ARRL June VHF Contest - 2019
Call: K2EZ/R
Operator(s): K2EZ
Station: K2EZ/R
Class: Rover LP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 20
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 92 24
2: 67 12
222: 41 7
432: 43 7
903: 13 3
1.2: 17 4
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
-------------------
Total: 273 63 Total Score = 26,274
Club: Mt Airy VHF Radio Club
Comments:
Rover Challenge #162
It has been a long first day of the contest. While nothing spectacular has
happened, it has been going okay. The multi-ops seem to drag their feet as
usual and the telephone number you have for the biggest multi-op in the area
doesn’t work. Digital modes have produced contacts, but QSY opportunities
are lacking. You hear tons of digital mode signals that would be easy to work
on SSB if someone would just call CQ. This seems to be the new normal however.
It is getting very late and most activity has wound down. You are about 40
minutes from your overnight stop and looking forward to a shower, and some rest.
It won’t be a long rest since you are planning to get out around 6am-ish but
the shower and rest will be enough recharge. If all goes well you will be
activating three new grids by 10am. Two of those are really good locations and
you expect to pick up lots of Qs and mults.
You come up on a rest area on the highway. You stop to get some water, and a
little snack. It is now that you discover your wallet is missing. It isn’t
in the rover and you think back to the last time you had it out. That was over
five hours ago and 140 miles back. It was when you last filled the tank and got
some dinner. You hope it was there.
No cash, no credit cards, no driver’s license. This isn’t looking good.
Good news, you looked up the place you used it last, called, and they have your
wallet!
Can you continue your rove and pick it up on the way back? You didn’t have a
room reserved much less pre-paid since you weren’t certain you would make it
all this way. Maybe sleep in the car? Oh wait, you aren’t out of fuel yet,
but there is no way to get thru four or so hours in the morning without needing
to fill up.
Okay, you think maybe better part of valor is to head back and get the wallet?
By now it is after 2am and it’ll be 4:30-ish by the time you get to where it
is. What then? Stay there? But that is over 3 hours away from the grid corner
you intended to activate in the morning. If you turned around immediately after
getting your wallet, you would be an hour and a half late for your intended
start time and have gotten no sleep at all. This does not bode well for your
rove plans.
Then you have an unwanted though. Can you even get back to where your wallet
is? The fuel gauge shows two thirds of a tank but you know it is very
non-linear and at a half tank it seems to go towards empty at an incredible
rate. Experience also suggests a half take indication is usually a bit under a
third of a tank. So two thirds doesn’t give you much confidence.
Maybe some math is in order. You know with all the antennas, the rover’s
highway MPG is just a hair over 15 mpg. That is with the antennas facing
forward and you have been swinging them all over during that 140 miles. That
can’t help. With 22 gallon tank, that should be a 330 mile range. Okay you
only went 140 miles and with 330 mile range, you should be good. Then you
remember that yes, it may have only been 140 miles, but it also has been five
hours since you filled the tank. The rover’s engine has been running the
entire time. It is looking very iffy.
It gets better though. You are on a tollway and can’t just turn around. You
must proceed to the next exit, pay the toll and double back and paying the toll
again as there is no practical alternate route.
And then there is still the problem of how to pay the toll. Fortunately you are
prepared for that. You routinely dump your extra change into one of the cup
holders specifically for tolls. And since you got tired sorting out the
quarters from the pennies and dimes, you pretty much only have been dumping
quarters in it, and it looks fairly fulll. So maybe there is enough to pay the
tolls and get some extra fuel?
You look at the toll slip and see for the next exit the toll will be $4.10. So
right off the top $8.20 of that precious change will need to go for tolls. And
that next exit isn’t for another five miles adding 10 miles to the route
needed to get your wallet. That is another two thirds of a gallon you will
need.
Will the rover make it all the way back to get your wallet? Will there be
enough change for the tolls? Will there be enough extra change to feed the tank
if needed? And wouldn’t it be your luck that law enforcement will take an
interest while you don’t have your driver’s license on you?
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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