02/02/2010 | N6NB VHF SS 2010 went really well for the Southern California Contest Club rovers, despite a week of heavy rain and several feet of snow at higher elevations. Miraculously, the eleven 10-band stations all survived the weather. AF6O's toolbox rover was covered with ice and snow while parked at his home at 4,800 feet elevation, but it worked fine on all bands when it thawed out. Out of 11 stations with 10 bands each, only one station lost a single transverter before the contest was over.

We were also blessed with a large group of very talented people. Almost all are experienced HF contesters who understand the crucial importance of maintaining a high QSO rate. Several had made thousands of QSOs on overseas DXpeditions in the last few months (N6VI and W6XD at GJ2A on the Island of Jersey in the English Channel and N6HC at K4M on Midway Island in the Pacific). We were also fortunate to have K9JK fly out from Chicago to rove with us, and N6TEB, who has worked us hundreds of times in previous contests, roved with us for the first time. These roving expeditions are attracting a lot of participants, many of whom would not otherwise be active in VHF contests.

This time two 10-band rovers, W6YLZ and WB2WIK, took a separate route and were never within 100 miles of the main group. But they each worked the main group about 300 times and gave us more than 30 multipliers that we wouldn't otherwise have worked. Microwave signals were great across the San Joaquin Valley, but terrible along the Southern California coast, as WB2WIK mentioned in his soapbox item. W6XD and I had tested the coastal path from Gaviota (CM94) to Newport Coast (DM13) last month and quickly made contacts on all bands through 10 GHz with full-scale signals. But during the contest, microwave signals weren't getting through on that path. Thankfully, conditions were much better in the central valley.

January VHF SS in 2010 was a terrific contest. It made the months of preparation worthwhile. Several of us have been members of the Southern California Contest Club ever since it was founded in the mid-1970s in the aftermath of the Northern California Contest Club's stunning success in breaking the east coast dominance of the club competition in November SS. We're happpy that west coast clubs can now be competitive in VHF contests for the first time. -- N6NB