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Re: [VHFcontesting] [222Activity] 222 Activity Night

To: N1BUG <paul@n1bug.com>, "NEWSVHF@mailman.qth.net" <newsvhf@mailman.qth.net>, "vhfcontesting@contesting.com" <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>, "222 >> 222Activity@groups.io" <222Activity@groups.io>
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] [222Activity] 222 Activity Night
From: David Olean <k1whs@metrocast.net>
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2022 11:12:46 -0500
List-post: <mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Hello Paul, N1BUG

N1BUG wrote:

"Having not heard anyone new in over 45 minutes and fighting to keep my face from impacting the desk,"

Having been a big fan of Dilbert, the cartoon strip, I was reminded of Wally, who fell asleep and his face hit his keyboard. When he was asked what was wrong with the bumps all over his face, he said he had a case of Qwertyitis.

I am really missing the Tuesday nights, and I would have been contact # 5 for you.  I admire your perseverance in setting up such a good 222 MHz station that is so far from major activity areas. If you can work these guys in January, you can work many others when the band gets good again.  I remember ur big signal on MS!!  It can be hard to line up with stations at times.  The ON4KST page can serve as a reminder to let people know that you are there.  Those in the activity hotspots near large cities have everybody pointing their way most of the time. Those of us on the outside and looking in do not have that advantage. We have to hope that people turn their antennas.  K1TEO and WZ1V are experts at beating the bushes for contacts. Ron does not miss much!

Speaking of Ron, I saw WZ1V's report, and it looks like all the regulars are on, and that is a great thing. Thanks to you all who get on. You know who you are.  The bottom line is that we have to keep this effort going, in hopes that it spreads around the country. It won't happen in a week or a few months. It will take much longer, but I am sure that we can adjust our lives and spend the time necessary and keep a few times open when the VHF bands come to life and real contacts are made.  The reward is big, as these evenings are just so much fun.  We also are occupying a VHF band at a time when commercial interests are looking for frequencies everywhere!  I get periodic updates from the  West Coast, and they are promoting 222 on Tuesdays as well.  Activity is building there. The hard part is in the middle of the country. The few people with good 222 stations are far apart. There are plenty of hams, just no one on 222. That is where we all come in. We need to talk up our efforts on 222 so that others will see that there is a benefit from being on the band.

I am not on for Tuesdays now, due to the remote shack being so inhospitable in late winter, but I am not sitting idle. I am working on a solid state driver amp system for 50,144,222, and 432 MHz, that uses some Larcan pre driver amps. I cut down the 24" rack to 19" and have a bunch of drivers all mounted and am now wiring up the 50 volt PS and metering/keying stuff.  I just made up some shunts for the metering circuits. I also have the 1500 watt solid state amp out and am going to wire up and test the protecto- board and RF filter. The filter is mounted on top of the amp, so the RF output has to be routed up there with a solid high power connection. I will use a short piece of 3/8" semi rigid coax. Not sure it will bend well. If not, I can always use some 1/4" stuff.

I wonder if Qwertyitis is contagious?

73

Dave K1WHS


On 1/26/2022 4:48 AM, N1BUG wrote:
Well, conditions were as bad as they get. That's not too surprising considering the cold, breezy conditions with a cold front passing through. I worked only four stations.

W1AIM 279 km CW
W1GHZ 279 km CW
WZ1V 524 km CW
K1PXE 562 km CW

Interestingly,     K1PXE was the strongest of the four at the time of the QSOs. Good job, Pete! I did later hear W1AIM louder on SSB.

I missed some that should have been really easy. What time do people start? Are many not getting on until later in the evening? I was there for 90 minutes starting at 0000z. Having not heard anyone new in over 45 minutes and fighting to keep my face from impacting the desk I pulled the plug at that point. I will try to stay on later next week but as I keep saying, evenings are VERY difficult even with my Tuesday schedule cleared out.


222.100 is not working out well for me. First off, it is very busy. Even I can tell that being way up here in the boonies. Second, I had problems with a birdie. 222.100 CW is fine if stations are exactly zero beat with me. Some were as much as 300 Hz high, and were getting beat up by a persistent birdie. It's not strong, maybe 6 dB above the noise floor, but when signals are weak and exactly zero beat with it, it's a problem.

I will investigate to see what is a really clear spot for me and try that next week. I do hope people will help spread the word about where I am hanging out, otherwise those who aren't watching ON4KST chat will never find me.

73,
Paul N1BUG
FN55mf




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