[MiQP-Mail] How about a year long recruiting/proselytizing effort?

[Earl Morse]

Looks like I am about 3 weeks behind in checking this email account.  

Activity makes for a successful QSO party.  While quality is good and putting on the rare county is good, quantity is better.

Activity creates activity, if you get on for the MIQP and can only find  5 stations to work it is going to suck especially if you aren't in Michigan and don't really have the option to call CQ though I do hear people calling CQ looking for stations in a state QSO party that isn't their own state.  If you can't field enough stations that outsiders have to CQ to draw you out then it is going to be a boring QSO party.  A band full of Michiganders calling CQ will draw people into the contest whether they wanted to be there or not.

Most average hams don't know how to make close to 1000 QSOs in the MIQP.  5 bands + 2 modes = 10 possible QSOs per station.  You have to jump around a lot.  Most people are only going to get on here and there and make a few contacts.  If they are only going to make 5 QSOs you want it to be with your station.  That won't happen if you just spent the last 2 hours CQing on one band.  Know your propagation and remember to QRB (QRB? = would you like to run the bands?) especially if you are SO2R.

Casual operators like to tune around, for some reason they don't like to CQ.  I don't care for it on SSB either but have to do it out of necessity.  K5LZO once told me at XA5T, "You can't be the loudest signal on the band if you aren't transmitting."  So call CQ.  You can run faster than you can S&P, so call CQ.  If things are slow you have 4 other bands and one other mode to try.

As contesters, we all have other clubs we hang out with.  A few months before the MIQP you should have a presentation for your local club to introduce the unwashed to the MIQP and the world of radiosport.  Assume they know nothing and show them the basics of contesting, exchanges, points, and strategies.  Get them fired up and get them out of the woodwork.  I did this with the Blossomland group and they brought the club plaque home for two years with my help and in the 3rd year they pulled it out all by themselves with a win one for the Gipper push when I was having my medical problems.

We should put together a standard powerpoint presentation for anyone who would like to do a MIQP presentation to a club.  An overview as to how it works and basic strategies for operating as well as the little things like when to meet on 10 and 15 meters for a possible contact.  The goal should be to field enough MI stations so that there is no doubt that this is the MIQP weekend to anyone tuning the bands.

Earl
N8SS




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On Sat, 5/7/16, Hank Greeb <n8xx at arrl.org> wrote:

 Subject: [MiQP-Mail] How about a year long recruiting/proselytizing effort?
 To: "Michigan QSO Party Reflector" <MIQP-Mail at miqp.org>
 Date: Saturday, May 7, 2016, 9:01 AM
 
 Perhaps we in Michigan could
 collaborate, get a combined recruiting 
 effort going, and get all the counties in Michigan covered
 with fixed 
 stations?  Or, as a minimum, multiple mobiles?
 
 The New England folks seem to be getting their act together,
 as have a 
 listing of coverage of all counties in the various states of
 New 
 England.  See
 http://neqp.org/ryc.html
 for a list of how they've covered their states.  Most
 have a fixed 
 station or two listed, with a very few having only one
 mobile listed for 
 a county.
 
 The organizers of MIQP do a great job of publicity and
 recruiting, but 
 I'm sure they'd appreciate local help.  So, if you're
 in a "rare" county 
 and/or know of folks in an adjacent, even "rarer" county,
 why not start 
 talking up the 2016 MiQP at your club meetings. 
 Mention the MiQP to 
 your fellow hams if you have a periodic "ham breakfast or
 luncheon".   
 Enthusiasm is contagious..
 
 "Flash publicity" a few weeks or months prior to the event
 are very 
 useful, but keeping the event in the minds of folks year
 round might 
 encourage more folks to participate for a few hours or for
 the entire 12 
 hours.
 
 Lettuce work toward having all 83 counties of Michigan
 covered with 
 fixed stations!  Unrealistic?  Perhaps... but a
 good goal! Then we could 
 have bragging rights for the "first to work all 83" or
 "highest number 
 of Worked All Counties" certificates, etc!  Can we
 count on YOU?
 
 72/73 de n8xx Hg
 QRP >99.44% of the time
 
 
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