Single-Op

Multi-Op

Mobile / Rover

STANDING TNQP RECORDS

Thanks for participating in the 1997 Tennessee QSO Party! Activity was about the same as in 1996. Out-of-state scores were down somewhat, but in-state ones were considerably higher.

Jeff, KF4ZR won it easily again. Again, the key seems to be effective use of 20 SSB. KE4OAR and KI4ES also appeared in most logs. We had our first multi-operator entry this year. W4CAT's summary sheet looked like a Field Day summary; they used all the HF bands, and made 16 VHF QSOs as well. Remember, VHF QSOs do count in the TQP. WA3HAE, W4WS, and K4BAI were at the top of the out-of-state competition.

The quality of logs was very good this year, with only a handful of QSOs deleted for miscopied information. There was a bit of confusion as to what stations were and were not in Tennessee, with two out-of-state stations losing one QSO each for claiming a county that doesn't exist. (surprisingly, the non-existent counties don't exist in Alabama either -- I expected some of that because of the concurrent QSO Party in that state.) I suggest participants call "CQ TQP" (if you're in Tennessee) or "CQ TN" (if you aren't) to avoid this problem.

I apologize to in-state operators for an error in the TRLog multiplier files I posted on the TCG WWW page. An error in abbreviations meant those using these files couldn't enter "AR", "CA", or "CO" as multipliers. This problem also hit me (and rather quickly), I logged many of my first 100 QSOs on paper after a W6 called & I couldn't get TRLog to accept the QSO!

We had a lot of problems on CW (especially on 40 meters) due to the CQ WW RTTY contest occurring at the same time. The QRM kept the number of CW QSOs well below last year's levels. A check of the contest calendar suggests moving the TQP up one week should hopefully eliminate this problem, colliding only with the Scandanavian Activity Contest, the Washington State Salmon Run, and the 10GHz Cumulatives. The 1998 Tennessee QSO Party will be on Sunday, September 20.

There will be some changes to the rules for 1998. Under consideration is a "team" competition, allowing groups of 2-5 (maybe more?) entrants to submit a combined score in competition with other similar groups. These entrants would also be eligible for individual awards. The idea is to allow for clubs to participate as a group - and hopefully to spur some good-natured rivalry between clubs. Suggestions in this area -- or for other rule changes -- are appreciated, at the address below. We especially hope to encourage VHF/UHF operation; this can be a great way to boost the scores of your club's members, get Technicians interested in contesting, and work some of the rare counties in your area.

The scores [above]: (* indicates certificate winner)