01/22/2007 | N2JDQ Had a Blast! Operating for the first time in my new location, I was very pleased with my results. As you can see the station had some pretty limiting factors, yet still was able to produce 9 grids on both my bands 2/432. Running 40 watts per band, with 5 elements on 2m and 11 elements on 432.

Highlight of the contest for me was while tuning around on 432 hearing my friends in Western NY, N2PA from FN12hn... after a few short calls I logged them on 432 and was thrilled, TY Mark & Company! Qsy'd to 2m and took a while to get them there but with persistance did. Just as a side note, most of my contacts were on CW, and had almost a 100% sucuess rate in working any station I was able to hear.

My best DX was tward the end of the show on 2m and 432 working KA1ZE/P in FN01, with a crushing signal!

As seen in the photos the station was a very tight squeeze, with just enough room for me and the antennas. It's a shame I waited until 4 days before the contest to order my rotor cable, had it arived even on sat. I would have put the antennas in the back yard at least.

Main Station Photo from left to right is a HR2600 10m all mode (oscar downlink), G5500 Rotor control Box, and the main rig is an Icom IC-820H, of course the laptop for logging, and a QST for the slow periods. In the antenna photo...yes thats an Orange aluminium broom handle for the mast and a 1/2" ratchet inserted in the boom to mast clamp of the 2m yagi to prevent the mast from crushing. Both coaxial runs were 40' of CNT-400, with less than 1.0dB loss pr/band there were no preamps used.

Quite possibly next January contest I will add 903 and or 1296... with the results I had on 432 with a ground level antenna.. a looper or 2 @ 40' would probabally talk very nicely.

In the words of a Not 2 Well Known contester.. my rule of thumb is Keep Sending!


73's from FN20vg

Steve Raas -- N2JDQ