ARRL June VHF Contest - 2022
Call: KG9OV/R
Operator(s): KG9OV
Station: KG9OV/R
Class: Limited Rover LP
QTH: IL/MI - 9 Grids
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 189 83
2: 83 28
222: 19 7
432: 19 5
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
-------------------
Total: 310 132 Total Score = 45,936
Club: Society of Midwest Contesters
Comments:
My last rover outing was the 2021 Sept VHF and over the winter I had acquired a
fair amount of new gear that needed to be integrated into the rover setup. New
bandpass filters for 6 thru 432, new (to me) amplifiers for 6 thru 432, and some
other miscellaneous bits. Since I apparently didn’t think that was difficult
enough to get going, I went and bought a completely new to me dedicated rover
vehicle about three weeks before the contest. So, with the contest rapidly
approaching, I set out to turn this new to me GMC cargo van into a fully
functional Limited Rover setup. Luckily enough, I have some good friends that
are always willing to help out… Long story short, after multiple full days on
the weekends and several evenings, we managed to pull off what I thought might
have just been impossible. On Thursday evening prior to the contest, I was
finally able to actually fire up the radio and, again with the help of some
friends, smoke test it all. Get drive levels set for the amplifiers, make sure
the rotor turns, there is audio on SSB without any strange noises, etc.
Everything checked out… we had done it!
After work on Friday I set out for southern Michigan where I planned to start
out the contest at the EN61-EN62-EN71-EN72 corner. So far so good, around
midnight local I tucked myself into the local Walmart parking lot with other
wayward travelers to get a few ZZZs. Bright and early Saturday it was time to
go actually put an eye on the spots I found via Google maps satellite view to
make sure they were really workable. I’ve never been to this grid corner
before, so not only was this a brand new rover setup, I was in a brand new to me
area. Everything looked good and I got settled in and setup at my first stop in
EN72.
Finally, it’s time to play radio. Saturday got off to a slow start for me.
No real band conditions to speak of, but slowly but surely making some Qs. The
new rover setup seemed to be working well and I was starting to get comfortable
in the new operating position. After moving on to EN62, 6m started to open a
bit with some activity from the east coast. Though there were several loud
signals on the band from the east, trying to get any kind of run going was not
successful. As it turned out, that would be the theme of the weekend for me.
After moving again to EN71, it was much of the same conditions, with some
additional activity from the southwest this time. While some band conditions
were better than none on 6m, the constant QSB was exhausting. The NIL rates
from FT8 Qs will surely be interesting I think.
I finally shut it down around midnight local and again tucked myself into the
local Walmart for a few hours sleep before my long drive to the next grid
corner. After a little sleep, it was back on the road early Sunday headed
towards EN50-EN51-EN60-EN61. Again, this was a new area / grid corner for me,
but the spots I had picked out on Google maps worked out well here too. While
the bands did seem to be in better shape for me on Sunday, it was a lot more of
the same. Many very loud signals on the band, but again I failed to get any
kind of phone run going. It really just wasn’t my contest I suppose. After
spending most of the day making my way around that grid corner, it was finally
time to head closer to home.
On the way home I had planned to stop in EM59 and finally a mile or so from home
in EM58. Though I had gotten on the road headed towards home a little later
than I had hoped, I still had every intention of doing just that. So, at my
last fuel stop in EM59, I looked around the parking lot for a place to quickly
setup. After putting a splash of gas in the van, I quickly got setup and put on
the headset. The bands were full. Best conditions I had seen all weekend.
After running the bands with a couple locals I made a quick S&P run of the
loud stations on 6m phone before getting back on the road. Thirty minutes
later, I was quickly getting setup again in EM58 only to be greeted with 2m Es.
What a way to end the contest. The last hour and a half or so I think was the
most exciting part of the whole weekend. A rush to get some quick Qs from two
additional grids and trying to soak up as much as I could of the great
conditions.
All in all, it was an enjoyable weekend. 900 miles and 64 gallons of fuel
later, I had made it back home. I don’t really want to even think about what
that drive cost, but I’ve always wanted to do the rover thing, have finally
gotten around to doing it, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let high gas
prices take the fun away.
Thanks everyone for the Qs and see y’all in CQWW next month. Also, thanks
again to Jeff K9KLD and Ron K9YY for all the help (re) building the rover.
Gear:
Flex 6600 / Q5 Signal 5BVUX
50 - 200w - Par Moxon @ 18’
144 - 200w - Directive Systems 6el Rover Yagi @ 12’
222 - 100w - Directive Systems 10el Rover Yagi @ 10’
432 - 100w - Directive Systems 15el Rover Yagi @ 8’
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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