07/02/2009 | N8UR W8RKO, WD8DPA, and I operated portable from Beaver Island, MI (EN75). We were at the south end of the Island, looking down about 280 miles of Lake Michigan toward Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and beyond.

This was our first attempt at a portable operation and first serious attempt at VHF contesting. We learned a lot, and had a lot of fun!

We operated 6M, 2M, 70cm, 23cm, and 10GHz. Antennas were small yagis and power was <100 watts, with 3 watts on 10 GHz. Our site was about 40 feet above the lake, unfortunately blocked from the water by a thin line of trees. One great thing about this location was having an S0 noise level on 6M, even with the preamp on max gain; we were far from the nearest high tension line or sodium vapor light!

The biggest challenges were the 3-lb. mosquitoes and getting people to aim their antennas north!

We hope to be back next year with a bigger, better operation. -- N8UR