2008 ARRL September VHF Contest
My plan was to operate two bands, 144Mhz and 1296MHz from the Satellite Amateur Radio Club site on Vandenberg AFB.
Saturday morning revealed a 'N' connector failure on the 1296Mhz antenna coax running up the tower. This caused a high SWR measurement on this band and I was only able to manage one local QSO on 1296.
The rest of the day went well, with 144MHz contacts trickling in until 1600PDT, a great time to break for dinner.
The local marine layer decided to hold off the coast and allowed me to work WSJT on 144MHz moon-bounce (EME)to increase my grid multipliers.
The clear skies made the full moon easy to track. I gathered 7 grids before another equipment failure occurred. While CQ'ing on the moon, I noted that my 144MHz 8877 amplifier grid current was excessive. This caused me to shut down and examine the cause. I discovered that my tower mounted 144MHz preamp relay had flashed over and destroyed the preamp. It was time to turn in for the night.
On Sunday morning, I removed the preamp, installed an 'N' adapter and continued operations until 1030PDT. I was able to pick up 10 more QSO points and a new grid multiplier.
My 144MHz QSO count is comparable to my past contest operations. I managed 66 144MHz Q's, 1 1296MHz Q in 22 grids. A preliminary score of 1518 points. -- N6VMO
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