Donations are accepted. We appreciate the help!
Click here for RSS feeds or use the email signup form below to be notified about new radio-sport.net news updates
"The biggest change is in the scoring," says MNQP webmaster Pat Cain K0PC.
"Phone, CW, and digital contacts are all worth 2 points this year. Previously phone contacts only produced 1 point."
Along with the move to make phone contacts worth the same amount as CW, organizers have also started a new "SSB only" category for W/VE stations, and thrown in a few extras for top finishers as well.
"In addition to plaques and certificates, the top twenty W/VE stations receive a special gift of Minnesota Premium Wild Rice to commemorate their achievement," Cain told radio-sport.net.
As with most state QSO parties, the mobiles that ply the roads and activate multiple counties are key to the success of this contest as well.
"Last year we had ten mobile operations, in 2011 we have fourteen mobiles planning to hit the highway," said Cain.
"We encourage the mobile stations to use APRS tracking and the MNQP web site has a map that allows users to see the APRS equipped mobiles in one place."
On the right sidebar, you can see pictures of a few of the mobiles that have been part of the MNQP action in past years, anchored by Jon Platt W0ZQ, who has been very active in VHF and UHF rovering as well.
"Jon has been roving in the MNQP for many years and offers a loaner rig to a first-time rover each year," said Cain, who knows how important the mobiles are to overall activity.
The MNQP continues to grow in terms of submitted logs, as 2010 brought in 241 logs, up from 230 in 2009.
Last year, records were set in the Mobile and Mobile Unlimited categories, as well as in QRP and Multi-Op.
The MNQP has also come up with some innovative ways to spur even more activity on the bands, like last year, when county-based Emergency Coordinators were urged to set up a station as an exercise in emergency HF preparation.
Another thing contest organizers have done well is offer a lot of different resources on the MNQP.
The Minnesota QSO Party starts at 1400z on Saturday February 5 and goes until 2400z.
