Minnesota Wireless Association

First, THANKS to everyone that got on the air! We did an incredible job of kicking off the QSO Party season!! We really know how to kick off a party!!

Participation within MWA was down 16% from last year (78 active Ops versus 93 last year). Despite the decline, everyone seemed to have a great time! Considerable QSO counts were made over five bands! Stations across the US said it was nice to hear so many MN stations on 80M – 10M! 20 Meters was still the money band but it was great to see activity so spread out! While there was good activity, band conditions were mixed. Mixed conditions, along with lower MWA participation (and a snow storm for some of the mobiles) kept any new records from being achieved. We still had some great scores!

In the MNQP Team Competition, Team 1 took the top spot for the second time this year! Team 1 seems to be the QSO Party team as they also won the Cal QSO Party in October. Team 10 grabbed second place (and 9 points). Team 9 took third place with a great effort and 12 active teammates.Here are the team results:

• Team 1 – 520,834 Points – 10 Pts
• Team 10 – 464,254 Points – 9 Pts
• Team 9 – 413,170 Points – 8 Pts
• Team 2 – 378,218 Points – 7 Pts
• Team 7 – 365,577 Points – 6 Pts
• Team 6 – 351,762 Points – 5 Pts
• Team 4 – 341,468 Points – 4 Pts
• Team 8 – 262,694 Points – 3 Pts
• Team 3 – 201,122 Points – 2 Pts
• Team 5 – 164,240 Points – 1 Pt

In the full year Team Competition, the final standings are starting to firm up. Team 9 looks like they are almost unbeatable! With two events left in our contest season, Team 9 holds a nine point advantage over second place Team 1. The real battle is for third place. Which team will stand on the medal platform with the bronze medals? Team 7 holds a four point advantage over Teams 8, 6 & 2 (who all have 56 points). It looks like the medals won’t be decided until the final contest!! Here are the standings:

• Team 9 – 82 Points
• Team 1 – 73 Points
• Team 7 – 60 Points
• Team 8 – 56 Points
• Team 6 – 56 Points
• Team 2 – 56 Points
• Team 5 – 51 Points
• Team 4 – 49 Points
• Team 10 – 38 Points
• Team 3 – 29 Points

Our next contest is the ARRL DX CW Contest on February 15-16. Get everything tuned up and ready for a great contest at the peak of the cycle!!

73,

Rich NØHJZ