Rover basics… the short version. 

It is easy.

This was written for a new rover, with limited time and conflicting activities on Sunday.  

Revise this guide as may suite your situation. 

Send your plan to Jeff ku8e@bellsouth.net tell him if it is flexible or provisional.

For your Saturday rover run, concentrate on 40 CW, 20 CW then 20 PH, in that order.  

When a run in a county drops off after those 3 bands, try 15/10 CW as a check for a few more. 

If an opening happens on 15/10, work the CW first, then try the PH bands.  

80 CW... Later in evening if you get the antenna tweaked right on 3540. 

Tune the antenna 20m for 14040, 40m for 7040. 

The Hustler triband candelabra is good... put it on the vehicle, and tune it to the radio before the weekend. 

Single band hamsticks or a screwdriver work well.

Do not work any rover contacts from your home station county if you do the Sunday option below.

Don't worry about hitting the start and end times, just do the best you can comfortably do.

Sunday Option: Stay home, operate the home station and county, and submit separate logs as RS (your Rover Run) and SO (your Home Operations).  This makes things on Sunday less hectic, and it allows you to stop and start as you may need, and puts an extra log in the party for us. 

OR, More Rover Time: Continue the rover run.  Leaving the home county out of the first days work gives you the choice on Sun AM.  But, you can continue the run too. 

In any event, do not press so much as to remove the enjoyment.

Do not worry if someone else makes your rover run, we often get detoured. 

Having several rovers out along similar routes is fine, and insures we do get coverage.

Using a cig lighter or power point socket is not good.  They heat up, have intermittent contact, and fuses may blow.

Check the battery terminals, clean them. 

Get your power direct from the battery, both leads, with fuses inline.  Take extra fuses. 

Fish the wires through the firewall, even temporarily.  Clamp the radio leads right to the battery terminals, both. 

With direct wiring, a ground may or may not be needed. 

If you get RF back in the radio, do a short ground, and/or change the length of the antenna coax... more or less.  Add ferrites in bad cases.

If you have a fully charged automotive battery of a larger size, it will work for several hours.  But doing the wires is much, much better.

A coax choke of 7-9+ turns of coax on a diameter of 8 inches right at the base of the antenna works well to keep RF where it should be.  (An air coil)  This is easily done by using a longer coax than needed, and coiling up the end at the antenna connection.  Tape or wire ties will hold it in shape and in place.

While you are doing all this, get the laptop running as a full setup; try the logging software, in the vehicle.

An hour or more in each county will work all the Qs for that stop. 

Work it until it slows down or stops. 

Be careful to spread out a bit, Rovers will not hear each other. 

You can tell by the calls worked that you do not hear another station on the freq. 

 Don’t fuss about it, just QSY a bit, they will find you. 

Home stations running power and antennae should also take care to not cover a mobile.

Send your log(s) to gqp@iham.us

See http://gqp.contesting.com/Rules.htm for more.

The best mobile advice I know of is from Alan Applegate, K0BG.  http://www.k0bg.com//go there and do likewise….

Do not operate and drive... let the driver handle the road.

Seat belts on! 

Take water, snacks, keep it light.

Stop for stretch and exercise several times.

Do not pass up a pit stop... anxiety may result.

Be nice to the driver, particularly if the driver is your spouse.

Be careful out there...

Mike

73