That is a great list of 222 denizens. I am very happy that our little
activity experiment on 222 now has legs and seems to be self
perpetuating. Reading the list of contacts from Ron, WZ1V was very
rewarding for me. It shows that the reason people are getting on is
that it is really fun and not to be missed. I am dying to hear who
Howard, WA3EOQ worked. February is in the doldrums on VHF but it is
invigorating to see activity on 222 on a Tuesday night in Winter! I got
so excited that I took a walk today and checked out the road status up
to my shack on the hill. It looks like a river at the moment with quite
a lot of water cascading down in the wheel ruts. There is still plenty
of ice in many spots. It is impossible to dislodge any of it. Most
people do not realize that the ice pack melts from below. When the
outside air warms up enough, the heat from in the ground is able to
start melting the ice pack. When that happens you can chip away the ice.
In the woods, the ground temps are still quite cold and so the ice is
still firmly attached to the ground. I am hoping that we get a bit more
heat and some of the ice melts so that I can haul the gear back up the
hill. Honestly, it is looking pretty good and my hope is that I can get
up there by mid March. That is only a couple of Tuesday nights away!!
So, we need to promote 222 activity and try to extend the areas that
support any activity. Along those lines, I am looking into getting a
couple of Larcan amplifier pallets and will pass them along to stations
in the lesser populated VHF areas. What better way to generate some DX
activity on the band. We need some KWs in places like Tennessee, North
Carolina, Kentucky etc. I am hoping things fall into place this summer
for the amplifiers.
I am working on my 1500 watt Larcan amp. I do a little each night. You
should never run one without a robust protection circuit. Yes, I know a
lot of folks do, but solid state FETs are not like vacuum tubes with
massive metal plate structures and huge electron emitting cathodes. FETs
have atomic layers and will expire if you don't hold your mouth just
right!! I am very close to having it ready. I just need to wire up the
mounted circuitry. I have the DC FET switches working. The low pass
filter is working. The metering is in place. About all that is left is a
new bracket for all the outside connections to the real world.....keying
lines, Coax switch lines, power connector etc.
On a sad note, I will certainly miss the big signal of KA2LIM on 222.
Ken was an early and frequent supporter of the 222 activity nights. He
was always in there making noise and doing great things. Many people
may not be aware that he was also a command sergeant major in the US
Army. That alone would put me in awe of what he has accomplished in his
life. Ken was a do'er and not a talker. He was one of the ops here when
we were trying to compete as a multi-multi in the September VHF
contests. He had plenty of ideas, and always had a plan!
73
Dave K1WHS
On 2/23/2022 12:02 AM, Rick R wrote:
Gee, anyone on from FN22?? After all, it suits the date. Rick K1DS
________________________________
Subject: [NEWSVHF] 2-22-22 222 activity report
Well actually 2-23-22 UTC but who cares, 17 logged:
W2BYP FN13, W1TR FN31, WA1T FN43, W1FKF FN43,
N2SLO FN30, N3RG FM29, N1GJ FN41, N1YCQ FN41,
W1XR FM19, K1TEO FN31, WA3GFZ FM29, WA3EOQ FM09,
K1PXE FN31, N2JMH FN12, WA3NUF FN20, K2RMX FN20,
WA1PBU FN42, 2 QSO's were on 222.222 (PXE, JMH).
Thanks for the fun and keep it going everyone.
73 Ron WZ1V FN31RH
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