[VHFcontesting] K0PG K9ILT UHF Rove

[ADUHAWK at aol.com]

Friday afternoon we saw "Signs" at the local milliplex.  It is, IMHO an 
acceptable couple of hours worth of cinema candy if you can separate yourself 
from reality for a while.  I point this out because I was a little concerned 
about roving on UHF out in corn country coincident with a movie about an 
invasion from space that starts in a cornfield.
 I digress.  We left on time, but ran into a humongous traffic jam.  We were 
an hour late when we arrived at the four corners of EN50/60/61/51.  We didn't 
work much local stuff but we shuttled around the grid corners catching 
everybody we worked in all of the grids.  The biggest thrill of the weekend 
was working K4TO in EM77 on 1296 with 3 watts from all four grids.  It looks 
like about 400 miles.  The antenna is a 6 foot boom looper, at 10 feet.  
Needless to say, we were both pleased.  There was no TX from the 903 XVRTR, 
so we couldn't get anything on that band...September!

We stayed much longer than anticipated, but we have been there so often -- 
even before there was a rover class -- that we have good spots picked out.  
There isn't much traffic, and we were only forced to move once to unstraddle 
a narrow country road, but people are much more wary of us given the current 
climate.  We will advise the Sheriff of both Kankakee and Iroquois Counties 
that we'll be there.  We will also reproduce the information sheet about what 
we're doing.  Rovers become ambassadors.

Anyway, we drove on up to EN62, activating EN52 on the way.  There were too 
many lovers in Lover's Lane atop Nickoll Knoll, so we had trouble 
maneuvering.  Some of them don't like it when you aim the car in their 
direction, and the skate boarders get curious.  Interestingly though, the 
Arlington Heights police officer parked up there didn't give us a second 
look.  

We were home by midnight with about 85 Qs each.  This was the closest we have 
ever finished in our family roves.  I got one more 1296 Q (and mult) than Pat 
did.  Almost everybody else we worked had 222 and 432 and there were only a 
couple of times we missed both bands.  There was enough QRM on 432.100 a 
couple of times to cause me to miss the contact, and I have 500 HZ CW filters 
in all the rigs!

I am pleased to have worked grid number 89 on 432 from a location that counts 
for me.  I finally worked K2YAZ on 432 from EN74 when I was within 50 miles 
of where the other 88 were worked!  We haven't typed our logs into Rover Log 
yet, but it feels like about 7000 points.  

We will be back in September with 6 through 1296.  Thanks to everybody who 
followed us along! 
                            73, Tim K0PG and Pat K9ILT The Floyd and Iris of 
VHF