[VHFcontesting] My rover antenna upgrade plan

[Dan Evans]

Hi Steve,

Sounds like you will be getting very close to the setup I run.

I have a commercial made push up mast I found at Dayton a few years 
ago.  It's 20', or 4 five foot sections.  Plus I usually add a 6' 
extension at the top.  It's a bit difficult to explain, but basically I 
mount an antenna at the top of each section of the push up mast.  The 
top antenna is usually the Par Moxon for 6, at 26'.  Next is generally 
the 432 yagi at 20'.  And then the 2m yagi at 15'.   No 222 until I can 
swing another transverter, but it would go under the 2m yagi, at 10' 
above the truck.  Sometimes I switch the order of the yagis, but this is 
the basic layout.  When lowered, the yagis all stack one on top of the 
other as I nest the push up mast.  Nested height is about 11 feet, watch 
those tree limbs!    I can't really use them while moving, but I am a 
solo Rover so I don't generally operate on the move anyway.  [If I do, I 
run a recorder to do the logging]

The last time out I braced the mast with a cross bar across the bed of 
my F150.  And the bottom of the mast goes in my AR40 rotator which is 
bolted to the bed of the truck.  I plan to add a set of ladder racks to 
the truck soon to make for a better cross brace for the mast.

So I currently run 3 bands on one mast.  Setup consists of me getting 
out of the truck, climb in the back, spend 2 or 3 minutes raising the 
mast, get down and call CQ.  When I'm ready to roll, I turn the mast to 
face front, lower the mast, and hit the road.

Here are links to a couple of pics from last September:

http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q148/Indiana_Dan/?action=view&current=6-28-2007007.jpg
http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q148/Indiana_Dan/?action=view&current=07sepvhfqsoparty009-1.jpg
http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q148/Indiana_Dan/?action=view&current=07sepvhfqsoparty004-1.jpg
http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q148/Indiana_Dan/?action=view&current=07sepvhfqsoparty018.jpg
http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q148/Indiana_Dan/?action=view&current=6-28-2007012.jpg

73
Dan
-- 
K9ZF /R no budget Rover ***QRP-l #1269 
Check out the Rover Resource Page at: <http://www.qsl.net/n9rla> 
List Administrator for: InHam+grid-loc+ham-books 
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k4gun at comcast.net wrote:
> I'm already plotting improvements to my rover rig for June.  After the January contest, I learned a lot of lessons.  I need better antennas. 
>