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[VHFcontesting] January ARRL SS and rovers

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Subject: [VHFcontesting] January ARRL SS and rovers
From: k3dne@adelphia.net (Ed Kucharski)
Date: Thu Jun 19 16:43:59 2003
At 02:41 PM 1/21/02 +0000, W4XP wrote:
>Reflector Mates:
>
>The Delmarva VHF and Microwave Society's Grid Pirates Contest Group,
>K8GP had a good time operating from the Prince William County
>(Virginia) Landfill, FM18gp.  As usual, the Rovers really added
>significantly to the contest fun; GREAT JOB, and THANK YOU to all
>those hearty souls!

Chuck,
Congrats on another great K8GP score!  I agree that the rovers add
to the contest fun and to all of our scores but...

Unfortunately,  I didn't have the success with the rovers that K8GP did.
I had printed out the itineraries of many of the rovers and had them handy
at my operating table but had a devil of a time finding them (or them finding
me).  Usually my log is filled with ND3F/R and W3IY/R but this contest I only
worked ND3F from one grid (4 qso's) and W3IY from 3 grids (8 qso's).
Part of the problem for us single-ops is that the rovers don't know where 
to find us.
Most multi's have run freqs on at least 6 and 2 meters where the rovers know
that they can find you - I heard one rover call in on your 2 meter run freq 
twice and
get qsy'd to run the bands.  As a single-op I do try to establish a 6 and 2 
meter run
frequency (and a qsy to freq on the higher bands - in my case I used .140) 
but as
I leave my  6 or 2 meter run freq to "run the bands" with another station I
often come back to that freq to find it occupied by another station.  Then 
after a little
S & P I will find a quiet spot to squeeze into to call CQ again.  If a 
rover had
found me on the first run freq and went back to that freq when in a new 
grid they often
find a different station there.  The second problem is that we often don't 
know where
to find the rovers - even if there is a liaison freq the rovers are seldom 
there
because they are busy running the bands with other stations.

I'd be interested in what the readers of this reflector do (especially 
single-ops)
to find rovers and be found by rovers.  I attribute much of the increase in 
my scores
thru the years to rover activity but have noted that my scores have hit a 
plateau in the
past couple of years as I have had more trouble finding and being found by 
rovers.

BTW; 624 qso's, 165 grids, 148170 points - single-op, high power, from FM19.

73,
Ed K3DNE




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