903 and 1296 - loop yagis 2304 and up - dishes (although I've been thinking about building a looper for 2304) The thing I've found about loopers is that they are more receptive to abuse than regular
Yes, it's kind of a sad state of affairs but on FD you get a lot of ops, not just contesters. It seems the VHF+ contesters generally are more willing to work CW. This FD our club station (K9CU) was i
Something that seems to be a not so well known fact is that the possible gain of an antenna is more dependent on the boom length than the number of elements. I've discovered this and a few other thin
I have nothing against the CU2QSO approach. The only thing about it is that it uses FM packet (that's true, correct?). FM packet is inherently less sensitive than weak-signal modes. So if I hear and
Maybe I will give it a try. I haven't tried Rover category yet, but I'm usually QRP-portable from a hilltop. In the last few contests I've been in, the Rovers were all far away from me at the times I
You left out ... enjoy the view (Rovers & QRP portables) ... enjoy the weather (Rovers & QRP portables) ... probably a few more :-) These may not hold true if you're portable in the January VHF SS an
Someone seems to be missing something here. Does calling CQ or answering a CQ put you in "assisted" category? Does working someone on PSK put you in the assisted category? Does saying "What other ban
I just finished building and tuning up another 1296 loop yagi to replace the one that got mangled when my antennas fell over in the June contest. Also straightened a few of the elements on the 222 be
When Jim was in Illinois he was one of the rovers that always tried to work as many different people as possible. The other rovers in this area do also, as far as I know. Some are just hard to work w
If they can do it! Actually, around here it would be pointless from what I can tell. On Saturday nights of the contests most people hit the sack some time during the night; the bands get pretty quiet
I think the issue comes down to the fact that a "captive rover" doesn't work anyone else than the station he's "captivated" by. It's great that someone wants to invest time and money to put together
With due respect for Senor Wences, "Back in the box!" "Sarright!" "Sarright!" I say just get on and work some people with whatever you got. Point your beams at EN50xf once in a while if you're within
I think most of the rovers in this area, if not all, started out like I did, operating from home or portable and gradually building up and improving their systems. I imagine one of these years I will
Of the three HF rigs I now own (FT101E, TS440, TS850), all receive CW as USB. The TS-850 does have the provision to switch to CW-R. Are the majority of HF rigs receiveing CW as LSB? I prefer the USB
You could be a little more genteel about it! Actually any true contester takes any QSO's any way he can get them (legally). Around here, on VHF+, I'm hard-pressed to find people on the bands above 14
I have a hard time making skeds for VHF contests because most of my VHF contesting is from hilltops and usually not for the entire duration of the contest, so I don't know exactly when I will arrive
Maybe having a stacked array that can be switched to a single beam might help. But you usually need all the gain you can get. I have worked rovers using omni loops on 144, 222 and 432 but they're rea
We are the only radio service that doesn't require type-accepted equipment. We are the only ones allowed to build our own equipment and to modify existing equipment. This is especially important on V