest's QSO shortfall on that band.  While 80% of his QSOs were on SSB, he worked enough CW to get a good mix of multipliers.  He was active the entire contest.

Michigan Low Power

The Michigan low power category was again a real battleground this year, with 41 entries and new faces in the top spots.  This year's winner was Doug Robotham, N8NX continuing Oakland County's winning streak in the category.  However, in second place was a station from the other side of the Detroit metro area, Paul, K8AAX from Washtenaw County.  Third place went to a MiQP first-timer, Earl, N5TU operating from Wayne County.

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: None of the top three stations put in full time during the contest.  N8NX had slightly less than eight hours, K8AAX slightly more than eight hours, while N5TU was under five hours.  All three focused heavily on 40M, but the big variation was in their choices of operating modes.  N8NX worked more SSB than CW, while K8AAX had more CW than SSB and N5TU was close to balanced between CW and SSB.

Michigan QRP

Activity in the Michigan single-op QRP category was up this year with some very fine scores.  Leading the way was Steve Murphy, N8NM operating from Oakland County with a new MiQP record for the in-state QRP category.  In second place was Ted, W8UE operating W8KW, the club station at Eastern Michigan University in Washtenaw County.  In third was last year's QRP leader  Ken, KC8LTL from Grand Traverse County.

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: The station setup at N8NM was a IC-765 throttled back to 5W, a TA-33 tribander at 40' and low band wires.  About 80% of Steve's QSOs were on 40M, and about 80% on CW.  W8KW, on the other hand, had about 50% on 40M with the rest evenly split between 80M and 20M.  Both stations had more than 11 hours operating time.

Out-State High Power

There are a lot of familiar callsigns in the out-state high power category, but the winning score in 2004 came from one that's perhaps unfamiliar to MiQP.  Jerry Chouinard, K5YAA from Oklahoma put together a clear leadership in both QSOs and multipliers to take the crown.  In second place is Dick, K9OM from FL , while John, K4BAI in GA slipped a notch to third after his runner-up finish in 2003.

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: K5YAA's OK QTH was far enough away from MI to allow 20M to work (75 QSOs), ideally positioned for 40M (103 QSOs) particularly as the contest wore on, and not too far away to take advantage of 80M (26 QSOs).  About 2/3 of his QSOs were on CW.  K9OM did better on 20M, but worse on 40M and 80M and could not keep up with Jerry's mults.  Both ops came close to putting in full time in the contest.

Out-State Low Power

This year, the out-state low power category was again the largest in the MiQP with 59 entries!  At the top of that tremendous pile of logs (again) was Keith Pederson, WA3HAE operating from PA.  In second place was transplanted Ohioan Ethan, K8GU operating from superstation W0AIH in WI while third place went to Jim, N9JF operating from neighboring IL.

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: The top three stations followed almost identical strategies - maximize 40M, get what was available on 80M at night, and almost no high band QSOs.  All three operated the full contest period, or close to it and were very close in the number of unique multipliers worked.  Even the band-by-band breakdowns were remarkably similar.  N9JF led in QSOs, but WA3HAE had a higher percentage of CW QSOs resulting in a slight lead in QSO points.  W0AIH wound up behind in QSO points, but tried to make a race of it with multipliers.  In the end, Keith's edge in QSO points and a clear lead in multipliers proved to be his margin of victory.

Out-State QRP

The out-state QRP category was led this year Paul Kirley, W8TM operating from neighboring OH.  In second place was Dave, K5MQ from (relatively) far away LA.  Third place went to Bud, WA2BQI from NY.

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: The old saying "There's no meters like fourty meters" pretty much sums up W8TM's winning effort.  All of Paul's 103 QSOs were on 40 CW.  The fact that his rig was an Elecraft K1 (which only works 40 CW) had something to do with it, along with an OH location which made it all work and more than eight hours in the operating chair.  Being further away, K5MQ had to rely more on 20M for the bulk of his QSOs, but Dave tried to make a race of it with QSOs on 40M and 80M as well, and on both CW and SSB.  WA2BQI made most of his QSOs on 40M and a few on 80M.

DX Single Operator

In 2004 we continued to see an increase in DX participation in the MiQP, and the highest DX score ever made in the modern era of MiQP.  That score belongs Helmut Krause, DL5MC operating from Germany, who lead all DX entries for the second year in a row.  Second place goes to Marco, I4IKW from Italy.  Tadeusz, SP4JWR increased his score almost 70% from 2003, but had to settle for a repeat finish in third place.

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: Time on the air is a major factor for the DX entries.  DL5MC had 7:30 operating time, while I4IKW had 5:23 and SP4JWR had 4:07.  The amount of time the bands were open to MI might have been a factor, as both DL5MC and SP4JWR made their first MiQP QSOs in the 16Z hour while I4IKW's first QSO came in the 18Z hour.  All three stations were making QSOs at the end of the contest.  One major advantage for DL5MC was his 11 QSOs on SSB (almost all multipliers) while his competition only ran CW.

Out of State Regional Competition

While the score listings shown above chronicle the out-of-state competition in terms of high, low. and QRP power, the MiQP recognizes that propagation in our event favors participants in the eastern half of the USA and Canada.  For this reason, the MiQP awards separate plaques to the top out-of-state single operator in the eastern (Eastern/Central time zones) and western (Mountain/Pacific time zones) regions.

The top single-op winner for the eastern USA out-of-state is Jerry Chouinard, K5YAA from Oklahoma.

The top single-op winner for the western USA out-of-state is Larry Lewis, K0RI from Colorado.

The MiQP committee congratulates both Jerry and Larry on their awards.

Most Counties Worked Out of State

This award is given each year to encourage out-state activity by giving the entrants something different to work for.  When shooting for a top points score, the out-of-state op has to maximize QSOs and multipliers, in many cases trading one against the other.  This award allows the patient, DXer type who enjoys searching and digging for multipliers to shine.

In 2004, the winner of the award for the Most Counties Worked From Out of State is Keith Pederson, WA3HAE operating from PA who managed to get 76 of the 83 MI counties into his log during the contest (which, by the way was the top low power out-state score as well).  Only two counties behind in second place was Jerry, K5YAA with 74.  Ethan, K8GU operating W0AIH and Jim, N9JF were tied for third with 73 counties, followed by Jim, K4AMC in fourth with 72.  Honorable mention goes to Paul, W8TM who worked 67 MI counties from his OH location using only 40M CW with QRP, no less.

Multi-Operator

In-State

The in-state multioperator category looked distinctly different in 2004 as two of the usual competitors stepped up their games, one new callsign appeared in the top three, and the traditional leader fell back to fourth.  Taking the top spot for the multi-ops this year was the team at K8AQM, leading the Adrian ARC onslaught from Lenawee County.  K8AQM also set a new overall multiplier record for the MiQP in the modern era.  In second place by virtue of a near photo-finish was another Lenawee entry, the team at K8AA.  In third place was the team from W8MJ which made Livingston County un-rare for the weekend.  W8MJ's 1315 QSOs were a new overall modern-era MiQP QSO record.  Fourth place goes to the M&M ARC team at W8PIF from Menominee county while fifth goes to yet another Lenawee entry, the team at KG8CO.

To show how close the competition was, K8AQM's margin of victory over K8AA was a slim 3186 points (less than one percent) which equates to only 11 QSOs or two multipliers!  The margin from K8AQM in first to W8MJ in third was only 1.5%!

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: The top three teams all operated from well-equipped, established stations with multiple rigs and 40M beams.  Needless to say, all three operated the entire contest.  Of the three "main" MiQP bands, the K8AQM team over 80 more QSOs than their rivals on 40M, where most of the mobile activity (and hence county multipliers) occurs.  The W8MJ team had almost a 50 QSO lead on 20M, while K8AA had a 23 QSO lead on 80M.  As mentioned before, K8AQM set a new overall multiplier record, and also led their competition in the number of unique multipliers worked.  W8MJ led in both in QSOs, and QSO points.

Out-State

Our only out-state multi-op this year gets the award for the "longest distance entry".  Club station RK2FWA from the Rosto Technical School in Kalingrad is a very successful station in DX contest circles.  Operators UA2FB and UA2FF put the station on the air for a brief period in MiQP, and we thank them for their participation.

Mobile Rover

Scores in the mobile rover category were down this year.  This year we had no entries over 200K (vs. three in 2003) and only three over 100K (vs. six in 2003). This year, skip on 40M (the most active band for the mobiles) was long for much of the contest making in-state QSOs harder to work, particularly on SSB.

Nonetheless, the K8MR/m rover team operating from 20 counties managed to put a record 1052 QSOs in their log - the first time ever that a mobile rover has broken the 1000 QSO barrier in the modern MiQP era.  In second place was the AF8A/m rover team who operated from 23 counties.  Repeating their third place finish from 2003 was the WT9U/m rover team (activating 25 counties) followed by  the K8IR/m rover team (all 15 UP counties ) in fourth.

It's interesting to note that three of the top four mobile teams came from outside of MI to participate in the MiQP.  Another observation is that while the four top scores are from "teams" (i.e., more than one op, or an operator and a driver), the scores from fifth on down are from "soloists" who did it all themselves.  Is there enough interest to have two mobile rover categories in MiQP - one from single-ops and another for multi-op teams?

HOW THE WINNER DID IT: From the line scores it can be seen that the K8MR/m team simply did everything better, leading the category in both QSOs (as mentioned earlier, a new record) and mults.  Here is the breakdown of their score:

band   CW SSB Total
------------------
80M    31   0    31
40M   671 179   850
20M   146  22   168
15M     0   1     1
10M     1   1     2
-------------------
Total 849 203  1052

K8MR/m's first hour of the contest was their worst with 69 QSOs.  The rate rose steadily to 99 in the 21Z hour before dropping back into the 70s for a couple of hours.  But once darkness started to fall, the team really started to make time.  Beginning with the 00Z hour, they ran off hours of 114, 105, 101 and 104 to finish the contest.

The K8MR/m setup is for the most part readily available off-the-shelf hardware, using a IC-746 with a combination of HamSticks and multi-band Hustler whips on a Ford Windstar minivan.  They use computer logging and set up the equipment much like a home station.  The key is to be able to identify when to change bands to accomplish it quickly so as to not lose time or rate.  Obviously, this is one team that has it down pat.

Club Competition

In-State Club

The number of Michigan clubs having a score attributed to them grew by two from 2003.  For 2004, the Adrian Amateur Radio Club finished on top the MiQP In-State Club Competition.  This is significant not only for the effort the Adrian ARC put forward, but also because in the MiQP modern era (i.e., since the contest was given an "extreme makeover" in 1999), only the Marinette & Menominee ARC or the Eastern MI ARC have won the title.  Now there is a third "giant" in the on the block...

Adrian's 2004 score of 1,063,028 obliterates the old record of 680,364 set by EMARC in 2002, and also marks the first time a club score has broken one million points in the modern MiQP era.  While the foundation of their score is clearly led by their three big multi-ops, they also had the largest number of entries attributed to a club by almost a 2:1 margin.  The Adrian ARC put forth a big effort in MiQP, and it shows.

The second place club was the Southeastern Michigan DX Association with 582,906 points  SEMDXA had only two entries, but again these were big multi-ops who finished 3rd and 7th in their category.  There is a lot of MiQP interest in SEMDXA, including sponsorship of one of the MiQP plaques so perhaps there is another giant looking to flex it's muscles?

In third place was the Marinette & Menominee ARC coming in third with a solid score just under a half million from just four entries.  M&M has been a consistent finisher in the competition for a number of years, but this is the lowest they've finished in the modern era.  Has the performance of the Adrian ARC in 2004 awakened a sleeping giant?  Perhaps we'll see in 2005.

Out-State Club

The MiQP Out-State club competition made a big jump in 2004, growing 50% to ten entries.  Jumping up from their fifth place finish in 2003 to win this year was the Minnesota Wireless Association with a new out-state record of over 125K.  MWA's effort was led by W0AIH, WA0MHJ and N0IJ,  who all finished in the top six in their category.

Reprising their second place finish from 2003 is the Society Of Midwest Contesters who more than doubled their score from last year.  SoMC's ten entries were led by N9JF who finished third in the out-state single-operator, low power category.  Third place goes to last year's winners the Florida Contest Group.  FCG bumped their 2003 score by 5K, led by K9OM who finished 2nd in the out-state single-operator, high power category but it was not enough to withstand the onslaught by MWA and SoMC.

Awards

The following individuals and organizations will receive a 2004 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!

Certificates and plaques should be in the hands of the winners no later than December 1, 2004.

The MiQP Committee would like to thank Everett Jackson, WZ8P and the team at Franklin Printing in Zanesville, OH for their assistance in creating the beautiful MiQP plaques.

High Score - Michigan Single Op - High Power

Sponsor: Hazel Park ARC

Winner: Duane Puro, K8AO

High Score - Michigan Single Op - Low Power

Sponsor: Eastern Michigan ARC

Winner: Doug Robotham, N8NX

High Score - Michigan Single Op - QRP

Sponsor: Michigan QRP Club

Winner: Steve Murphy, N8NM

High Score - Michigan Multi Op

Sponsor: Adrian ARC

Winner: Station K8AQM - Ops K8AQM, N8CC, W8IQ, ex-WB8LKL

High Score - Michigan Mobile

Sponsor: Flying Beers International ARC

Winner: Station K8MR/m - Ops K8MR, W8DRZ

High Score - Michigan Club

Sponsor: Mad River Radio Club

Winner: Adrian Amateur Radio Club

High Score - Out of State Single Operator, Eastern/Central

Sponsor: Washtenaw Amateur Radio Transmitting Society

Winner: Jerry Chouinard, K5YAA

High Score - Out of State Single Operator, Mountain/Pacific

Sponsor: Southeastern Michigan DX Association

Winner: Larry Lewis, K0RI

Most Counties Worked From Out of State

Sponsor: Cherryland ARC

Winner: Keith Pederson, WA3HAE

Soapbox

Sure wish the bands had been "more better"...see you in CQP - AA6DX  A little different working this contest from Florida, had a good time with it - AA8R  First time to send in a log for MiQP - K4AMC  Lots of fun. I was sorry when it ended at midnight.  Hope to see y'all in the FQP - K5KG  Fun contest for QRP from Louisiana - K5MQ  Last minute out-of-town travel plans forced me to cancel my 3rd annual MiQP mobile trip to the UP.  I set up a field day style temporary antenna and still had a lot of fun in the test.  One thing that was missed: no K8CC/M in the mobile fray this year!  Thanks MRRC for another great QSO party - K5OT  A few less QSOs than last year, and counties too.  W8MJ went to 15M for my only QSO there (probably his only one too!)  Hope to see a big Michigan turnout for CQP this year, October 2-3 - K6DGW  Hopefully this year we'll be the bride rather than the bride's maid! - K8AQM  I ran CW only and it was great to hear mobile and fixed stations on CW.  Made for a fun party - KN4Y  As usual, a great contest.  40 was just a bit too long from northern MN and was only able to hear, but not work, many of the UP stations.  Great job by the mobiles - N0IJ  I am sure I could have done more by calling CQ, but had an RF problem in the shack which I did not get resolved until nearly the end of the contest.  Was still fun giving out Nebraska - N0WY  Laptop died just before the contest and had to re-learn to use a paddle on CW.  Used a 25' high dipole on 40M and 10' high tri-band vee on 20M - N8EA  Despite a late start and unusual equipment setup, it was a fun first MiQP.  Glad to put Wayne County on the air.  Will attempt to do better next year.  Lots of DX stations joining in on the fun - N8MR  This was my first contest.  Thanks for the start! - N8PN  Great job by the mobiles, and a lot of fixed stations came out of the woodwork - N9JF  Nice contest - N9RV  Worked more CW contacts this year to get my score up.  Unfortunately, it seemed like a lot fewer MI stations were on the air this year.  It was a beautiful 80 degree day here, so I guess some ops will use any excuse not to play radio! - NG8U  I enjoyed participating in the QSO party - NJ0E  Thanks for WT9U for all the counties.  Looking forward to the OhQP! - NR8U  Too bad I cud not spend more time behind the set this year; in particular the first five hours.  Started at 21Z when 20M was fine but after two hours it was over.  Did not try 40M - PA3ARM  Work with penultimate county (Alcona - tnx K8MR/m).  Heard last county (Baraga - N9NE) but he could not copy us.  Maybe next year?  RK2FWA  I always enjoy the QSO parties because of the mobile activity.  Thanks to all - W1END  Too close for 20M, so 40M and 80M were it for me.  The mobiles did an outstanding job!  Thanks for a fun time and hope to see everyone in the PaQP - W3BBO  Hope to see everyone in CQP 2004 - W6ZZZ  
I needed 80M CW QSOs. Several strong stations were heard for several hours but none could hear my little peanut whistle.  Thanks for the contest - W7DRW  Thanks guys!  It was tons of fun - W8GQN  My score is lower than last year's.  Band conditions may have had something to do with it as I was hearing the UP stations and northern LP stations quite well, but not the southern LP.  Maybe next year will be better  - W8IDM  Rig Elecraft K1, 4W to an inverted-V - W8TM  Always good to work old friends - W9CEO (ex-N8CEO)  Another great event!  Plenty of top notch ops.  Kudos to the mobiles.  I wish I could have been one of them.  Maybe next year? - WA0MHJ  I wish I would have had more time to participate but family obligations took me away from the radio.  By far, 40M phone and CW were the band/modes for me here in the UP.  80M was nearly useless as the static crashes were so bad.  Really enjoyed the QSO party and I look forward to being in it again next year.  73 all - WB8RFB  Grand fun.  Thanks to all that made this possible, and to those that heard my 5W into simple wire antennas.  See you next year! - WC7S



Stories And Photos

From MiQP 2004

The AF8A/m team mounting antennas (l. W8AV, r. AF8A)

Team K8MR/m ready to go (l. K8MR, r. W8DRZ)

Earl, N5TU/8 (now N8SS)

K8IR/M Operating Position and Antennas

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