[I replied directly to Andy but forgot to include the reflector address. Here's
what I wrote about the locations:]
I have been to the first two locations you asked about:
Bear Mountain is CLOSED in the winter or any bad weather; entire road to the
top (Perkins Memorial Drive) is gated down at Seven Lakes Drive. For future
reference, it is a nice location and offers two grids (FN31,FN21) on the same
top-of-mountain road. Operated there in July. There are some lowish branches,
and I didn't drive there with the mast up, but I think it's drive-able with 12'
masts. Roads are well paved with some few potholes.
I have been to the State Line Lookout FN30 at least 3 times, including in
January. Still, I'd double check with the Palisades Parkway police (or whoever
is authoritative for that place) to be sure it'll be open. To the east over the
Hudson, there is a single row of big trees you should be able to shoot between.
To the west is a dense forest. I've made contacts in all directions, but I only
have 4 low bands. I think it's one of the highest available locations in FN30.
Another suggestion:
Near the State Line Lookout is Nike Park, which is FN31. Operated there in
January. The road is gated about 100 vertical feet short of the summit; maybe
it's possible to get permission to get to paved spots nearly at the top but I
didn't try. At the gate, there is a pretty open shot over the Hudson to the
east. To the west you're looking at the side of the hill, though I made
contacts with big stations to the west like N3NGE on the low bands. The route
up to that location from State Line Park, Tweed "Boulevard", is pretty hairy if
you drive with a tall mast. My heart was racing bringing my 12'+ mast up that
road with low branches and power lines. I made it but not sure I'd like to do
it again with the mast up.
-- Pete K0BAK
________________________________
From: Grid Pirates <Grid.Pirates@k8gp.net>
To: "vhfcontesting@contesting.com" <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 7, 2016 10:55 AM
Subject: [VHFcontesting] K8GP/R Potential Rove spots?
Hi All,
Terry and I (Andy/K1RA) would like to start further north than usual in
the upcoming ARRL Jan VHF SS 2016 contest. I have some limited exposure to
some sites John/W1RT and I have used in years past, but I'm curious about
the following sites found on the N2MH rover site. Has anyone been to these
lately or know of any access issues?
FN21xh/FN31ah Bear Mtn NY (Perkins Memorial Observatory)
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3094941,-74.0051079,15z/data=!5m1!1e4
FN30bx Rockleigh NJ (State Line Lookout / Palisades Interstate Park)
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.988064,-73.9071017,17z/data=!5m1!1e4
FN20vt West Orange NJ (Eagle Rock)
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8033971,-74.2381416,16z/data=!5m1!1e4
John and I had been to the last site years ago, but looking at the
satellite maps, it looks different. I thought there was a multi-row
parking lot, but now looks like a circle with parking around the edges.
Looking for comments or suggestions for our Saturday rover. Would like to
minimize driving time and optimize operating and cover 4 grids if
possible. It looks like 50-55 mins between the each of the above 3 sites.
We should be active 50MHz-10GHz. SO looking for high locations, or those
with minimal blockage to allow for microwave QSOs. More to follow as time
gets near.
73
andyz - K1RA @ K8GP/R
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