Ok, it is in the middle of Winter. it is cold. All the birds have flown
south to Mexico and the Caribbean. All of your friends are at a Sandals
resort on some tropical island with swaying palm trees, and drinking
martinis at poolside. You are stuck in Podunk, all tired out from
shoveling snow and scraping ice. There is an icicle forming on your
nose. what better way to forget your problems than to get on the 222
band for an evening of fun and excitement with all your other
compatriots who also have icicles on their nose. I am snowed out here
in Maine with deep snow that prevents me from driving up to the shack,
but I am planning on breaking a trail this evening with my trusty snow
shoes. The temps have moderated and a high of 30 is predicted, so I
won't freeze to death. A quick look at the weather map shows some
slight precip coming into western PA and New York state, plus another
band a bit SW of that. No big storms are in sight. To make matters more
interesting the moon rises here at 00:30 near the start of traditional
222 Activity Night. At about 02:30 UT (9:30 PM Eastern time) It will be
rising in Texas. So there are all sorts of possibilities for horizon
only stations. I am hoping to be on EME as well, and will be looking for
some Lunar activity. I can be QRV late tonight as the Moon rises across
the West. Dust off the 222 amp and synchronize your computer clock for
some real excitement this evening.
As if that is not enough to get the blood flowing, the sun has been
burping and belching of late with X Class flares. While no BIG storm is
predicted, it is always a good idea to keep monitoring the bands for any
Aurora possibilities. If we get some great AU condx in the next few
days, I am worried about my Diesel fuel supply to power the shack
running out. With all the deep snow, I cannot bring up needed fuel for
the generator. It drinks about 0.6 gallons per hour if I run a single
band. It is sitting at about 1/4 of a tank right now. I use electric
heat for heating the shack. No diesel means no QRV!
So please try to get on starting at about 00:00 UT. That is 7 PM on the
East Coast. Fire up your 222 gear and log into the ON4KST Chat page to
let folks know where you are.They will turn their beams to find you if
you are in the hinterlands. Another fun fact to know is that W1aW/1 in
Vermont will be active after 0200 UT on 222.100 from FN34 near
Burlington, VT. It would be nice for W1AW/1 to have a bunch of 222 MHz
contacts in the log! So between nice weather and no big winds, a rising
Moon, and W1AW/1 on 222 MHz, what excuse do you have to not get on the
band this evening? I am told the 222 MHz Activity Committee will be
monitoring and taking names. You are forewarned! CU on 222.
Dave K1WHS
_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
|