Wisconsin QSO Party Results 2011

March 16, 2011

I won! I will tell you how in a paragraph or two below. But first let me set the stage . I had actually decided not to compete in this year’s contest. After all, what REALLY was the point? It had been a busy spring with something going on every weekend. Add to that countless snows to shovel, drifts to remove from the roof of the house and the garage. And on and on… I decided that I could use a nice quiet weekend. Maybe get caught-up on my book reading. And spend some quality time with my lovely wife – Jane – KD8KRS. So when I went to the Appleton, Wisconsin area ham radio club meeting (FCARC – Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club actually) I didn’t volunteer to man a station for the contest.

The plan was working out well. Right up until Keith (KS9WI) found me on Facebook and asked if I could help out HIS club’s effort. Keith is a longtime member of my former ham radio club – The Green Bay Mike and Key Club. Keith helped me tune my first mobile antenna when I first got my ham radio licenses. Keith quickly made friends with me and was someone familiar at the Green Bay Mike and Key Club meetings. When he asked for help I pretty much felt like I should help out.

I thought it would be a pretty hectic weekend. I had planned a trip to Madison, Wisconsin to the nation’s largest canoe and kayak show for that Saturday. We had church on Sunday and then I would go to the site for the Wisconsin QSO Party to compete with the Green Bay, Wisconsin group. That same night I was scheduled to be the net control operator for the Outagamie County (Appleton, Wisconsin area) A.R.E.S. net on two meters. The last thing I needed was an afternoon filled with multiple radios turned up high with plenty of static and ham radio operators mindlessly calling for quick contacts to score seemingly meaningless points for some award. Truth be told, I figured, the people with the most expensive equipment (tallest towers, biggest antennas, strongest amplifiers, fanciest radios, best headsets, etc.) would surely win anyway. So what was the point?

This attempt at winning the Wisconsin QSO Party for 2011 was going to be made at a scenic place called High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago just outside of Appleton, Wisconsin. The lodge there was rented out and provided shelter from the wind and a nice rustic open fireplace with ample room and lots of windows with views of the big lake. So – if nothing else – I’d get to see some nice winter scenery.

The contest caught me by surprise. I got to do some photography while the rest of the guys set-up the mobile antennas. Maybe I will do a blog specific to that topic later. After the antennas were set we divided into three operating stations. One person did CW (Morse code) which scored twice as many points per contact as voice contacts. One person did HF voice and one person did 2 meters voice. I started logging at the two meters station. Great I thought… I crunch numbers on computers all week and what do I do on the weekend? Run a computer!

I quickly found that the logging operation was pretty interesting. I got to use another person’s computer and software. The software was new to me and was designed specifically for contest work. By the time I was done with it I had decided that I would probably buy a copy of the program for my use at my home station.

As Dale (WB9NRK) got tired on the two meter radio I took over for a time. The radio, and ICOM, was new to me and so it was fun to use a new radio. I quickly made a bunch of contacts and became comfortable with the process. Soon many people tried to make the same contacts as I was trying for. Sometimes someone else would transmit at the same time as me and when their signal was stronger they got the contact before I did. That’s when, for me, it became a contest. I was getting sucked in to the process. And it was fun. Time flew by and later I saw Dale sitting back down with nothing to do. I begrudgingly returned the radio’s controls to him.

I had a chance to yack a bit with Dale during slow times in the contest and got to know him better. That was pretty cool. I also got to help build and maintain the fire that kept us warm as clouds filled the afternoon sky and cooled the building.

I could go on but the point is this. I consider myself a winner because I had a better time than I thought I would, got introduced to contesting and more importantly strengthened some personal relationships. I also improved my skills in a couple of areas. So who won? I did. Regardless of the score! I hope that you had similar experiences!