08/07/2017 | KF2MR/R Leading up to this contest I had worked long and hard on upgrades for 2.3, 3.4, and 5G stations. My rover rebuild is now complete. The most rewarding part of the contest was finding out the gear worked like it should and extending my personal best DX on each of these bands. I was happy to have made multiple contacts on all bands from 222-10G and enjoyed some wonderful weather from locations with beautiful views. There were a few stations that made this effort particularly worthwhile. WB2BYP, VE3CRU/R, K1TEO, and K1RZ were all in my log many times on several bands from different grids. I really like the format change to a distance contest, but I certainly see the downsides. I feel this contest is well suited to big stations, well equipped rovers, and those who like to experiment or study propagation. I tried to get some people excited about the team competition, but was not successful. The format caused a slightly larger shift to internet/cellular based assistance for me. With that said, I used plain old skeds and pre-established calling frequencies with the most active station in my log, and my best DX was in response to a station over 500km away calling CQ on 432 CW. I will try my best to participate again next year. -- KF2MR