I have been a pretty casual contester for a while -- my only accomplishment of
note was working a "clean sweep" during the 2000 SSB Sweepstakes -- and there
has been precious little opportunity lately to operate on HF, since the home
QTH is in VA, and for the past 3 years, I've been spending weekdays and every
other weekend at a job in New Haven, CT. The apartment up here doesn't come
with outside antenna space, but I did find that a 2m loop near the window
actually allowed contacts of 60 miles or so. The FT-857D I'd picked up a
couple of years ago provided me with 6m and 2m CW and SSB capability that I
hadn't had before (despite being lincensed since 1962!), so I decided to see
what I could do. I called HRO and ordered two extremely modest antennas, a 2
el 6m Yagi, and a 5 el 2m Yagi. Modest, but very portable, and very quick to
assemble. They arrived at 11:00 am Saturday morning. I was in business!
I work at the headquarters of the Knights of Columbus, a 22 story building less
than a mile from Long Island Sound, with a clear eyeball view of Long Island.
The rooftop would have been an ideal spot for VHF communications, but I
couldn't get permission to operate up there. Next best thing was to try
operating from the 22nd floor cafeteria, which has floor-to-ceiling windows all
around (and one heck of a view). I wasn't sure what impact the massive amounts
of steel above and below would have, though. I assumed that I'd be able to
make plenty of 2m contacts, since I had line-of-sight views for many miles in
any direction, but in the event, I could not work, or even hear, many stations
on 2. Every contact there except one was from the home grid square of FN31.
Thank goodness for K1WHS!
The "magic band" was another story. I'd never experienced anything like that -
5 minute openings, a constantly shifting geographical pattern of contacts, and
openings that ended as abruptly as they began. I caught the Saturday evening
activity, snagging contacts in Southern Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky,
Tennessee and Georgia. Sunday midday brought openings to Chicagoland and Iowa.
Overall, only 26 contacts, but enough to whet my appetite for more, next time
with a little more preparation. Thanks to all who were so patient with my
rusty operating technique.
Next year, maybe I'll try roving!
Pat, KE4VH
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