02/20/2004 | KF0Q Well I wasn't sure if it would happen last fall - but I actually followed through and operated single-op portable (QRP) for the Jan '04 contest. May sound a bit crazy to some to even consider the setup outdoors in January but I live in the southern part of Minnesota - I hear about the guys up north near International Falls and such and consider myself lucky living down here! Some of my friends think that adding the challenge of a small signal is further abuse! But I always seek out some adventure for a contest and my plan was in place. On Jan 2 it all started with a phone call to obtain permission to set up and operate at the site in EN44 located at the Winona Sportsmans Club on the ridge just west of Winona, MN some 10 miles from my home. I picked the site because our local club here in Winona often sets up for Field Day there and it lends itself somewhat to VHF on up work with some good elevation. (Besides I knew the road would get plowed too). Later that afternoon I took advantage of a near January thaw and prepared for the contest by marking off the two mast locations, trailer location, and setting the earth anchors in the partially frozen ground. Not knowing what could happen in the next 3 weeks I marked all the anchors and mast locations with fluorescent orange paint. The only other preparation I accomplished in the coming weeks was to replace the generator oil with 5W30 synthetic blend and give it a good test run.

For my portable setup I use 2 telescoping push up masts that have guy ropes tied off at 3 points for mounting the 8 yagis. The larger 36 ft mast has three tiers of guy ropes while the smaller mast for 432 on up had two sets. It usually takes about 3 days to get everything just right for the contest (in warmer weather). I really had no idea what to expect so I thought that it would be good to start a week early. My first return trip on January 17th however; was aborted due to the ice storm the night before. My second return trip on the 21st had to be aborted due to the dangerously high winds at the site. (Assembly of this style push up mast by yourself in the wind is not only difficult, but also dangerous!) The big stack (6MX5, 16LBX, 222-16) finally went up Friday afternoon just one day before the test. I worked in pack boots with several layers of clothes and my head covered at all times. Most of the gear was staged at home to minimize the time for assembly in the field. I worked in short shifts with my hands exposed at a minimum. While working in the cold I learned how to prepare a taught-line hitch in just a few seconds! One thing I hadn't thought too much about was how the low temperatures would affect cableling. My setup requires 11 cables for antennas, IF's, PTT's and 2 for the rotators. The LMR400 flex wasn't too bad but everything else was considerably stiff.

On day two of setup I was greeted with some unexpected colder temperatures. It was -8F when I left the house for the ridge. Even though I knew it would be tough to get the work done outside in time for the contest I pressed ahead and got the antennas for next five bands: 432 - 3456 up in record time! Even in the warmer months I have had some trouble hoisting the tower mounted xverter box up to the aluminum cross members - but this time out things went OK. (I have been known to be fussy about how the stack looks ...it really helped keeping my torpedo level in my back pocket this time out!) As it later turned out in spite of the delays and cold I was probably the most prepared for the contest start this year than any other time.

My operating position was inside the small familiar looking yellow camping trailer (courtesy N0QK tnx again Russ!). The table in the camper is barely big enough for the 2 transceivers, rotor boxes, keyers, and computer. Underneath the table was my Astron power supply, and 902-144 xverter. Once again I used the IC746PRO for 50MHz and the IF for 902, 2304, and 3456 as well as 146MHz FM for local contacts. Just as in the September '03 test I handled PTT keying between the IF rig and the xverter manually by selecting the correct line and plugging it in to the 746PRO cable. A 4 - position N coax switch was used to switch between each xverters or the 146 antenna.

My generator was actually on-line at contest start as the trailer warmed up a bit (For a heat source inside the camper I used a small electric heater. I tried the propane furnace for a bit but decided that it wasn't worth the trouble). Immediately I heard many of the locals mostly from EN44 exchanging reports. It wasnt easy, but I ignored the stations for a few more minutes taking extra time to make sure both keyers were operating, as I knew it would be nice to have a beacon available for the higher band qso's. First contacts in the log were W9FZ/R. Bruce was really close to my west and really loud on all 7 bands! For the next few hours I was quite busy working Bruce and several of the locals including K0NY/R and WA9IGK/R on their four bands. (The heater by the way did an awesome job! By 0100Z on Saturday night the camper was a comfortable 64F inside!)

Things seemed to quiet down a bit after that. Many of the stations to my north were busy chasing the rover stations around and I had substantial difficulty contacting anyone with all the yagis pointed away from me. I worked several more stations throughout the evening but pulled the switch when things got really quiet for a good rest at home overnight. The next day things went pretty fast. I was happy to hook up with some stations to the southeast: N2BJ and WB9Z on CW. Although things were pretty quiet to the east - I did happen to run into KC9BQA for a 3-band sweep. Other highlights included all band sweeps with several stations .... 902 and 1296 were the most impressive this time out. My frozen tower mounted xverter box for 2304 and 3456 seemed to work just fine too!

Not without some troubles - just as in the September '03 test the generator had problems later Sunday. Even though it wasnt snowing at the time the high wind up on the ridge caused blowing snow to get pulled into the generator between the brushes and slip rings causing a shower of sparks! I didnt even bother to see how bad the damage was - just decided to pull the switch. (Maybe need to find a contest-rated generator next time out.). My whole operation came to a dead stop just after 5:00 Sunday. I used the extra time to begin tear down (typically takes 2 days to get everything back home) which was a great idea as it turned out. In all I feel that the effort was a success - had plenty of room for more contacts. For those who took the time for a qso thank you! One thing I will take from the experience is the knowledge in what it takes to deal with the cold WX setup and logistics. I got all the gear back to the house in record time by 7:00 Monday morning just before the start of small storm that closed schools with 7 of new snow.
73,
de -- KF0Q