2004 ARRL June VHF Contest
06/16/2004 |
N6ZE/R
N6ZE/ TRANSCONTINENTAL ROVER (Again!)
As N6ZE/TransCon Rover, I completed my 3rd TransContinenal Rover Operation in a 12 month perio. During the contest, my travels in Florida, Georgia, & California resulted in 2700 miles of travel by air and by car.
The TransCon Rove began from the Ft. Lauderdale, FL (EL96) Airport Terminal. 6 QSOs were made on 6/2/70 with an FT817 & Yaesu supplied whip antenna. Deafening RF trash from computers & CRTs made comms very difficult. I had only 10 minutes to operate there. A total of 6 Qs were made.
I stayed overnight in Coconut Grove, FL (EL95) & was lucky enough to be able to operate from an 11th floor hotel balcony. As during the Jan. 2004 VHF SS, I was able to visit with old friends from my past living in EL95 during the 1990s. Unfortunately, I had high buildings to the Northwest through Northeast, but I did manage to work K0GU (DN70) at a distance of 1700 statute miles on 6m CW with the FT817 & a 1/2 wave dipole. I heard W6OAL (CO)& W0AH (CO) as well as a bunch of EMxx stations, but the peanut whistle was unable to break through the din. My dipole also served on 2 meters & I used a KB6KQ Mini-Loop for 432 Mhz. I did hear the 2m CW of WA4OFS (EL88), but I was not heard by him. 15 QSOs were made at this stop.
For 20 minutes on Suday AM, I operated from the outside deck of my employer's Atlanta Airport Ramp Control Tower structure (EM73). When I operate as a QRP Rover, I usually travel from site to site by airplane, so there is only 1 factor which can help make QSOs: ANTENNA HEIGHT!. 2 watts & a dipole or other non-gain antenna make ANTENNA HEIGHT mandatory. However my Atlanta operating environment some 100 feet above the ramp had many loud audio & RF noise generators: The huge aircraft control center has some 2 dozen work stations, all with networked computers and plasma or CRT screens; the whine of up to a dozen taxiing airliners utilzing large jet engines; and airplanes taking off all created a tremendous racket. (Thanks to Murphy, I had conveniently left my headset down on the concourse level.) Strong kerosene fumes & smells from the exhaust vents of a greasy Chinese restaurant provided additional operating distractions. 6 Qs were made on 3 bands; KI4ADK in the NC mountains (EM85) provided he furthest 2m QSO.
I landed at Los Angeles at 4PM PDT on Sunday afternoon; I had gotten up at 3AM PDT in Miami, but I didn't want to give up the opportunity to operate from the 4 L.A. area grids so I spent the next 3.5 hours operating from various spots in DM03, DM04, DM13, & DM14. Highlights included: making several Qs with 4C2X (DM11) on 6/2/70; with 10 watts + whip, I worked KF6YYv/6 (DM16) on 70cm;& I made a 2m contest exchange with N6TEB/R in DM07.
TransCon Roving is fun, but I hope to be home for the next VHF test....or Roving by auto from a bunch of West Coast grids.
btPete, N6ZE/R...K1FJM -- N6ZE
As N6ZE/TransCon Rover, I completed my 3rd TransContinenal Rover Operation in a 12 month perio. During the contest, my travels in Florida, Georgia, & California resulted in 2700 miles of travel by air and by car.
The TransCon Rove began from the Ft. Lauderdale, FL (EL96) Airport Terminal. 6 QSOs were made on 6/2/70 with an FT817 & Yaesu supplied whip antenna. Deafening RF trash from computers & CRTs made comms very difficult. I had only 10 minutes to operate there. A total of 6 Qs were made.
I stayed overnight in Coconut Grove, FL (EL95) & was lucky enough to be able to operate from an 11th floor hotel balcony. As during the Jan. 2004 VHF SS, I was able to visit with old friends from my past living in EL95 during the 1990s. Unfortunately, I had high buildings to the Northwest through Northeast, but I did manage to work K0GU (DN70) at a distance of 1700 statute miles on 6m CW with the FT817 & a 1/2 wave dipole. I heard W6OAL (CO)& W0AH (CO) as well as a bunch of EMxx stations, but the peanut whistle was unable to break through the din. My dipole also served on 2 meters & I used a KB6KQ Mini-Loop for 432 Mhz. I did hear the 2m CW of WA4OFS (EL88), but I was not heard by him. 15 QSOs were made at this stop.
For 20 minutes on Suday AM, I operated from the outside deck of my employer's Atlanta Airport Ramp Control Tower structure (EM73). When I operate as a QRP Rover, I usually travel from site to site by airplane, so there is only 1 factor which can help make QSOs: ANTENNA HEIGHT!. 2 watts & a dipole or other non-gain antenna make ANTENNA HEIGHT mandatory. However my Atlanta operating environment some 100 feet above the ramp had many loud audio & RF noise generators: The huge aircraft control center has some 2 dozen work stations, all with networked computers and plasma or CRT screens; the whine of up to a dozen taxiing airliners utilzing large jet engines; and airplanes taking off all created a tremendous racket. (Thanks to Murphy, I had conveniently left my headset down on the concourse level.) Strong kerosene fumes & smells from the exhaust vents of a greasy Chinese restaurant provided additional operating distractions. 6 Qs were made on 3 bands; KI4ADK in the NC mountains (EM85) provided he furthest 2m QSO.
I landed at Los Angeles at 4PM PDT on Sunday afternoon; I had gotten up at 3AM PDT in Miami, but I didn't want to give up the opportunity to operate from the 4 L.A. area grids so I spent the next 3.5 hours operating from various spots in DM03, DM04, DM13, & DM14. Highlights included: making several Qs with 4C2X (DM11) on 6/2/70; with 10 watts + whip, I worked KF6YYv/6 (DM16) on 70cm;& I made a 2m contest exchange with N6TEB/R in DM07.
TransCon Roving is fun, but I hope to be home for the next VHF test....or Roving by auto from a bunch of West Coast grids.
btPete, N6ZE/R...K1FJM -- N6ZE
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