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Typical. Antenna problems, propagation problems, etc. We must all be masochists to try a VHF contest in January. :-)
I got a spiffy new 4element 6m Yagi built, and got a friend over after the SouthCARS luncheon up in Valdosta to help put the thing up on the rickety Radio Shack mast. 2pm rolled around, and we'd just got the mast vertical and secured when it started really sincerely raining. 45F, rain, wind and lightning constitute really crummy weather for north central Florida! One soggy dash back indoors and it was confirmed that the Yagi heard much better than the Moxon it replaced, despite being 5' lower (to dodge a thick tree branch when rotated). The band was wide open to the northeast and the "CQ contest" calls were coming thick and fast.
Naturally, that's when we discovered nobody could hear be because - you guessed it - the feedline was shorted. So it was back out in the rain, drop the mast, replace the feedline, hoist the mast... by the time we got done (and I defused a couple of squabbling-children episodes in the house :-)) the opening was gone gone gone, never to return. Ah well. At least things look promising for June now!
End result was 14 or 15 contacts, most of them local, spread across 6m,
2m and 70cm.
I ran QRP portable again this year on 6M, 2M, 222MHZ, 70CM, and 1.2 GHZ. I used just a loop for 6m and M2 beams with 10-14FT. booms on the other bands. Everything was mounted on a single hand aimed mast. New for this year, I ran FSJ4 feed line on all bands.
I had wanted to operate from the top of Goat Mt. CM89 but the snow drifts were more than I felt like dealing with. I enacted plan B, Pacific ridge on the south side of Goat Mt. I didn’t go all the way to the top of the ridge because again the drifts were a little deep. I didn’t feel like putting on the chains just to get to the contest site, and figured I’d save those for the trip home, if needed. I ended up at a compromised site without a clear shot to the Bay area; that hurt on the higher bands. I set most everything up Friday night. The tent was on snow. My younger brother, who came along for the ride, informed me that he forgot the 100 bucks worth of cold weather gear I had bought him the previous day. He ended up spending extra time in his bag, as I told him we would leave unless it got dangerous cold, and if he felt chilled to drink some hot tea. The drinking water didn’t even freeze solid in the tent.
My results were not is good as I would have liked, but I did keep all 5 bands going for nearly the whole contest. I packed up and went home about 7p on Sunday to avoid having to break down in the approaching storm. I did end up using the chains to get out, as the snow was hard and slick. I didn’t want to slide on the down grade and end up off the road.
I didn’t find as many stations on 2m as I would have liked, 1.2G was just ok, and I didn’t have any “real DX” above 6m. I left the site a bit disappointed. When I got home and added things up I found that I had my best VHF+ contest results since June05; go figure!
Highlights- Getting a call on 2m from CN82 when I was pointed the opposite direction.
Trying hard to work CM87 on 6m and suddenly receiving a call from CN87 before finally completing with the CM87 station.
This was my first January VHF contest ever. Brian, WA1ZMS, was my only contact. It took about 5 hours to get that only 241 GHz QSO completed in the bitter cold, down the spine of the Blue Ridge Parkway here in Virginia. But it paid off big, setting a new distance record of 114 km. It was just by chance the extremely dry weather showed up on the same weekend as the January VHF contest. Here is info when the distance was 79 km http://www.mgef.org/zms_241_vucc.htm We both did a lot of listening, but just didn’t hear any other signals ! Tnx Brian for introducing me to the new spectrum.
This was the first opportunity to use a small portion of my new tower. I used it for 1296 and 2304 without the benefit of tower top preamplifiers (see K3TUF.COM)
The Contest was a busy enough one even given the relatively flat conditions. Some day we'll have the combination of activity and conditions.
This was also the first contest that I used the Flex 5000 for the entire contest. It is very powerful to see a good portion of the spectrum, especially looking for the weak ones on the microwaves. Literally looking for the signals. What a great concept!
No major failures, only a rotor control box, but fortunately I had a spare ready to plug in and keep on going.
WSJT was nil for 144, but 50 provided some extra grids which is always nice.
I am looking forward to more contests with the new Tower.
73, Phil
I'm a casual contester on the HF bands, usually looking to nab a few new countries. A few weeks before this contest, I made my first ever 2 Meter SSB contact, and the VHF bug hit me hard.
Using only 2 meters into a three element yagi located in my attic due to HOA restrictions, I still managed to have more fun than in any other contest to date. A total score of 40 won't win any certificates or get my name in QST, but it still got my heart racing.
The score would have been even lower, but I put up a 6 meter ground plane during the contest to hand out another band to some locals. Despite the 20db polarization loss, I managed two QSO's on the magic band. Three grids, and only a handful of QSO's...but the excitement compared with the best of any HF contest.
In the midst of the contest, one of the locals even stopped long enough to give me his phone number, and offer to loan me more equipment! That would never happen on the HF bands.
Since the contest, I've purchased an Icom 910H, an FT-736R, several gain antennas, pre-amps, transverters, etc. Expect me back on during the Summer on all bands 50mhz to 1.2ghz including 900mhz. While still restricted to attic antennas, I've added some elements and replaced the lossy RG-8 with hardline, so the score should improve.
If you're a long time ham like myself, give weak signal VHF/UHF a try. Almost every rig sold today includes at least 6 meters, and many include 2M/432. Put up a small horizontal beam or build a cheap yagi and give it a try! It's fun up here!
101 qso's in all and they went to the guys that spun the vfo off 50125 or 144200 ,222100 thankyou , i wont work you if you park on
the call frequency for hours and run your grid totals up.
6m 98 qso's 28 grids
2m 2 qso 2 grid
222 1 qso 1 grid
6m Sporadic e opening 19z-2330z |
6m tower in the background 6m7jhv @ 80', i have since added a m2 2m18 above it. In the fore front is 4-16 el k1fo's for 222 on an az-el rotor |
Wireless woom/room rigs ft847 ,ft857 ,ic 910h amplifier rack on the right comprising of acom 1000 hf-6m ,am6154's with 4cx400's 2 ,222, 432 1296 2-2c39 hombrew 700w 2304 mitsubishi qualcomm amp 100w 3456 - 5.760 3w solid state 10368 8w solid state kuhne |
For the January contest I decided to head south. Winter in northern NM is unpredictable; it can be cold as Canada or warm as Florida. The south is mild and more predictable.
After a rocky start, we settled down and had a good contest. At least for January out here in the southwest. I activated 6 grids, made 31 contacts in 6 grids on 3 bands. This is my third rove and I am trying to improve the station each time I rove. For this contest I added 432 MHz, which only yielded 4 contacts, but increased my score by 50%. Gotta love those extra 432 QSO points.
I started from DM83, but it took longer to get there than I thought so we were 2 hours late. I originally planned to operate from San Juan Mesa, but I could not find an open road to the top. So I ended up operating several hundred feet below where I had intended. I had hoped to work several stations in Albuquerque who needed DM83 from this location, but I could not raise them from my lower location. This is still a goal not reached.
I then activated DM73. I had hoped to move on to DM82 and DM72, but darkness closed in before I could get there. We drove to Alamagordo and stayed the night. It was late and I was feeling tired, so I didn't even stop to think that I had a high clearance vehicle and bent the mast 30 degrees a foot from the top when I pulled into the Motel overhang. Fortunately there was no antenna damage. In the morning I dismantled the mast and managed to bend it back somewhat straight by wedging it between the open back stairs at the motel. We put everything back together and were on the road. I activated DM61 a couple of hours late and was greeted by a crowd, well a crows for a January VHF contest in NM anyway, who had been waiting for me and demanded to know where I had been. It is nice to be wanted.
After an hour there, I moved a few miles south to DM61 near Tres Hermanas. These grids are only a few miles north of the NM/Mexico border and the INS aerostat that is used to monitor the border was only a few miles to the west of these locations. After an hour and several good contacts. We moved to DM51. I had hoped to operate near the DM51/DM61 boundary, but all the good high spots were taken by INS agents. This is less than a mile from Mexico in places. They seemed to be spaced about 3 to 4 miles apart, the line of sight horizon for a man. So I moved to a spot near the continental divide for DM51 and a half mile north of that for DM52. We had a steady stream of INS agents pass us and one parked a quarter mile away, but none stopped. There must be more INS agents in this county than residents.
From there we headed home.
Between the June and September contest I set a goal to operate from all 22 NM grids. With this trip I put 6 more in the bag and only have 6 left. My wife, Virginia drove and it would have been much harder without her.
The rig here is simple. An Icom IC551D to a 2 element Yagi on 6, a Kenwood TS9130 to a 6 element WA5VJB Cheap Yagi on 2, and a Yaesu FT780R to a 11 Element WA5VJB Yagi on 432. With the mast extended, the 6 meter beam is at 13 feet, the 432 MHz Yagi a foot below that, and the 2 meter Yagi a foot below that. Logging is on paper and I use a straight key for CW.
See you all in June. I hope we have some Sporadic E. - KK6MC/r
Raising antennas in DM83. I had hoped to operate from the mesa in the background, but could not find open access to the top. Note the wind generators on the top of the mesa. |
Operating position. As you can see it is nothing fancy. The 432 rig is not visible behind the seat. It became clear during this contest that I need to organize this a bit better. |
DM61 halfway between Deming and Columbus NM. This is about 15 miles north of the Mexico/NM border and the northern edge of the Chiuahuan desert. I went south for the January contest. |
Close up of antennas. The WA5VJB antennas perform well, don't cost much and are easy to make. They are ideal rover antennas. |
Operating position from the rear. Enough said. |
W7EME travel gear |
In EN-43tq on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Knocked off early to go watch the Packer game. W9FZ/R Travelogue |
I have a complete travelogue at: http://w9fz.com/janvhf08/index.html I have maps and more pictures.
Yes, activity was down. I knew almost all of the operators that I contacted. I guess I've been doing this for a few years :-) .
Many highlights--crystal clear days and sparkling snow. Lowlights are not worth mentioning.
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