08/05/2008 | KK6MC/R This was my first rove in a UHF contest. I was inspired by the NLRS Rovermania! and the desire expressed by someone on some list to hit 200 logs submitted in the UHF contest. My modest effort will count.

I operated exclusively on the only UHF band I have, 432 MHz. Lots of people suggested that I get on 222 MHz. That is coming. Then I know everybody will want me on 1296 MHz.

I had great success while operating underway in motion in the CQ WW contest, so I decided to do the same here. I also had 2M liaison. I built a symmetrical double rectangluar loop with the long side oriented vertically for horizontal polarization to use while in motion. This is bidirectional, with a low angle of radiation, and the gain of a 2 or 3 element Yagi. It is not an omni antenna, but it worked great. Come to think of it, one is always going somewhere or coming from somewhere, so there are good chances of there being a good ham population to the front or back of the vehicle.

The rig is an old FT-780R to an old Mirage D3010 running 50 Watts. We have that limit in NM. When stopped I can erect an 11 element WA5VJB Yagi. On two I used a 3 element beam pointed forward.

I started out in DM74 southeast of Moriarity near a gravel pit. I tried to work north into Colorado and into southern NM, but there was no propagation to support it. I then moved to DM75 at the location of the old Longhorn Ranch tourist trap on Route 66. Again I just worked locals and no DX. Then I got on the road and drove through DM65, DM64, DM63, and DM62 to DM61 making a couple of contacts in every grid while in motion, including one at 120 miles, so I know that the new antenna worked. Somewhere between Socorro and Truth or Consequences, Murphy struck. The wooden mast on the loop broke, so I had to stop and splint it back together.

I stopped in DM61 on the west side of the Franklin Mountains on the Transmountain Highway. I worked several El Paso stations, a couple of NM stations and enjoyed a nice sunset. I answered more than one question about the antenna.

I stayed the night in Las Cruces and made my way to Alamogordo in DM72 in the morning. I operated from the RV parking lot of the Space History Museum/Space Hall of Fame. It overlooks the Tularosa basin and the famous White Sands of New Mexico. I worked El Paso and Las Cruces stations from here as well. I heard W7BBM in Tucson, but he could not hear me on SSB and apparently he had problems with his CW setup. I was happy to work from DM72 as I have not worked from that grid before. I am on a mission to rove from all 22 grids in NM and that was the second to last one I needed to work from. Now I just need DM82 and I will get that in the September or January contest.

From Alamogordo I went north to DM73 near La Luz. I made one contact here, but if I had tuned down 6 kHz from the calling frequency, I could have worked another couple of stations that were ragchewing and did not want to disturb my contest efforts. Lesson learned. Tune.

On the way back, I worked K7ICW from several grids and scouted out new rover sites. There are some good ones there.

I was happy with my modest effort in the contest and with the capability to operate while in motion, I worked 9 grids over the weekend, a new high for me. See you in September. -- KK6MC