[VHFcontesting] KS9Z/0 VHF QSO Party From EN20 (very long)

Mon Jun 12 22:32:49 EDT 2006

Wow!! My 2 meter score actually beat someone elses (4 QSOs, 3 grids).  Great
to work you on 6 from EN20 for an all time new grid on 6!

73s John W5TD
EM04to

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sean Kutzko" <kx9x at yahoo.com>
To: <vhf at w6yx.stanford.edu>; <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>; <smc at w9smc.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 2:15 AM
Subject: [VHFcontesting] KS9Z/0 VHF QSO Party From EN20 (very long)

> Hi, folks-
>
> KS9Z/0 Limited Multi-op from EN20:
>
> 6m: 412 Q's, 121 grids
> 2m: 2 Q's, 2 Grids
> 222: 0 Qso's
> 432: 0 QSO's
>
> Total: 413 Q's, 122 grids
>
> Rigs: 6m: IC-706 mk 2, 100w, Cushcraft 3-el Yagi up
> 20'
> 2m: Yaesu FT 736R, 2m brick (100w), 5-el homebrew yagi
> up 20'
> 222: Yaesu FT 736R, 222 brick (100w), Cushcraft 4-el
> yagi up 17'
>
> 432: Yaesu FT 736R, 432 brick (100w), M2 11-el yagi up
> 20'
>
> Ops: Sean KX9X & Matt, NM9H
>
> The Story: This was to be our first Grid DXpedition in
> 4 years. We made a conscious decision to get back into
> things slowly, so we decided to use smaller beams on
> the high bands, reducing the amount of packing we had
> to do, and left the kilowatts at home in favor of
> simple bricks. We also only went out for essentially 3
> days of operating.
>
> Friday June 9:
> Hit the road at 4:30am from EM59. Arrived at the KOA
> in Rock Port, MO in EN20 around 11 or so. Our hosts,
> Annette and Dave, were delighted to see us and
> couldn't have been nicer. They made us feel very
> welcome and showed us to the small cabin we've gron
> accustomed to renting on thse trips: 12' x 12' 1
> double bed (which served as the op table), and 2
> sub-twin size bunk beds. It was out of the elements,
> had AC and electricity; all we could have asked for.
>
> Started setting up upon arrival. It was hot; 91
> degrees, bright sunshine, no shade. We took several
> breaks while getting the antennas up. By late
> afternoon, we had 6m and 2m up and running. Matt fired
> up some brats and I started working 6m. First QSO was
> WA7FPO in DM54 around 2200z
>
> When Matt broke out his laptop to check his email, we
> found no nodes to hit. We were told the site had
> wireless internet, so he asked if there was a problem.
> Indeed there was; it hadn't been working for a couple
> days and there wouldn't be a tech out to look at it
> until Monday! This put a MAJOR crimp in our plans. We
> were hoping to be able to check the prop loggers for
> info on band openings, and I had made a sked with one
> ham who needed EN20 on 6m badly. I didn't write any of
> hte info down, since I figured I'd just get it from
> his email. Big mistake, one that cost a ham a grid,
> and I'll never do that again.
>
> Worked a handful of stations to the southeast around
> EM73. It was early, but we were tiredand dehydrated,
> so we ended up going to bed around 10pm or so.
>
> Saturday June 10
> Got up around 8am. Had breakfast & set to work getting
> the 222 and 432 mast up. I worked 6m in between
> measurements and worked a few folks that way. Antennas
> assembled easily. 220 sounded great, but 432 didn't.
> Realized we forgot the SWR analyzer AND the SWR meter
> in our early-am rush out the door. BIG BUMMER.
>
> "You didn't pack that, man?"
> "No, man, I thought YOU packed it!"
> "Aw, crap."
>
> Matt set out to figure out what was up with the UHF
> bands while I worked 6m. Great opening Saturday
> morning to the east and southeast (FM29, EM84, FN10,
> etc).
>
> By contest time, we had taken the 432 beam apart and
> re-adjusted it. It sure sounded better, but we had no
> way of checking SWR. By the time the contest started,
> I'd put in about 75 Q's on 6m.
>
> CQ Contest!
>
> 6m started off with a BANG, working huge openings and
> big pileups into a single-hop radius to MD, DEL, PA,
> MI, and OH. Worked 88 Q's in the first hour. The band
> was cooking and cooking HARD.
>
> Matt made a Q with N0WL in EN21 on 2m. He said we were
> weak. Uh-oh. We tried 432 with him, but he never heard
> us and we never heard him. Uh-oh.
>
> I kept working guys up and down the east coast, and
> every now and then, I'd work somebody out west off the
> back of the beam. Prop stretched up into New England
> around 2200z, then got short again around 2315z.
> Around 0200z, worked several stations out west in
> Colorado and New Mexico. Matt tried to work guys on
> 2m, but was not successful. We heard N0WL talk about
> hte sporadic E he was working out to the east, but we
> never heard it at all. 6m folded for us around 0300z,
> and I had 273 Q's in the log on 6m. One of my best 6m
> days ever. 2m - 432 was toast, and Matt couldn't
> determine why.
>
> Sunday June 11
> Woke up around 7:30am. First Q on 6m was FN03 at
> 1406z. about 30 minutes later, I worked K0DI in DM04,
> so I swung the 6m beam west; it stayed that direction
> all day. the desert southwest was the vast majority of
> QSO's I worked on Sunday, with the occasional Q into
> EL29 or DN71. Matt was without an operational station
> on 2m-432, and had no internet, so he tried in vain to
> get the bugs worked out. He did work some 6m stuff on
> Sunday, but for the most part, Matt unsuccessfully
> spent most of his time trying to get the UHF stuff
> going.
>
> Worked some real close-in stations around 1700z,
> including EN52 and EN50 & 61 (home ground of my
> beloved Society of Midwest Contesters). Swung the beam
> back west around 1930z, and it stayed there the rest
> of the afternoon.
>
> By 6:45pm, the KOA was getting full. As I was working
> K2DRH on 6m CW, I looked out the window of our cabin,
> directly into the front window of an RV parked right
> across from us. I could see the elderly lady fiddling
> with the TV, watching the picture get completely
> distorted in perfect unison with my CW. When ?I
> transferred K2DRH over to Matt (who did work him on
> 2m), Matt's CW on 2m was doing more damage to our new
> neighbor's TV than 6m was. I looked out the front door
> of the cabin, and saw the place was full to capacity;
> it hadn't been this full all weekend!
>
> We didn't want to cause any problems for our host, so
> we shut the station down. Our last QSO was K2DRH on 2m
> at 0048z (Monday AM GMT).
>
> We were still prety wiped out and a bit frustrated at
> the lack of success of 2m and up, so we ate dinner and
> crashed early. Woke up about 7:30am Monday,  took
> everything down and were on the road by 11am.
>
> The folks at the KOA were VERY supportive, and
> apologised about the lack of internet. A lot of folks
> had complained about it.  We did our best to keep them
> up to speed on what we were doing, and how things were
> going. they were geniunely interested. As we were
> leaving, Annette asked, "When will you be back?" We
> said maybe in September. I asked if they'd mind other
> hams operating from  there, and they said they'd be
> delighted to have otehr hams operate from there. So,
> if anybody wants to activate EN20 any time soon, the
> KOA in Rock Port, MO would be glad to have you. Email
> me for details if you're interested.
>
> While the incredible conditions on 6m salvaged the
> operation, the lack of Q's on 2m and up has left a
> sour taste in our mouths. Learn from us: More careful
> planning is required before operating from rare grids.
> We felt we should have been able to provide EN20 on
> the higher bands as well, and we didn't do that.
>
> Perhaps we will go there again in September. We're
> already looking for possibilites for next year. With
> some luck (and a LOT of planning beforehand), we'll
> find a really juicy grid to activate and stay for a
> while, and bring WSJT with us, too.
>
> Thanks for the QSO's, everybody.
>
> 73,
>
> Sean KX9X
>
> http://www.ks9z.com
>
>
>
> Sean Kutzko, Amateur Radio KX9X
> Gillespie, IL       Grid EM59cd
>    http://www.seankutzko.com
>
> "The blues ain't nothin' but a good woman on your mind."
> -Blind Lemon Jefferson, 1927
>
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