Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Aug 31 2018 07:59 pm

OHIO QSO PARTY: PROGRESS DESPITE PROPAGATION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: You can't fight Mother Nature, and so hams
participating in this year's Ohio QSO Party decided to go with
the solar flow. Jack Parker, W8ISH, has those details.
                                            
JACK: Every QSO party has its highs and lows, but for this year's
Ohio QSO Party on Saturday, August 25th, that same description best
fit the day's propagation. The Mad River Amateur Radio Club, which
sponsors the annual event, had big hopes despite the challenges.
Event chairman Jim, K8MR, said the activity began with the customary
poor summertime conditions - not unexpected for a low sunspot year.
There were hopes that sporadic E skip might boost conditions, but he
said that never happened. Then thunderstorms hit northwest Ohio, but
as the day went on, the storm swept out, and QRN wasn't reported to
be too much of a major problem. Jim told Newsline that for the early
part of the QSO party, the only contacts to be had on 15 and 10 meters
were local. Then, in late afternoon, things picked up, and by 6 p.m.
40 meters sprang to life. Short skip helped hams make contacts within
the state, and into some nearby states. By late evening - into the
final hours of the QSO Party - hams were still calling QRZ when a
geomagnetic storm hit, bringing the K index to 7 toward the end of
the contest.

So how did everyone do?

Jim told Newsline that some of the top Ohio scores seem to have gone
up a bit this year, and he suspects this is because less productive
higher bands sent more radio operators to 80 meters, where people in
Ohio could work more Ohio county multipliers than usual. So, in spite
of it all, no one's complaining. By Monday night, August 27th, the
club had received 243 logs - on a par with last year.

Even if the propagation itself can't be planned, the club is already
organizing next year's QSO Party, set for August 24.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jack Parker, W8ISH.

(MAD RIVER AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

**

IN CHICAGO, DX ASSOCIATION CONVENTION TIME DRAWS NEAR

STEPHEN/ANCHOR:  September brings the convention of the Northern
Illinois DX Association to Chicago, and organizers have an ambitious
schedule planned. Here's Heather Embee, KB3TZD.

HEATHER: There's a full agenda awaiting hams at the 66th annual
W9DXCC DX Convention and Banquet in suburban Chicago. The Northern
Illinois DX Association has scheduled presentations on the Baker
Island DXpedition, ham response to storm-damaged Puerto Rico,
Kosovo's long journey to become a DXCC entity, and the attempted 3Y0Z
DXpedition to Bouvet Island.

The convention will be held September 14th and 15th, at the Hyatt
Regency in Schaumburg, Illinois. Registration is still open for a
little longer.

DXpeditioner Bob Schenck, N2OO, who is also president of the
International DX Association, and the DX editor for CQ Magazine,
will deliver the keynote address at the banquet. Bob is also a CQ DX
Hall of Famer.

For additional details or to register visit w9dxcc dot com (w9dxcc.com)

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD.

**

BREAK HERE:

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Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
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in Moorefield, West Virginia, on Monday nights at 8 local time.
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