npotathon 2.o by the numbers

     "He's like a manufacturing assembly line for parks" -Gary Izzo KC1CBQ

     Well, the big day has come and gone, and I have to say that NPOTAthon 2.0 was a blast!  I didn't manage to break my personal record (10 parks in a day), but I did successfully activate 9 of the 12 parks I stopped at, earning the quote above from Gary, KC1CBQ, who managed to reach me at 7 of those stops.  Even with 7 stops though he wasn't the front-runner for the day - that honor goes to Michael, K4MOA, who contacted me at all 9 of my successful activations (plus a couple others later in the week, just for the icing on the cake!)  
​     I had a slightly tighter schedule this time around because stops 10 and 11 were both at parks that closed at sunset.  This meant that all my stops leading up to those had to stay pretty much on schedule.  Once I finished those stops though, I was able to spend a little extra time at my last stop, Green Springs.  Enough about me though, because really, the whole day was about me if you think about it.  With that in mind, instead of talking about myself, this post will be for you, the chasers.  Since everyone loves stats, this post will be NPOTAthon 2.0, by the numbers.

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setting the stage​

     Okay - So these first few stats are still about me in a way, but they will help set the stage for the day:

• Total Drive Time: 9 hours, 14 minutes
• Total Operating Time: 6 hours
• Total Contacts: 251
• Contacts per Minute of Total Operating Time: 0.7

     Less than a contact a minute might not sound like much, but considering that my first 3 parks were bust, meaning I had essentially an hour a half with no contacts, I can't complain.  Anyway, on to the results...

the results are in

​Top 5

1.  ​K4MOA - 9 contacts
2.  KC2FNE - 8 contacts
3.  KC1CBQ - 7 contacts
4.  W1VT - 6 contacts
5.  KG8P - 5 contacts
5.  N8MIQ - 5 contacts

Tied for 6th place, with 4 contacts each

AI8P, K4HC, K4MI, N2JS, N3PEC, W3ON, WB4OSS

tied for 7th Place, with ​3 contacts each

K8JE, KB8ZGL, KC1DKY, KC4JNW, KD4ADC, KK4RSJ, KW6GB, N3TWM, W2VDZ, W3TC, WB2QJ, WB8TLI, WS6K

Tied for 8th place, with 2 contacts each

AB4BJ, AD8C, AE2X, K3MRK, K4CAE, K4WES, K4YT, KB3SOU, N1EEK, 1UNH, N3VN, N8JDM, N8WD, NP2GG, W2NJ, W3UC, W4JL, W5DRR, W8RES, W8WDR, WA8EOJ, WB4SUV, WX2I

farthest contact

     This one could be up for debate, because I didn't take the time to look up every single call sign - I went based on the numbers so I only looked up the call signs in the call districts further away.  Being on 40 meters most of the day limited the contacts to "local" but with the airwaves being a zoo for the weekend because of the CQWW contest, I'll take whatever I can get.  Additionally, because I was moving from park to park, this is a "rough distance" number.  With all that being said, the prize for longest distance is between these 3 operators, who were all in the  900 / 1000 mile range (based on their address in the database):
​NU0Q, W0GHZ, W0IS

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persistent operator award

     This award goes to those operators who hung in there, played their cards right, timed their calls at just the right moment, had just the right amount of luck, and managed to contact me, even though I could just barely hear them!  Congrats to these ops on being persistent and getting a contact in spite of the conditions...each of these I barely heard, with sent reports of 22:
KM4I@DZ08, NU0Q@DZ03, W5DRR@DZ03

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​good ears award

     This award is the inverse of the persistent operator award.  This is the people who worked me, even though they could barely hear me!  These folks worked me in spite of only being able to give me a 22:
​K4MI@DZ07, W4LBG@DZ04

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phew! that was close! award

     I had just wrapped up at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, and had already updated my post on the NPOTA Facebook group that I was heading out for the next stop.  As I was punching the next address into my GPS my phone chimed and I saw a Facebook post pop up that said "DANG! I just missed you!"  It was from Nick Mollo, who I've contacted and chatted with on the air several times, because my work regularly gets me into his area (We'll eventually get the timing right to work out an eyeball QSO!)  I quickly grabbed the mic because the frequency was still clear, and I hadn't pulled out yet:
     Vance:  "This is N3VEM, are you there Nick?"  
     Nick: "Yes I am!"
 After doing the proper exchange following that, Nick, KC1DKY was able to sneak a contact in at what was a new park for him, right as I was slipping out of the park.  That quick contact also gave a couple others the chance to sneak in right before I left, so with Nick leading the charge by getting his foot in the door, here were the "Phew! That Was Close!" award winners:
KC1DKY, WX2I, K4WES, KB2YLP, W1NG

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wrapping it up

     So, to finish up this post I'll leave you with just a couple of additional things from my end:

• I had a blast, even though I forgot to eat for most of the day!  (Luckily I had plenty of water and coffee)
• I made my first ever contacts on 80 meters - I had never actually tried using my 80 meter hamstick, figuring it was probably such an inefficient antenna, that it wasn't worth bothering with.  A couple folks requested 80 meters though so I stuck it on the car, checked it with the antenna analyzer to see what part of the band I could use it on, and called.  And people answered.  Just goes to show you that you really shouldn't overthink it - just try stuff and see what works!  If only I had tried 80m at my first three, pre-dawn, stops I might have gotten all 12...
• I need a screwdriver antenna (*N3VEM pokes his YL*) - if I had the ability to change bands quicker I probably could have handed out a lot more contacts.  When you're on a tight timeframe, swapping hamsticks in and out can really eat into the operating time.

Whats Next?

     While I probably won't be doing any more NPOTA marathons this year, I will be activating some more parks.  Specifically, watch for me on November 7th, 8th, and 9th because I'll be spending the nights inside one of the national parks, and will be on the air "holiday style" every evening after work.  I'll give the details in an upcoming post!