This was my first VHF contest using my new W5TD call, and also the first
contest with a reduced station setup. I had to downsize recently for some
unexpected bills, and then the rig I downsized to died unexpectedly, so I was
blessed to find an Icom 706 original, with SSB filter, at an affordable price
in time for the contest. I focused almost all my activity on 6 meters, since I
was limited to 10 watts on 2 meters and had no 70cm SSB.
I have always wanted to work 100 grids on 6 in 1 contest, and almost made it.
The 706 performed very well, and conditions were variable but the band was open
to some part of the US much of the weekend. It was open very nicely at the
start of the contest, and then kind of closed down for a few hours starting
about 2 pm local, with only very spotting openings. It started opening
Saturday evening, but after a few QSOs I had to leave to go bicycling and for
dinner with the XYL (the babysitter was unavailable Friday night). When I
returned, we still had an opening straight north, and I picked up a few grids
that way.
Sunday started out slow, and much of the time the openings were pretty limited
in coverage, but the band was open to somewhere all day after about 10am. I
had a nice run going on 50.125 right at the end of the contest, when the band
shorted and I picked up a few new mults in Colorado. With about 5 minutes left
some sort of real bad noise showed up causing about an S5 noise level, so I am
sure I missed several stations that were calling me. I really miss the NB that
the FT100D has.
Still, I made 93 grids on 6, which is my best contest total ever! I am sure I
would have made the 100 had I been at home Saturday night-maybe next year! It
was also nice to work two 1 land stations from here since that is a difficult
distance on 6. Called W2SZ/1 a few times but they just couldn't hear me
through the QRM.
Here are my totals:
Band QSO Grids
6 141 93
2 6 3
222 1 1
432 1 1
902 1 1
Total 150 99
Score=15,246
This was the most fun I have had in a contest in quite a while. Lets hope we
get some conditions next month for the CQ VHF contest. I might even go roving
to EM05 and EM03 for that one.
73s John W5TD
EM04to
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