ARRL September VHF Contest - 2020
Call: K1WHS
Operator(s): WA1T W1TE K1RX KC1CER K1WHS
Station: K1WHS
Class: Limited Multi-Op HP
QTH: FN43mj
Operating Time (hrs): 13
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 140 29
2: 131 28
222: 56 24
432:
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
-------------------
Total: 327 81 Total Score = 31,023
Club:
Comments:
I have been away from VHF more or less for a few years. So much has changed in
that time. Between the plethora of digital modes, and the use of internet chat
rooms and cell phones recently, I am lost. I have no idea how to make contacts
anymore with any degree of efficiency. My effort this time was to check out my
repaired 222 MHz system. I had a quad yagi array that was heavily damaged in a
winter windstorm. A top yagi had broken in half. The rotator was also hosed in
the storms. With some help from WA1T and K1RX, we got the 222 yagi fixed this
summer. I patched up the rotator using a few C-clamps to substitute for stripped
out bolts.
We had the radio gear for three bands in place by Saturday morning. I
dragged four laptops up to the shack on Saturday, but could we get any of them
to work right? NO! It was exceedingly frustrating and by about 3 PM, we gave up
on having them networked. In fact none of them were even talking to the radio!
The 144 computer said we made all our contacts on ten meters. We entered
frequencies manually on the other two. I had laptop #4 hooked up for digital
modes on 222 MHz. We could not access the internet by going through the network
router on Saturday, but on Sunday morning, (without doing anything extra) I had
fast and solid internet at the 222 position. Not that it did much good, as I
only lined up about 5 or 6 contacts on a chat page. I think a much better idea
is to have activity hours followed up by running other stations up the bands
where you missed them during the activity hours.
A few visitors showed up over the weekend. K1RX appeared along with Cody,
KC1CER, a new ham and college student finishing up an EE degree. He is a very
impressive chap! I hope he gets hooked on VHF contesting. Mark and Cody made a
few contacts on six and two meters. K1OR and his XYL Beth, showed up and we had
a great time visiting with them on Saturday afternoon and early evening. He
brought his 10/24/47 GHz station, and we all oohed and Aahed while looking it
over.
The three bands we had running seemed in pretty good shape along the coast. It
was unfortunate that we were so hampered by gremlins: No passing of skeds
between stations. Antenna rotators that pointed in the wrong direction,etc. etc.
The 144 yagi required a 65 degree correction factor! 222 MHz seemed to vary
between 5 to 10 degrees. It was pretty brutal, but we did have much fun visiting
with everybody! I had hopes of getting 432 running, but all the computer
problems sank that idea rather quickly. I never got 432 running. I had run out
of HF IF radios anyway!
I did all of the 222 MHz operating and noted that conditions were good at
the start and proceeded to get better as the evening wore on. We quit early at
about 10 PM local time. I was back up at the shack along with WA1T at about 7:30
AM on Sunday, and the band was quite good down the coast. Signals from FM08,
FM19 etc were all much stronger than average. I did work AA4ZZ on FT8. I turned
on the FT-8 on Sunday morning and heard a nice audio tone that was 10 dB above
the noise on my panadaptor. When it decoded, I saw that it was AA4ZZ in EM86. We
could have worked easily on CW but I was happy to get one new grid on a digital
mode. I was also pleasantly surprised that there had not been a mass exodus to
FT-8 on 222. I think I only made four FT-8 QSOs. The rest were SSB or CW. I
tried working N1GC in EM95 on CW, and heard him, but signals were too weak and
SSB QRM on the calling frequency made copy impossible. That is a 753 mile path.
On 144 it was pretty much the same, with the best QSO down to EM95. Inland
to the Toronto area was about normal with little or no enhancement noted. To be
fair, we did not spend much time glued to the chairs. Our activity was rather
sparse most of the time.
We quit operating Sunday afternoon, but came back around 7 PM. Things were
very slow, so we quite early at about 8:30PM. I actually got a good night's
sleep! Total hours amounted to about 13 hours of unbridled fun.
Hopefully I can get some more bands running. I spent much of my time this
summer repairing the old hilltop ham shack in the woods, so I had to remove all
the microwave gear. I just finished the building today, with some caulking and
sealing and a few more screws to fasten down the aluminum siding! (I have a huge
pile of rotten wood as well.) Now I can concentrate on putting things back
together inside the building. I am hoping that I have solved the mice problem.
Things are really sealed up now! It will be so much better if I can keep mice
off the gear and the wiring. They sure make a mess.
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