[Fourlanders] June Contest Report

[Bob Lear]

FourLanders June 2005 VHF QSO Party Report

Well I'm finally getting time to get to this report after the contest,
FD and all the June activity.

The Crew:  Neal K4EA, Dick  K5AND, Fred  N4GER, Brian  NX9O, Sherman 
W4ATL, Jim  W4KXY, Paul  W4SKI, Gregg W6IZT, Jim WE8W, Ron WW8RR, Bob
K4SZ and Mac K4RBM

The FourLanders again went to Mile-High Campground for the June 2005 VHF
QSO Party.  We had a larger group (12) than last fall and went Full
Multi-Op with all bands thru 10GHz for the first time in many years.  
Although we didn't make any Q's above 2304, we were heard on a couple of
the bands so some of it was half-way working.  We also had some problems
getting going on 6m and ended up without an amp, but Neal and company
managed to pull out nearly 300 Q's and close to a hundred grids anyway. 
Thanks to Ron WW8RR for having a back-up rig along that saved the day
(and a trip back to Atlanta for one).  Also special thanks to Fred N4GER
(was KF4QZN) for bringing the 15kW diesel generator again and especially
for donating the diesel fuel for the contest effort.  We really
appreciate it Fred.  And thanks to Fred and Jim WE8W for making the trip
all the way from Bowling Green KY for the contest.   As long as we're
thanking folks we'll also mention the great turkey and fixin's that Dick
K5AND brought for our Friday night dinner.  It was outstanding.  Even
with all the rain, we seemed to eat pretty well.  WE8W also smoked a
pork shoulder one night that was excellent.  Makes me want to get a
smoker and learn how to do that!!  Thanks also to Steve K4RF for some of
the microwave equipment loaned from his inventory, and to NGARC folks
Russ W4YKF and Larry N4RPH for loaning us their tall ladders that help
us out so much for set-up.

I put this note in the NGARC Newsletter to be sure the local community
knows about these efforts.
Special Recognition:   The much appreciated assistance of a couple of
hams in our community to the recent FourLanders June VHF contest effort
can't go unrecognized.  The FourLanders wouldn't have been able to have
our regular set-up or complete stations for the contest without the
generosity of Bobby Ledbetter KE4BRX of Dahlonega Pharmacy who loaned us
his 14 foot cargo trailer for two of the stations to be set up in.  With
the hurricane rains and winds that weekend on the mountain-top, it was
even more important than usual that we had a second operating trailer. 
Thanks so much to Bobby for his support.  We also recognize Mac McIntyre
K4RBM for helping out our effort and pulling the trailer up to the
mountain near Cherokee and staying and helping the entire weekend.  He
was invaluable in helping us set-up and tear down all the gear also. 
Next time we're going to get him to operate too.  I recruited Mac to
pull the trailer after Ivan had truck problems and was unable to make it
for the contest.  Thanks again to Mac and Bobby for supporting the
FourLanders.

Fortunately, the rain held off while we were setting up Friday evening,
but it sure made up for that the remainder of the weekend.  Hurricane
Arlene dumped several inches on us, but thanks to the two trailers, we
never had any problems operating the entire time.  And the rain did quit
Monday morning and make it easier for us to take things down.  It wasn't
all dried out, but at least not raining and the mud didn't cause too
many problems except for the time to clean all the feedlines and cables
we had on the ground.  My new festival tent sure got tested to the limit
in water holding capability over the weekend.

Here is the point summary from Brian as submitted to ARRL.

         VALID    PTS PER      QSO    GRID SQUARE
          QSOs    QSO       POINTS    MULTIPLIERS
50 MHz     289       1         289     98
144 MHz    232       1         232     66
222 MHz     54       2         108     29
432 MHz     79       2         158     31
902 MHz      6       3          18      4
1296 MHz    11       3          33      5
2304 MHz     1       4           4      1
TOTAL      672                 842    234    197028

I don't know what the problem was with 3546 and 10GHz RX.  W4DEX heard
my signal on both those bands, but I couldn't hear him.  Everything
appeared to be OK when it was tested at home, but I'll be checking them
before next contest.  We did try with Dexter on 5 GHz also, but nothing
either way.  The tower mounted 5 and 10 GHz gear was certainly tested
for weatherproof by trying it out on a hurricane weekend!  The container
was dry inside except for some condensation when I took it down.  I also
found the 2304 problem when we were taking down.  I had managed to put a
90 degree kink in the superflex jumper with the rotator.  I made a big
mistake with the rotator loops on the microwave stuff and learned a
valuable lesson.  It was too stiff and caused the mast to slip which was
one problem and bent the 2304 jumper for another.  It will be different
next time.   One big problem with this contest was the hurricane rains
and wind which kept the rovers in.  Those who did go out apparently went
in early too.  We didn't have nearly as many opportunities on 903 and
above because of that.  Probably affected all the bands for the contest
as well.

We did have some computer problems and the latest version of WriteLog,
but I think we can solve that by going back to an earlier version that
always worked well.  We will have further discussion on that.

Some pictures of the contest that Sherman took are on his web page at
http://home.earthlink.net/~shermanbanks/June_2005_VHF_Contest.html 
 
The campsites at MileHigh cost us $252 this year and we certainly used
all of them.  This came to $32 each for the on-mountain
co-conspirators.  Several members also paid their dues at the time.  As
long as we are talking about finances, I will report that we did sell
the KLM 220 antennas at Dayton for $140 and we bought a Yaesu G800
rotator for $175 and a 432 power divider for $35.  We paid for the PD
and gave Jim the remaining cash , $105, so the club still owes him $70
to get even.   The club also sold the short push-up mast to the Forsyth
ARES group at the Atlanta Hamfest.  I think that was $20.  

Time to start thinking about the September contest now and I'll be
putting out a message soon.   Thanks to all who participated in the June
contest and to all our friends who supported us in many ways.   Those
who didn't make it missed another good contest, even with the rain.  

73 Bob K4SZ