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2m-2304 array single op lo power |
had my new k1fo/k1whs yagis up and they worked well 222-1296
sunday morning of the contest 1296mhz some of the best signals I have ever heard ,considered myself fortunate to be here to work the other stations, really cool stuff.
A bit low in activity this year, but fun anyways I managed to get my 2304 MHz "blowTorch" the Friday before the contest after wiring up the new DEMI TVTR and AMP it was all I could do to set it up in a rubber made container and a Radio Shack Rotator to add the new band just in time for the contest ,7 contacts is atleast a start on this new band locals were louder on 2304 then 903 and 1296 !
1296 worked pretty well and so did 432 MHz operating on a Hill-top in the back of my SUV this time In High Power CAT.
Will look for you all in September !!!
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The station, sleeping and eating quarters for the duration. |
Adding 2304 in the 12th Hour , 76 Ele Looper. |
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DEMI 2304 Transverter and AMP 20 Watts out, the (melting) lid was left off due to the scolding HOT amplifier. |
Conditions, signal levels, and activity were the best I've seen. For the 2 hours and 10 minutes operated on 432, I worked 24 stations in 8 grids using 20 watts and an 8 element quagi up 14 feet. I worked almost everyone I heard. Some signals were up to +40dB/S9. There is definitely life above 2 meters! With all of the HF/VHF/UHF rigs out there we should have more activity!
August UHF Contest Soapbox
Two weeks prior to this contest,, I was going full speed ahead with testing all the new changes to 222/432 & 1296... Everything looked good...August rolls around and 432 & 1296 appear to have problems... Not good...It wouldn't be until a week after the contest that I finally get 432 back up to 100%...1296 is still messed up...
Contest Day:::
I found very little activity out there... Even running high power
on 222 & 432 resulted in very low numbers... I heard a rumor the
NLRS would have several rovers out.. I even talked to a few base
stations that had worked some of them... I however heard none of them
on Saturday,, and only one on Sunday... Given the very limited amount of time I was on both days really shows in my score... And it wouldn't be fair for me to descibe band conditions... I'll leave that to those who contested throughout the entire time..Well it's time to get things ready for the Sept. vhf contest... So much to do and so little time... It will be a miracle if everything is up and running by then...73's for now from Dan ,,, NØURW,,, en41go,,,Iowa
The antenna system this year. |
I stuck to 432 MHz from the home station in FN31tt for this one -- thanks to everyone who picked out my 10 watts. I'll try to run a bit more power in the future so people don't have to struggle quite as much.
Hearing the HUGE signals on Sunday morning was pretty exciting -- unfortunately, I had already worked everyone I could hear (and who could hear me) except K4QI and K1RZ. I heard W4DEX briefly (but there was no chance for a QSO) and came tantalizingly close to a QSO with VE3HLS twice, but no cigar.
My 52 QRP QSOs break down by grid as follows: FM06 = 1 FM16 = 1 FM17 = 1 FM18 = 1 FM19 = 2 FM29 = 3 FN10 = 1 FN20 = 7 FN21 = 2 FN22 = 1 FN30 = 3 FN31 = 11 FN32 = 4 FN41 = 4 FN42 = 6 FN43 = 4
Dave
The 10ghz dish pointed towards Boulder. |
N1JFU/R and W6HCC/R meet in DN71nb |
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The antennas. |
The operating position inside the van |
My favorite QSO was with K1TEO while I operated in the pitch black of a golf driving range. I aimed the dish in the dark to where I guessed he'd be. Jeff started sending dashes and I tuned 1 KHz down and there he was. It was the fastest 10 GHz contact I ever made. From setup to tear down was just minutes!
A better rotator and a preamplifier for 1296 and I'll be ready for September.
73
N6ZE, TRANSCON ROVER, Once Again Went Coast to Coast.
QSO Rate: 1 QSO/430 miles
N6ZE began the UHF Contest from the 11th floor of a downtown Baltimore Hotel (FM19), flew to Atlanta (EM73), flew to Ontario, CA (DM14), and got home in Thousand Oaks, CA (DM04) at 3:45 AM PDT on Sunday.
From FM19, a mobile in Baltimore was worked, FM18, & FM29. During the first hour of the test, W3VD/b was the only signal noted on 432.1SSB/446FM.
I then flew (I'm a co-pilot at a large airline which has a Greek letter as a name) to Atlanta. I spent 45 minutes on the catwalk outside my employer's ramp control tower with my FT817 & whip antenna, some 125 feet above the airport ramp. From 8:30PM until 9PM, I called CQ in vain and heard nothing!. However I did get stand in the darkness to smell the exhaust from a Chinese restaurant's kitchen and jet fuel, listen to large Pratt & Whitney and GE engines, and contend with very loud audio QRM from the taxiing aircraft. I finally decided to 'try' CW by keying the microphone's up/down buttons. W4WA (EM84) answered immediately with a tremendously loud signal. We switched to SSB and I subsuquently worked K4KAZ (EM73) too.
I landed in Ontario very late and despite posting that I'd be QRV from 1AM - 2 AM, nobody was around when I actually drove from 2AM until 3:30 AM! So much for DM14 as a countable QTH.
After I got up on Sunday, I made 2 QSOs from DM04 before the test ended.
Conclusions: Activity was low from Coast to Coast, at least on 70cm.
When I retire in a couple of years, I'll miss the fun of operating from non-rare locations in conjunction with my employment. I think that I have operated from almost 2 dozen different hotels, control centers, & city parks in the past decade.
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