2012 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
This was the first contest for me in about a decade and my first time as a
rover. Started in FN21uf at the 2nd parking lot up the hill near the corner
of 17A and Kain Rd. Lost a wing nut in the fresh snow so I used a piece of
rope in its place to hold the mast sections together. Next was FN20vx at the
corner of Woodland Ave. and Longview Ct. Its a residential area so I half
expected to be visited by the cops but all I got were a bunch of strange
looks. When I stopped of for lunch at Stateline Lookout I noticed that one
of the solder joints between the 2m beam and the coax failed. Since the
Stateline Lookout staff wouldn't let me use one of their outlets I ended up
using an outlet in a bathroom stall at the Alpine scout camp across the
street. My third spot was in FN30aw at Alpine Lookout off the PIP. Some guy
asked me if I was "tracking bears". Last location was a random choice at
FN31ab in front of the closed gate to Nike Overlook Park. I was able to
operate there a couple hours until I got asked to leave by a cop. My setup
was an IC-7000, 2m and 70cm "cheap yagis" as per wa5vjb, and a 6m moxon.
I think I'll add 222 for the next contest. It was cold and a bit more work
going rover but I had fun.
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