01/31/2006 | KC0IYT/R This was my third January VHF contest as a rover. It didn't seem like it was
as cold this year, but it was probably windier. Conditions in eastern MN were
poor (yes, that is typical of January). I operated from two grid corners: to
the north west and south east of the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area, and
getting back into the metro area from 50 miles away was difficult.

"Best DX" was 163 miles from EN24 to KM0T in EN13, second best was 145 miles
from EN25 to K0AWU in EN37, third best was 129 miles from EN24 to KC0P/R and
N0HZO/R in EN33.

I tried to create a "rover lite" configuration: a mast short enough that I
could prep everything in the relative warmth of my garage, and short antennas
to hopefully keep the wind load low. I had hoped to move the antennas to a
rotor when parked, but poor placement of the coax prevented that from working.
Next time, I need to find space in the car for some stacked loops.

At many stops, I put the 6M dipole on a DK9SQ telescopic mast, supported by a
tripod on a wide-leg base. Other times, it simply went on top of the car.
The mast is useful, but I need a tripod that can be set up with mittens or
gloves on.

I ran on battery power (my car is on it's third alternator), so I kept the
high bands (902 and up) turned off when it wasn't in use.

In June, I think I'll rent a truck. -- KC0IYT