[MiQP-Mail] Rover category

n8xx at arrl.org n8xx at arrl.org
Fri Apr 25 19:43:00 EDT 2008


Earl: 

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  I've never been to Rome, Italy, but I 
believe I was in some town called Rome in the Untied States.   When in 
Illinois during the Illinois QSO Party, do as the Illini do.  The powers 
that be say that I can claim operation in four counties if I'm within 600' 
of the four county intersection.  So, I set up and make sure I'm within that 
radius.  When in Indiana, do as the Hoosiers do.  I'm looking for a place to 
operate in Indiana at a location which will qualify me as being in two 
counties - I haven't found it yet, but I hope to do so before May 3.  
Indiana is about 100 miles from my location, so even with gasoline @ 
$3.69/gallon I'll probably make a trip down there. 

When I'm a resident of Michigan, and a member of the sponsoring 
organization, I believe I have as much of a right as any other member to 
express my thoughts on how a sponsored event like the Michigan QSO Party is 
run.  I don't expect each and every one of my ideas to be acted upon, but I 
don't believe that my ideas should be ignored or discarded unilaterally.  
I've been beaten up for making suggestions which have supposedly been 
discarded in the past, but my shoulders are broad. 

I joined MRRC because I enjoy the Ohio QSO party and the Michigan QSO Party. 
I participate in some of the other contests when I know that MRRC will be in 
contention for an award, but I'm not much of a contester otherwise. 

BTW, I've enjoyed all sorts of poker games, one of them being Queens (named 
slightly differently to rhyme with "fours"), fours, and one eye jacks being 
wild cards.  If others prefer different rules, I'll grant them the right to 
follow them as long as it is their game.  If they tell me that my game isn't 
legitimate when I'm playing with my friends, I'll tell them where to go. 

73 de n8xx Hg 

 -------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [MiQP-Mail] Rover category
Date: 	Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:24:09 -0400
From: 	Morse, Earl (E.A.) <emorse at ford.com>
To: 	Chasey, David A <wn9nbt at purdue.edu>, <miqp-mail at miqp.org> 

It's just splitting hairs (or mobiles) for that matter.  MARAC only allows 
it for mobiles on a 2 county line.  Ask MARAC what it counts for if you are 
600' away from a 4 county corner or 60' from the road center that 
constitutes the county line.  It is my opinion (which counts for less with 
each passing day) that the entire station: operator, power source, rig, and 
antenna should reside in the QTH of interest.  Since a line has zero width 
mathematically it would be impossible to split these items into two counties 
equally. 

I want to see as much activity as everyone else and I would love the chance 
to clean sweep all the counties but I found the ILQP county definition a bit 
too liberal.  Almost as silly as playing 7 card stud with 2s,3s,9s, one eyed 
jacks, and kings with the axe wild. 

N8SS 

From: Chasey, David A [mailto:wn9nbt at purdue.edu]
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 4:47 PM
To: miqp-mail at miqp.org
Cc: Morse, Earl (E.A.)
Subject: RE: [MiQP-Mail] Rover category 

Earl, 

In last year’s INQP, I set up on the St Joe County and Elkhart County line 
and operated from a van in a church parking lot.   The attached picture 
(which may not go through to the list) was taken on a recon trip, not the 
actual day of the contest, but it illustrates where I was parked during the 
contest.    The road in front of the van is the county line road which by 
GPS and sight went through the middle of the van.     The county line road 
dead ended in a T intersection where the church was located.     I put up a 
dipole antenna with one end tied to a tree in St Joe County, the other end 
tied to a tree in Elkhart County and it was pretty well centered on the 
line. 

If I can’t be in two counties at one time, which county would I have been 
in? 

Also, your comment “It isn't allowed by any awards programs i.e. DXCC, WAS 
and County Hunters” is inaccurate.  We are only talking about county lines 
here.   County lines are meaningless for DXCC and WAS.   The MARAC county 
hunters award does in fact specifically allow 2 county contacts.    See 
http://www.marac.org/Awards.pdf where the following is written on page 7 & 
8.... 

County Line Contacts 

A stationary mobile may operate on a County Line and contacts with the 
mobile can be used as credit for both counties. Some part of the vehicle 
used for the mobile contact must be located in each county on the County 
Line. 

Only one County Line at a time can be run for MARAC Awards. If the mobile is 
operating from the intersection of three or more USA Counties, only two 
counties at a time may be counted for the same contact. 

I personally find it fun to track down unique operating locations such as 
county lines and operate from them where allowed.    I’m far from a great 
operator, but I’m there to have fun and perhaps my operating skills and 
dealing with pileups will improve over time. 

All of that said, I really enjoy the MiQP, as well as the INQP, ILQP, and 
OQP that I operate “in state” from.   I appreciate all of the hard work 
that all of the committees do, and am not criticizing them in any way. 

73. 

...Dave – N9FN 





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