Each year we update this database with the calls of new contesters who have joined the party. A personal letter of encouragement goes out to each of these contesters inviting them to participate. Even with this large mailing, though, the initial commitments are rarely even close to guaranteeing that all 58 counties will be on the air. The next step involves persistent arm-twisting to get commitments to cover the remaining counties. California's large population is concentrated in a few urban areas, and most of the state has a very low population density.
Many counties have no resident HF operators.
The only way we can get full coverage is by convincing people to put on expeditions to some of the less-populated counties. There are a number of inducements we use to get that coverage. Each category has its own award structure, though we personally believe it's the idea of setting new records that provides the major incentive. When these inducements don't yield the last few counties, it then falls to our county coordinator to appeal to club loyalty, guilt, or whatever else it takes to get all the necessary commitments. This has been N6TV's job for the last few years and he has seen to it each year that we had all of the 58 California counties on the air for at least a part of the contest.