10/29/2003 | KF0M/R It has been about 10 yrs from the last time I did a rover operation. This one was a lot of fun and combined with a vacation trip. My XYL KB0TZZ was the pilot for this trip and I did the navagator and radio operator duties. We covered 8 grids starting from EM17 and ending in EN32. The most interesting operating location was a cemetery in EN20 where the XYL read head stones while I operated.

Equipment for the Rover station consisted of 144 MHz: Kenwood TR751 into an RFC 170W amp, Ant was a 12 element Jr boomer. 222 Mhz Yeasu FT736 KLM 120W amp, and 6 el Quagi. 432 Mhz: Yeasu FT 736 and TE 200W amp and 11 el quagi. 1296 Mhz was Yeasu FT736 and 45 el Loop yagi. All antennas were mounted on a PVC rack.

The highlight of the rover operation actually came the day before the contest Friday evening when I completed a 222 Mhz e-skip QSO from the mobile station EM17 to N6RMJ DM14 running barefoot. I wonder if there have been any other "Mobile" 222 Mhz E- skip QSO's. -- KF0M