Maine QSO Party - 2018 MEQP Results

Congratulations to our 2018 Maine QSO Party Winners!

This year's Overall Winner is:

Joe Blinick, K1JB of Portland, ME. Joe scored a total of 69,958 points, making 523 QSO's. Thanks for representing Maine during the QSO Party, and especially Cumberland County!

2018 Final Results

SOQRP	Loc	Pts	SOLP	Loc	Pts	SOHP	Loc	Pts	MOHP	Loc	Pts
N1HFE KI4MZC	SAG ME GA	176 4	N2CQ AG6V K4WW AD4TJ KE3ZT N1BOX KF4QFJ HI8A KN4EWI VE3PYJ K0HNC WB8WKQ KA5VZG AB4VT KM4IAJ AC6ZM W4UT W8KNO K9GDF K4VBM	NJ WA KY VA PA CBL ME VA DX NC ON KS MI TN GA VA TN TN OH WI GA	984 875 756 266 150 120 104 56 45 42 16 16 16 16 8 4 4 2 2 1	K1JB K1GJY KB1HNZ W3AKD/1 K4BAI KF5MU K0OO	CBL ME YOR ME YOR ME HAN ME GA KY MD	69958 8055 1159 943 72 48 4	N1SOH	MA	988

The Maine QSO Party saw an increase in log submissions in 2018, with nationwide and international challengers submitting logs. National winners include Rafael Vuguera HI8A, for the Dominican Republic, Gerry Bell VE3PYJ, for Canada, and of course, Joe Blinick K1JB, for the United States.

Winners per state outside of Maine, include Ethan (N1SOH) and Jacob Handwerker (W1FM), operating as N1SOH (Massachusetts), John Laney K4BAI (Georgia), Shelby Summerville K4WW (Kentucky), Alan Schriver KA5VZG (Tennessee), David Tanks AD4TJ (Virginia), Ken Newman N2CQ (New Jersey), Donna Hinshaw AG6V (Washington), Richard Regent K9GDF (Wisconsin), Joseph Wehner W8KNO (Ohio), Stephen Wurm KE3ZT (Pennsylvania), Jeffrey Miller WB8WKQ (Michigan), Charles Meisinger K0HNC (Kansas), Joel Perry KN4EWI (North Carolina), Gerry Bell VE3PYJ (Ontario, Canada), Patrick Benson K0OO (Maryland/DC).

The overall Maine and Cumberland County winner was Joe Blinick K1JB. Other county winners include, William Protzman W3AKD/1 (Hancock County), John Gaidos N1HFE (Sagadahoc County), and Stefania Watson K1GJY (York County).

The categories were won by John Gaidos N1HFE (Single Operator QRP), Ken Newman N2CQ (Single Operator Low Power), Joe Blinick K1JB (Single Operator High Power), and Ethan (N1SOH) and Jacob Handwerker (W1FM), operating as N1SOH (Multi Operator High Power).

The most accurate logs (with over 10 QSO's), include those submitted by N1HFE, K1JB, N2CQ, AG6V, K4WW, AD4TJ, N1BOX, KB1HNZ, N1SOH, W3AKD/1, KF4QFJ, and K1GJY. On average only 1.5% of all logs included errors such as miscopied calls and unmatched QSO's.

One thing we noticed, while examining the logs, was a significant amount of log entries that ONLY included QSOs with Maine stations. The rules allow all QSOs during the contest period to be scored, as long as a proper exchange is made between the two stations. This means many of the entrants could've had significantly higher scores had they included their other QSOs.

Two logging programs were primarily used to submit logs this year. These include N1MM with the ME QSO Party update, and N3FJP.

Once again, congratulations to all the winners, and we look forward to hearing from you again next year!

Other Notes:

Solar Data for September 22-23, 2018:

According to the ARLP038 Propagation report by K7RA:

There were no sunspots observed since September 12.

Average daily sunspot number declined to zero from 7.6 the previous week. Average daily solar flux was unchanged at 68.6. Average daily planetary A index declined from 12.6 to 9.7, while average daily mid-latitude A index went from 10 to 8.3.

The Autumnal equinox took place at 0154 UTC on Sunday, September 23, 2018. The weeks before and after the equinox are typically a better period for worldwide HF propagation because both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are seeing an equal amount of solar radiation.

Predicted solar flux was 68 on September 21 to 26

Predicted planetary A index was 16 and 12 on September 23 and 24.