[VHFcontesting] Better vhf contests

[Michael A. Urich]

> At the post Field Day meeting, the filed day effort was discussed. No one
> brought up the antenna situation at all, and the bad score was blamed on
> band conditions.
>
> Honestly, they had top of the line transceivers with more buttons than my
> grandmother's sewing box. But, lack of trained operators and poor antennas
> doomed them before they even started.

Mike wrote

For us, CLRAC, FD is as much a "social event" as it is a contest or the
lack there of.  One observation I made this year and have voiced my
observations, is that we get people to bring out their rigs and as you
point out most new rigs you need to have a month or two of serious
operating experience with them to not be intimidated.

I suggested that we find 2-3 old TS-520's go through them and ensure that
they are in good working condition and store them for field day.  Why a
TS-520?  This is one of the easiest radios to set down in front of and get
on the air with minimun instruction.  Also with identical radios you can
move from one operating position to another and not have to learn a new
rig.

I had my FT-100 out at FD primarily for 50 MHz SSB and I hadn't used the
rig in several months and had to scratch the head and think about a minor
problem that occured with switching bands to work some 146/440 FM
contacts.

Mike Urich, KA5CVH
www.ka5cvh.com