[SCCC] N6MI/K6VCR June VHF operation from Frazier Mountain

[J. Scott Bovitz <bovitz@bovitz.com>]

On June 14-15, 2025, Tom (K6VCR) and I (N6MI) operated from Frazier Mountain (DM04ms, 8,013 feet, Ventura County, California) in ARRL's June VHF contest. We operated from the crowded N6MI converted television news van (6 meters mounted on the rear rack of gear, with higher bands mounted on the rack of gear between the front seats). Tom made camp in his tricked out four-wheel drive truck. I slept on the floor of the van. The moon was very bright, so flashlights were optional. It was about 46 degrees at night and 78 degrees in the day. A fierce wind blew on the Friday night before the contest, but the peak gusts on Saturday were only about 15 miles per hour. We used: a five element yagi on 6 meters at 60 feet; a 12 element yagi on 2 meters at 20 feet; an 11 element yagi on 222 MHz at 12 feet; an 18 element yagi on 432 MHz at 16 feet; and a 16 element yagi on 1296 MHz at 12 feet. We left our microwave antennas at home for this contest. Yellow and purple wildflowers were in bloom on the mountain. The sunrises and sunsets were awesome. Our raw score: 279 contacts on 6 meters (40 CW, 77 USB, and 162 FT8); 58 contacts on 2 meters (23 FM, 31 USB, and 4 FT8); 16 contacts on 222 (5 FM, 11 USB); 26 contacts on 432 MHz (11 FM, 15 USB); and 6 contacts on 1296 MHz (1 CW, 3 USB, and 2 FT8). Thank you, N6VI, for plugging in a paddle so we could make that CW contact on 1296. We enjoyed periodic reports from K6JO in DM13 — he rocked the contest in style.

73,

J. Scott Bovitz
N6MI
n6mi.com
bovitz at bovitz.com