2015 Idaho QSO Party
Results
130 Qs with 104 mults for a score of 27,040.
I put in 3 mobile hours on Saturday and 5 on Sunday because I also wanted to work the NA Sprint RTTY on Saturday evening. Saturday was rain for the entire time. It was warm enough that there was no chance of snow, but changing antennas and keeping dry was a bit of a challenge. Sunday started out rainy but that quit after 3 hours or so. Meg, the XYL, drove both days and did a great job of staying with the planned timeline.
K0HNC in KS worked me seven times in six counties. W7GF in OR snagged me five times. The most DX Qs came from OM2VL who worked me four times. He also was very successful in working Jay and me in the 2014 Salmon Run. I was particularly happy with the three Qs from KH6DE in Lewis and Idaho Counties on Sunday.
This was the view from Clearwater County as the contest started on Saturday. A little left over snow but no fresh snow. The effort here netted nine Qs in half an hour.
Another stop in Shoshone County at a pullout just before a 6% downhill and more old snow alongside the road. The half hour in Shoshone netted 17 Qs
I'm smiling here at the Shoshone County stop. I did a lot of that on Saturday and Sunday.
Here I am changing hamsticks in Benewah County. Only 10 Qs here. Note that we are still in the mountains which makes for rapid changes in copy.
Back into Latah County for the trip home and only 3 Qs. That ended Saturday's operating and a total of 56 Qs.
Sunday was our anniversary so what better way to celebrate by being together in the truck with Meg driving and me wearing headphones!
We got to the Nez Perce-Clearwater County line and sat astride it for 5 minutes or so. Alas, I made no Qs from the line. It is still raining here, but quit soon afterwards. Note that there are fields rather than just mountains here.
We parked in the town of Nezperce, not in Nez Perce County but in Lewis County, and had the best QSO count of 32 Qs. This is wheat country as you can surmise from the grain elevators in the background. We spent nearly an hour in Lewis County on 20 and 15 m. No more rain.
This is the view out the truck's windshield at the last county of the day, Idaho County. Wheat fields after wheat fields after wheat fields. Idaho County was pretty good to me with 20 Qs in the hour there.
The Plan
On March 14 and 15 I will activate 7 of the counties in northern Idaho in the Idaho QSO Party. The effort will be CW only on 40, 20, and 15 m up about 35 from the bottom of the band. You can work me again in each different county and on different bands.