08/03/2009 | K2QO/R I don't recall operating in this contest before and it is always on a weekend that is simply too busy to jump in. But on Sunday at about 1130 a.m. local time, and with 2.5 hours remaining in the contest, I had a short window to give it a go as a limited rover. I put together the simplest rover operation I could manage; an FT817 driving my Elecraft XV-222, my 6-el Cheap WA5VJB Yagi on my low band rover mast, no rotor box, a paper log and a Bulldog key on a Corian square.

With no time to spare I hustled off to FN02 near my home QTH. First stop was the empty lot near the Eastern Hills Mall which is about 7 miles east of Buffalo. It has a good shot to the west and north. With two stations in the log, I drive 20 minutes north to an open road in FN03 in southern Niagara County. All but one QSO was at an impressive distance so I suspect that the propagation may have been really fine for the contest.

Maybe it is high time to put this contest on my schedule! -- K2QO