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The Northern Lights Radio Society has a couple of pretty active cheer leaders for the August Contest most notably WØZQ. Since 2004 the folks around here have affectionately renamed the August Contest RoverMania, due to the number of active rovers. After a one year hideous, I did not have time to organize a rove, but was able to operate from my portable location in EN44 10 miles from my home.
The folks at the Winona Sportsman’s Club are always great allowing me to setup a station for a day or two depending on the contest without giving me any trouble. This year was my first UHF test with 5.7 so I was really looking forward to having 8 working bands. Setting up a portable station however; can be hard work... as it took two and a half hours to get all 3 earth anchors for the mast in the ground (like concrete here in southeastern Minnesota..) due to the lack rain this summer.
With the difficult setup I started the contest a couple hours late, and got a visit from Murphy to boot. Much to my surprise my reliable ‘706 would continually blow a 4A control fuse as I attempted to key the 4452G brick amplifier. The ‘706 is my only 432 rig so I was at a huge disadvantage without it. Any way knew the rest of my gear was working and pleased to several qso’s with W9FZ/R and WØZQ/R right away with all my working bands. I grew tired of missing q’s on 432 after the first couple of hours, and luckily was able to contact KBØTHN, who had a replacement radio waiting for me just 15 minutes away (tnx Jim!) The TM455 from Jim worked great and I was back in business. (Hated to take the time off to get the rig but actually was the best choice in the long run.)
So the rovers .... first let me say that all the rovers I worked this year were truly class acts... much patience .. on schedule and seemed to be just as thrilled as I was working to get the contact in the log Hats off to all the rovers! Most of the highlights with the rovers were those contacts on 5.7 and 10G. Working Jon, WØZQ/R while in EN25 with the dish pointed a couple inches below the tops of the corn about 100 ft from my operating tent. Was really great working Phil, KF9US/R one grid away from and on the heels of a 10G qso with Bruce, W9FZ/R fun, fun, fun! Have to say that I really broke a sweat a few times sprinting out to the field and back where the dish was for liaison trips on the high bands. (Those 10GHz QSO’s can be contagious ... can’t wait till next year ).
Not much DX this year for me but it was great to hear K9KL after so long and K2YAZ after over a year. Fun drill with K2DRH running the high bands backwards ...3.4, 2.3, 1.2, and finally 902 was actually easy. I was disappointed to miss qso’s with some of the regulars such as KMØT and WØGHZ due to time constraints and chasing rovers (sorry guys ).
Had pretty well expected a storm to strike on contest night (which it did..) so I pulled the switch just before midnight; battened down the hatches by pulling the rigs and computer and placing them in the car, covering the rest of the gear inside the tent with a tarp, and placing a tarp over the generator. (Was a great idea ... got up to the site in the early AM to find all the antennas fine; the tarp inside the tent blown off, but the equipment was still dry!)
Final thoughts .... Setting up a portable station for a 24 hour contest can be a great deal of work; however I would recommend that everyone give it a try. Don’t be afraid to ask around and get in contact with owners of ridge land. I have never been turned down the permission to operate if I ask. Since the UHF Contest somewhat lends itself to portable operating should the League take a look at adding a category for it in the contest?? The UHF Contest is clearly here to stay spread the word on the fun!
73,
Matt
Portable station for 5.7 and 10Ghz. Down East 5.7-144 2W and DB6NT MKU 10G2 with MKU102X 5W brick |
Had just enough feedline to clear the corn... |
Keyer on the '746PRO comes in handy! |
Have to deal with the corn here in Minnesota in August! |
Greetings one & all from en41 Iowa... I only run two bands that fit into this contest ( 222 & 432 ) I didn't see any catagory for single operator high power two bands so I just got on to hand out points... Found several contacts on 222/432 in all directions,,,almost all were out 100 miles or more from my qth...Even some of the rovers were heard & worked both days... I found several contacts were missed due to other stations band hopping to higher bands...Never to be heard again... I find reading the soapboxes others post about this contest almost most fun than the contest itself...Just wish more would post something....
What ever happened to the rule changes there was so much talk about a few years ago ? Someone has really dropped the ball!!!
A "Clean Sweep"!
Three grids activated: CM94, DM04, & DM03
QSOs: Zero
Grids Worked: Zero
Final Score: Zero
I operated for about 3 hours on Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening from various locations. I used an FT817 + 11 element yagi on 70cm. Only thing heard was the N6XQ/B in DM12.
This was my worst 'score' ever. Even 3 weeks after Hurricane Andrew hit Homestead, FL, I worked 1 station during the Sept. VHF QSO Party.
(I'm scheduled to be in annual training during the Sept VHF Qso Party so will not even do Transcon Rover ops.)
btPete
N6ZE
Hi all,
I decided to try roving again, after a hiatus of several years, when I was cleaning out some stuff in my shack and found a bin full of transverters. Since I had limited time, I opted to deploy my antennas on a tripod-based mast, rather than try to build a mount for the car. So, I had to spend 15 minutes at each location setting up, before I could start calling.
No matter. I was only going to work from 4 grids. Fortunately, there is a grid corner only 30 minutes from home, in the wide open farm fields of central Wisconsin. I was encouraged by the number of rovers I had heard would be out for this contest, so I took the plunge.
Well, to make a long story short: It was fun. I was happy to hear plenty of other stations on the air, both fixed and rovers. I had lots of repeat customers as I moved around, plenty of CW practice during the Q's on 903, 1296 and 2304, and the opportunity to use the latest incarnation of my 10 GHz rig for a nice long ragchew with W9FZ/R in the next grid over, among other Q's. Total: 72 QSO's on 6 bands, from 4 grids: 9360 points.
If I do this again, I'll definitely try to put together an antenna system mounted on my SUV, rather than doing the socket wrench shuffle each time I move. It was heartening to hear so many hams on the higher bands; usually pretty dead here in Wausau. Sorry.... no pictures to post, as I was busy trying to keep the wind from blowing my antennas over!
73 es CUL,
Phil
Excepting the drive home from South Dakota at the end of last year's 10GHz Cumulatives, this was the first time I had ever roved during a contest.
My time was rather limited so all I managed was a true MINI Rove, activating five grids; EN35, 34, 24, 23, and 33. Partly for the same reason, but also due to limited real estate, I chose to limit myself to just three bands - I did say it was a MINI Rove!
Antennas for 432 and 1296 were bolted to the roof rack atop Alice (the MINI Cooper). Sure got some funny looks ducking and diving along the country lanes of Southern Minnesota!
The roof of the MINI is mostly glass and running 60W into a beam that's only 24 inches from the radio I found was a surefire way of being plagued by RF feedback, at least on 23cms. Still, careful alignment of the microphone in my left hand close top the rig on the passenger seat, and holding my right hand 1 inch above the antenna changeover relay netted me three grids on that band. I'll need to get the looper higher next time.
Conversely the 100W on 432 and 4 watts on 10368 played very well. Best DX on 70cms was to either EN01 or EN41, both around 500km distant. On 3cms, best DX was around 200km.
What an idyllic way to spend a sunny Summer's afternoon, out enjoying the wonder's of Nature, and playing radio at the same time. Excellent fun and a new facet of contesting that I will certainly engage in the future.
By the way - you'd be amazed at how much you can pack into a small space if you really mean business :-)
432 on the dash, 1296 on the passenger seat. |
EN01LP is about 500kms, and it's thataway. |
Working WB0LJC/R and WA2VOI/R on 3cms from EN23wx |
Don't tell me I look cute - this is the mean looking Alice Cooper. |
Well let's try posting a soapbox entry again...and see if it sticks this time.
Well that was an interesting contest. I was originally planning on going out rover mode, but I never found a suction cup roof rack to construct an antenna farm for the car, so on a whim, I packed everything up and went to set up at the W0AIH farm. I knew there were issues with the antennas and feeds. After tracing some unmarded lines down, I found feeds for the 1296 and 432 on one tower, and 222 on another. After doing some on air tests before the contest, I found the 432 on the self supporting tower (assuming I found the correct feedline that is...was a low SWR anyway) was not reaching out and touching very well. I searched and found the 24/24 stack feedline and tried that...viola! I had signal! so off to the races with 3 bands and 3 rotors...the beamwidth/peaking nightmare.
Everything seemed to be working just fine now until I tried to make it out of EN44 with 1296. I just could not do it, there was a 1296 blackout over my grid. Later Paul climbed the small 20 foot tower and ran up my 35 element M2 yagi, but the feedline ended up being worse....so back to the one at 70 feet with hopes that height would help. No such luck.
The 222 was going good, but apparently I had RF going along with the audio...not much, but it was there...not suprising though as I had the 440 watt AM-6155 parked right next to the 736R with a 2 foot jumber feedline...and no grounding buss for chassis. I did spend about 45 minutes or so checking input/output matching and loading on the amp, and tweaked everything in better and had no more comments about the audio...I guess my inputs/outputs are different at the farm than at home...as I had to readjust after last years contest at the farm when I brought everything back to the home shack also. Anyhow, the 222 combo worked very well. and the rotor seemed to track fairly decent against reports that is wouldn't. I guess I was Louder than all getout on this band. if you heard me but could not be heard, it is because I need a preamp to match up my alligator status on this band.
The 432 system seemed to work very well also once I used the 24/24 stack instead of the single 28 el. It did not hear quite as well as the 18/18 stack on 222, but it was also on a lower tower. The preamp on the TE systems brick worked but amplified only the background hiss and not the incoming voice or CW signal, so it stayed off.
I ran until probably about 3am or so on Sunday then took a nap in the car, only to be rudely awakedned by the most intense lightning/thinder/rain/hail/wind show I have ever seen...or at least could see through the half fogged windows of the car. The lightning was almost like a web above me when I could see individual bolts, otherwise the clouds just lit up like diffuser screens in a photo studio. The car was being rocked like a someone grabbed ahold of it and shook it every once in a while. The rain was coming down in such sheets, I could not see through it much farther than about 15 feet. Hail started pounding the car..not big, but it was pea sized at times. I was just waiting for natures vacuum cleaner to come roaring up behind me and bring me to Oz. All I could think about was...at least I shut power off in the chalet before I went off to nap...and the second thought..."HEY!!! I am sitting smack dab on top of a high hill with 60+ towers and lots of aluminum/steel and copper feedlines all around me!" I was waiting for the hair to stand up on my head or get a blast to hit a tower near me. Luck would have it though that the cell system was moving fairly fast and was not very large, so after about what seemed like an hour (probably a lot less) it was over and a thing of the past. Nothing was hurt radio wise or anything, so I got lucky there too. As soon as I woke up after another hour nap, I came back inside and fipped things on. I think Bruce and I were the only ones out there for a couple hours. I eneded up falling asleep at the switch between 16:00Z and 17:00Z, but woke up and finished things up. Paul and I tried to tech out the 1296 feedlines once he got back. Nothing seemed to meter well. best reading was a line of 9913 to my 35 el which showed 1.7:1 SWR at best. I went home and tested it out on my LMR-400 roll and found 1.3:1. Then it was nap time.
Highlights: 1) 28 and 25 grids on 222 and 432 respectively, Q per mult rate was about 2 per. 2) working W9FZ/R and KF9US/R in most grids they travelled through on at least one band per grid if not two. (KF9US/R did get a 1296 Q out of me, but he was still in EN44...so the blackout theory still stands. And WA0VPJ/R in 4 grids, working N0DQS/R and W0ZQ/R out West of the cities. 3) working WB0LJC/R on 222 FM...a bit scratchy, but 100% readable 4) being considered best DX by K0PG on 220...woohoo!!
Lowlights: 1) the 1296 issue 2) not having all three antennas on the same rotator...would have been worse if 1296 was working. Peaking up was a challenge at times. 3) Not being far enough South and East to get the Tropo
Best DX: Best DX was NT0V on 222 CW. Other Runners up were WB0ULX, WW8M, and W8MIL
Anyway, in short, even though I had issues with 1296 and someother minor problems, I had a great time. Thanks to everyone who put in the effort for the weekend...one band or many. I think this was another successful contest. KC9BQA asked it...shall we go 4 for 4 in September??
Equipment Description:
222 MHz: Yaesu FT-736R/ AM-6155 440W amp/ (2) 18 el yagis
432 MHz: Yaesu FT-726R/ TE systems 100W brick/ (2) 24 el yagis
1.2 GHz: Yaesu FT-736R/ Looper with high SWR
Club Affiliation: CHIPPEWA VALLEY VHF CONTESTERS
Post Contest note: After teching things out at the farm a week after the contest, I found that the 1296 "blackout" was caused by a mislabelled line. I found out I was running the 1296 rig on the 432 antenna. The actual 1296 feedline was labelled as 146 MHz. One problem solved.
Dave...N9TTX
I modulate, therefore I am!
...73, and all that jazz,
This year the W0ZQ Roverlite mobile decided to take a more relaxed approach to RoverMania and to smell the roses ..... or the corn that is, .... along the way. Saturday I activate the EN44/43/34/33 grid corner located just southeast of the Twin Cities. Not only did I find lots of activity from the NLRS & CVVHF guys, but also some other local rovers who were out and about doing the same thing I was - having some fun playing on the high bands on a really nice afternoon. Perhaps the most enjoyable Q's were with my friend Bruce, W9FZ/R who was roving the grid line to my east over in Wisconson. We were able to work up through 10 gigs on the long kiddie corner diagonal from EN43 to EN52 on random. On Sunday I activated the EN35/34/25/24 grid corner located just northwest of the Twin Cities. From EN35 some of the better DX was over to K2YAZ in EN74 and down to K2DRH in EN41. Mike, KM0T (EN13), signals were BOOMING in on 222 through 10 gigs. Mike and I did try some longer shots on 24 gigs with no luck. A big thanks to Dave, N0KP and Gary, W0GHZ, for following me around and for all the Q's.
I think the following equation says it all: {(Moderate power) + (short feedlines) + (a good location) + (five foot booms)} * (event PR) = lots of fun.
Overall the weather was just great, activty was high, rovers and fixed stations all over the place, and despite my "stop to smell the roses" approach, I ended up beating my score from last year. Guess I need to relax more often.
Please remember to send your logs in, and CU in RoverMania IV next year.
Looking towards KM0T,EN13, from EN44. 222 through 3456 is on the RoverLite mobile, then left to right the 10 gig dish, 5.7 dish, and 24 gigs dish. 10 gigs and 5.7 share the same 2m IF rig via a coax switch mounted on the 10 gig tripod. |
Looking towards the Twin Cities from EN43 |
Looking towards the Twin Cities from EN25 |
FN20he with all dishes deployed |
I have not been active lately but I'm getting my station back up and running.It sure was fun to work a bunch on just 222 as that was the only band I had running at the start.Hope to have 10 GHz going for the 1st weekend of the 10 gig 'test.Hope to have 8 bands running by the Sept contest.Had a BLAST. Gregg K9KL EN64
The antennas at KB0HH, EM06 |
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