kevin kaufhold wrote:
>
> A 222 ?Specialty? mentality. One such specialty area
> that I feel is in dire need of help is the 222 band.
> The manufacturers are quite capable of putting their
> phase lock loop transceivers on this band, but do not
> do so for the most part. I feel we should critically
> push this band, or else commercial interests may grab
> the rest of it. It is a great band, too! I know there
> is a 222 night for the Sprints, and that 222 counts as
> a band in the August UHF. But what about a separate
> contest just for 222, or perhaps extra QSO Points for
> this band in the regular VHF tests. We must protect
> and use this band, or we may yet lose the remaining 3
> MHZ that we still have.
Until manufacturers start to incorporate 222 into their gear, building a
transverter is a pretty viable alternative to get on this band. There
are several good designs out there. I use the W1VT "no-tune" 222
transverter; the recent W1GHZ transverter for the FT-817 can easily be
adapted to work with any small HF transceiver. Maybe if we just get
more activity on the band, manufacturers will take notice.
>
> One QRP Portable, two hilltops. This category is
> currently pitifully small as it is. I feel that a two
> hilltop proviso will not serve to add to the ranks of
> this interesting category. It will only serve to
> divide the few existing brave souls (myself included)
> in this category into two camps: The one hill crowd
> and the two hill crowd. This is another example of a
> well-meaning thought generating adverse unintended
> effects. What little I understand of this suggestion,
> I do not yet support.
>
Almost all my VHF+ contesting has been as a QRP portable. Although I am
constantly trying to improve my setup and to have something that can be
rapidly assembled, it still takes me between one and two hours to put up
my antennas (the antennas are not mounted on the car). It's not worth
it for me to try for two hilltops in different grid squares. I'd rather
spend the extra 4 hours operating!
>
> In my next part, I want to address some club-oriented
> ideas.
>
Our local contesting club has kicked around the idea a little of putting
up some VHF/UHF antennas at our club station. We haven't gotten around
to it yet, other than 6 and 2 meter beams (BYOE - bring your own
equipment). Maybe some day ...
73, Zack W9SZ
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