TENNESSEE, ARKANSAS 2007 QSO PARTIES FILL OUT BUSY WEEKEND

By Jamie Dupree NS3T 

With the glow of the Ohio QSO Party fading over the horizon from two weeks ago, now the state QSO Party action moves to the South, as Arkansas and Tennessee hold their own contests.

While Tennessee has been on this weekend for some time, Arkansas is a newcomer, moving from a date in October.

"It could help the Tennessee QSO Party by bringing on operators hunting for Arkansas counties," says TNQP director Doug Smith W9WI. "They'll find our operators too."

While the Arkansas contest begins on Saturday, the Tennessee action doesn't get going until Sunday afternoon in the US. Smith says they hope to have some active mobiles on the air again this year.

"Our mobiles are not small time operations. Last year three mobiles made nearly 1,200 QSO's," said Smith.

In an effort to stimulate contest activity, the TNQP offers a unique points structure for making repeated contacts with stations in the same county.

"The first QSO with a county is of course good for one multiplier," says Smith W9WI. "Each subsequent five contacts with that county is good for an additional multiplier. So six QSO's with Davidson County provides two mults; eleven QSO's brings three mults, etc."

Mobiles can also earn bonus points and a bonus multiplier for making over 10 contacts from a single county.

Smith says the bonus mult idea is simple, "because we figure if you travel to a rare county (as a mobile) you won't be able to work it yourself!"

The 2007 Tennessee QSO Party runs from 1800z September 9 to 0300z September 10. More information at the Tennessee QSO Party website.

The 2007 Arkansas QSO Party is split into two operating periods: 1400z September 8 to 0600z September 9 and 1500 to 2400z September 9. More information at the Arkansas QSO Party website.