KE3HT/rover 50mhz thru 5ghz

Sept 2006 ARRL VHF Contest.

This contest I went out as a rover scheduled for: K1TEO, N3NGE, K3TUF, W3SZ, and W2SZ. All of those have all the bands I do. N2PA is a regular that I find and work all bands in most contests with all my bands. I also found some great new Microwave partners! KA1ZE (up to 1.2ghz) and N2NK (up to 3ghz). For the past few contests I have done 3 grids near Phillipsburg PA, 3 grids near the NY border (between Coudersport, PA and Bath, NY). I also did one grid just north of Binghamton since it is on my way home. The result was just over 41,800 points! That is amazing! I did just over 41,800 points in September of 2005! In fact I did only 55 points more in this contest. How did I do that? Last year I had all bands working (6m had high swr) AND Sunday morning we had a microwave opening, this time I had no 6 meters (or band openings), 3ghz was drifting and the microwave bands would close like a door and return to lighter than normal conditions in a flash. How did I have a better score? I duno but I am happy.

Low Bands (144-432): Up and Down as the rows of clouds passed. No openings. I think things were good for short periods of time and down for short periods of time. Most of the time flat.

Microwaves (903-5g): Mostly a little lighter than normal. N2PA was great on 903 and 1.2g but on 2ghz they were WAY down from June. Then I made a hard 5ghz contact from FN02 with W2SZ. Something I have only done a couple of times in the past. So I would say things were up and down on the microwaves but mostly lighter than normal. My new FN12 site failed to perform for K1TEO despite its negative TOA but then I worked W3SZ to 2ghz through a clump of trees 20 feet away! Strange.

WX: Wow, During my second grid, FN00, I saw the clouds change and lightening (no thunder) in the distance. Being on the top of a hill in FN00 and in a corn field I figured I might not be safe. I took down my antennas just in time. Quarter size hail, significant winds and lightening and thunder was pretty serious (picture of the hail below). I pulled out of the field under some trees so I was not the high spot. The quarter sized hail was mixed in between normal hail and rain. My 6 foot dish sits face up on the top of my van. WHAT a NOISE when hail hits it! Sounded like church bells! Sunday we had some mostly rain free, straight lines of clouds. Might have been fronts. A number of them. After one of them I lost N2PA on all bands even 2m. N2PA was only 70 or so miles from me?

Gas: Prices in PA were $2.49 thru $2.69! New Yorkers were $2.95 and Mass was $2.68. I drove 919 miles through 7 grids. So my cost was $0.71 per QSO :-)

Interesting contacts:

Rover to Rover: Other than grid circling, ever wonder if it can happen over longer than just one grid? I have tried a few times before. In fact KJ1K and I tried FN10 to FN20 just before this contest and failed. How About 230 miles! Neither rover had serious power. I have 150watts and a log periodic. W1AUV/r fn31 de KE3HT/r fn11 QSL! Yea it was just 2 meters and 222 but that is not a normal contact for me. We did not even plan it. We just happed to be pointed at each other after I worked K1TEO. 

Something of a record: I thought working K1WHS was good then I found W4IY fm08(mk?) de KE3HT/r fn22de. 2Meters and approx 313 miles. Actually I did 356 miles with W2SZ on all bands up to 3ghz a couple of years ago (with a microwave opening). I give this one an A+ since this contest was so flat on the low bands.

Failures: I had a lightening EMP before the June contest. It melted the insulation right out of my low band coax! It also melted the insulators for the 6m Halo. Well I fixed the halo but forgot to tune it before the contest so I had no 6meters. 3Ghz died in my second grid. I got it working by removing the cover of the LO and sticking my fingers inside the box. It worked but the freq walked as I talked (Drifting) because the temp compensation was off.

Trends I saw in this contest: W3SZ, K3TUF and I think KA1ZE all have what I call “FindU” ability. They are making contacts WAY more productive and faster! This new wave of the old Linrad type signal searching is being done with wide band receivers so they can spot my signal when I do not know my exact frequency. They just look at the screen when I transmit and they have found me. Thats fast! Now I just need the others to be on the right frequency! I have found that my frequency (except 3ghz this time) has been pretty stable and when warmed up I can set my IF rig for 144.097 and know that it is on 5760.1. Then someone says “go to 5760.120” or something like that and I find a birdie from another transverter that I left on to keep warm and on frequency. Sometimes I just can't win.

More details and pictures can be found at: http://www.ke3ht.org/rover/sep2006/

See more about my rover at: http://www.ke3ht.org/rover/

A picture of the quarter sized hail. There were not that many and it ended very quickly but I did snap this shot in FN00.
(A little hard to see them)

This is my new FN12 site looking towards K1TEO. Looks great yet we did not work on the microwaves! I think the bands were down at the point in time we tried. W2SZ is just to the left and I worked them up to 3ghz.

I my van survives I will see you all next year!

Tim KE3HT/r