06/27/2010 | KC2TA My original post (and my retry) didn't make it through -- just like previous tries, my post seems to go off into the internet ether! Well, maybe the third time is the charm? Got a 3 element yagi up for 6 meters -- not up the tower the way I wished, but at least up in the air about 18 feet strapped to the railing posts on the deck. Used the old tried and tru armstrong rotation method, allowing me to get some physical activity in during the contest. Turn the main tower in the direction of the opening, run up the basement stairs through the kitchen and out the rear sliders onto the deck, rotate the 6 meter in the same general direction as the antennas on the main tower, then reverse the direction back down to the rig. Could manage the route in 30 seconds or less. Guess refereeing as many soccer matches as I do has helped in that respect. Score wise I did better than last June due to all the extra grids worked on 6. Heard a couple of CM's but couldn't break the pileups. Many new DM, EM & EN grids put into the log. BUT... WHAT HAPPENED TO 2 METERS??? Normally there are a number of single AND multi-op stations from .150 to .250 calling CQ for the contest. During my stints sitting at the rig, the only times I heard any activity on two were when stations worked up from 6 and heading up the bands! Did hear three or four stations calling CQ, but after working them there was NOTHING!!! I sat at 144.210 for easily 30 minutes calling and worked three stations -- two in FN20 and one in FM29. My QSO and grid count were meager on the band. We won't talk about 70cm -- that is always a difficult band for me and I only work up the bands for qso's on it -- and of course listen for the few cq's and try to work them. All in all, I'm not unhappy -- as in the past I looked for 1 extra Q and 1 extra grid. Think that was taken care of. Waiting for September. KC2TA -- KC2TA