06/22/2005 | KF Well I promised I would try to get the rover out again and I finally did. Has been 5 years since I hit the June test seriously in the rover class. I really did well in '2000 and had no expectation of coming close to that effort this time out. My original plan was to activate 10 grids however; last minute delays ended up costing two grids so eight was all I could cover.

In the weeks before the contest I spent time working on station gear and the rover itself. I installed a 165A battery isolator under the hood of my 2004 Ram pickup. (My 90A isolator installed days before Rovermania I (the 2004 UHF test) was destroyed after one-day's use!). The two deep cycle batteries each have 2 each connectors now (125A Anderson style) to accommodate charging and supply of power to the equipment rack on the rear seat of the pickup. A couple nights before the contest I built a temporary rear window for the pickup that would sandwich the rear sliding window frame sealing the top and both sides. The bottom had a gap just big enough for the #4AWG battery wiring, all feedlines and the rotor cable. The temporary window turned out Ok; kind of looks like part of a stock car with the 1/4" carriage bolts on the outside and wing nuts in the interior... cool! All the gear was tightly secured to the vehicle with straps to prevent sliding around while in motion.

The antenna setup is pretty simple. I built a frame out of aluminum pipe (PVC used for the top pieces) with a mount for the Yaesu 1000 rotator and a thrust bearing for the mast. I purchased cast aluminum corners and Tee braces for the 1.50" pipe from a maintenance supply company in Iowa. Bracing for the rotator and thrust bearing was built with 13/16" X 1 5/8" aluminum strut. The mast is just tall enough to accommodate antennas for 50,144,222,432. The loopers for 902 and up get taped (yes, taped) the top frame fixed facing forward. The mast is in two pieces that telescope together with a 5/16" locking pin that clamps around the mast. It would be fairly easy to add another section of mast or change the length of either mast sections. I always make sure to orient the antenna array facing forward prior to driving to the next site. The short Yagis used for 144, 222, and 432 really dont take up that much space. In all I would say that the array is fairly stable at highway speed (already logged a few thousand miles with it..) No real problems other than some tugs from a cross wind.

My rover setup for Rovermanina One was a bit hastily put together and not too egromatic. For this season I decided that I would take the extra time needed and put together a better organized operating position. My equipment rack has a 14 position ATC fuse block for supply voltage of all the gear. I built a wiring harness for each piece of gear with proper size fuses and a disconnect in-line for maintenance. All the wires were bundled together in a somewhat more orderly fashion. With the five transverters, IF rig, '706mkII and the bricks all 14 of the fuse positions were used! The larger bricks for 144 and 432 have Anderson style disconnects rated at 75A in the power leads.

Have to admit I was a little rusty with some of the operating details but it was a great weekend. Had some small problems after I got all the gear in the truck and decided that it was better to get most of them handled before getting on the road. (The golf tournament Friday afternoon really messed up my last minute preparation but it was fun). One thing I decided to do prior to this contest was to have my gear as well as the rover better organized and tested than I did in Rovermania. The effort was well worth it but required a bit more prep time than I had, so I ended up leaving the driveway close to the time I had hoped to arrive in EN42.

The contest started when I was on the road; ran into Gary, WHZ and Glen, KCYT/R right away and decided to test my gear a bit more and hand out some qs from EN33 on my way to Iowa. 1296 didnt seem quite right and 2304 seemed to have troubles too. I wiggled a few things around made some contacts and moved on. Good news was 10 Gig seemed to work great!

Finally got to EN42 about 4:30 and decided to get a great spot to park (was so late already what the heck....) instead on my usual spot on Neon Rd off HWY 18. I think that many of the rovers return back to the same location each contest - not a bad idea but for me I try to get close to the same area generally, but look for something better. Is there a perfect site perhaps, and maybe some day I will find it! My new spot was east of HWY 150 and just N of West Union, IA turned out fine with low amount of traffic great views in most directions, NO overhead power lines, and a tractor path running North to South! Worked quite a few stations even after being late. From here I worked several stations up through 3456, the highlight was working Bob, K2YAZ on 3456 some 328 miles to the Northeast!

Next spot in EN32 was equally good; in fact better than I have used previously. Had fun working everyone but man was I tired! Decided that EN22,23 had to be omitted from the schedule and headed for home just before 9:00, which got me back to the driveway in Minnesota just before midnight. Day two went pretty well. I was right on schedule to start the day in a new grid. Good amount of qs in EN33, a bit less in 34,43,44. Even with stopping for lunch at my house I stayed on schedule until late in the afternoon. Had to fix the 50Mhz moxon (think a clipped a low branch in EN33) in EN44 otherwise all the gear was fine. For some reason 1296 seemed fine; not quite as good as in the spring microwave sprint but functional. Throughout the whole weekend 902 was incredible!

Band conditions were mixed for me. Didnt work too much AU as I was /M most of the time that mode cranked up. Hearing the band go completely nuts with AU while driving was bit frustrating! Doesn't necessarily help a rover in between grid... wish I was home! Was fun working Jon, WQ from WI on CW at 60 MPH via AU. Actually made several contacts while /M on FM, 144, and 222. Finally heard Mike, KM about .5 mi from the EN45 border. Seemed to take forever to get in EN45, but it was well worth it.

Once I got into EN45 there were many stations calling but I had to keep moving. I was still a bit picky about the operating site as I wanted to have successful contacts on the high bands and attempt a 10Gig contact with Charlie in EN44. I am more familiar with EN45 to the east ... the area within the 10 miles of the 45/35 border was new to me. Obviously, John, KB9TLV who lives just a few miles to the north had some great ideas about what works in EN45. Not only did he follow me around all weekend (contacts in all 8 grids...tnx John!) but suggested a couple of killer spots a bit further up in the grid. As time was beginning to run out I noticed (actually drove past it first) a remote dirt road to the east of HWY 25 just south of Barron. This spot had an incredible view of the whole south horizon including the Twin Cities metro to the SW. Was able to work Charlie, NKC on 902 SSB! K9MU was loud, stations to the NW, W and the metro were great!

Really would have liked to stay longer in EN45 but had just enough time to hit EN35 before the end. (For a few minutes actually felt like I was the DX!) Entered EN35 at 0122Z and found an OK place to stop. There was township road with a tractor path that allowed me to park just N of HWY 8 a bit east of Turtle Lake. Quite a few stations were around and the time went by fast. Didnt have much luck on the high bands however; would have really enjoyed getting Bill, KWU in the log on 1296 but it was not going to happen (next time for sure Bill!). Also attempted Clair, KJ on 1296 from HWY 63 on way the home but nothing. Last minute qsos at just half an hour to go with some of the EN44 bunch from EN35 just south of Turtle Lake including a sweep with Justin,K9MU really helped the q count!

Arrived home at 12:00AM (not quite as tired as the night before but close!) just over 700 miles again. Tnx to everyone for the qsos, and patience. Although I had room in the log for more contacts I declared the effort a success. Was great to get the rover out see the countryside and hear so many of you on the bands!

Good stuff:


New 165A battery isolator and dual rover batteries were awesome!

All nine bands worked

Portable 10G setup worked, only 45 seconds to set up

746 pro for IF with beacon keyer was flawless

even mounted low above the roof 144 (4 ele) and 222 (8 ele) were great

902 ....what a killer band!

Nice sweep with Dan, NRW parked along HWY 63 in EN35 told Dan "222 ..the other magic band"!

WX was great (Sunday weather was unbelievable.... not one mosquito!!... pinch me... this is Minnesota!)

No explanations to Law Enforcement required



Not as good:

me, late again at the start

only 8 grids

found the power connector on the 2304 brick loose later Saturday

missed some sweeps with some really patient stations

missed W9FZ/R completely (where were you Bruce? Bet you were busy too)


See you next time for Rovermania II!!!
73,
Matt -- KF