[VHFcontesting] Rover Activity and otherwise in June ARRL VHF

[James Duffey]

On Jul 17, 2009, at 12:45 PM, Steve Clifford wrote:

> One regular member of that group did submit a log as a Limited Rover  
> with a score of 105000.  A score like that is absolutely impossible  
> without coordinated activity.  KO4MA and his 22 grid rove managed an  
> impressive 64K score for 2nd place.

Steve - After some thought, I think that a score of 100,000+ is  
possible for a limited rover without coordination beyond what most of  
us do, that is announcing what grids we think we be in when we think  
we will be in them. Here are some things that I think are probably  
necessary to accomplish it, or at least contribute to maximizing one's  
score:

1. Lots of 6M Sporadic E. Don't miss any openings. You can't make Es  
happen, but you can be there when it does. If you don't have lots of  
Es, forget it.

2. The higher bands must not be ignored during the 6M openings. With  
the 2 ops permitted in the limited rover category. this can be done in  
a straight forward manner, one operator concentrates on 6M and the  
other on the higher bands. I don't see anything prohibiting signals on  
more than one band at the same time in the rover category rules, so  
that would be the easiest way to do it. Treat the rover like two  
independent stations with the same call, one on 6M and the other on 2M/ 
1.35/0.7M. Coordinate passes between the two. That can be done with  
networked logging computers. If I missed something in the rules and  
two signals on the air from different bands are prohibited at the same  
time, it is pretty simple to implement switching to prohibit two  
signals on the air at the same time. One can apply single operator two  
radio techniques to VHF in this case as well, either for one op to  
monitor the upper bands while operating 6M when it is open, and the  
other to monitor the higher bands, or with one op using a radio on 6M  
to call CQ and the other to look for multipliers. I suspect that using  
one radio to run (call CQ) on 6M and the another radio (or subreceiver  
like the K3 has) to search for mults on 6M would be very productive,  
particularly when coupled with an independent station on the higher  
bands. Good radios with good filtering would need to be worked out,  
but that is certainly possible. Simple diplexers with the unwanted  
band port terminated in a dummy load would probably do.

3. Be aware of where the guys with big signals are, and make sure that  
you work them on all four bands from all grids. A logging program like  
RoverLog is the best way to keep track of this.

4. Use APRS to help the multi op stations track you. They really need  
the multiplier if they don't have it and can certainly use the QSO  
points, particularly on 222/432 MHz.

4. Gain antennas that you can rotate while moving. Being loud on two  
is important. I don't think loops will cut it.

4. Keep moving. Travel north and south along grid boundaries to  
maximize the number of grids you can visit.

5. Visit lots of grids.

6. Rove close to areas with lots of active VHF contesters.

As proof of principle, consider the Classic Rover Score of AH8MR in  
the June 2008 contest. Knock off his 902 and 1296 contribution to  
simulate a limited rover. You get a score well over 100,000. He had  
lots of 6M contacts and multipliers, so that is possible from a rover.  
His contacts on 144/222/432 MHz were not too high though, I think you  
did better, so even if the limited rover with his lower power  
limitation could not quite match the 6M contacts, he could get close  
and the limited rover could certainly boost the QSOs on higher bands  
with some attention to getting on and working the guys you know that  
are there and that you can work.

No, I don't think it "absolutely impossible" at all. It is not going  
to happen very often, and it will take experienced operators to pull  
it off. It does sound like hard work. We will probably need to wait  
until the results come out to know what happened. But I wouldn't  
dismiss the score solely as a product of coordinated pack roving or  
grid circling, or captive portable/fixed stations. It looks to me like  
it can be done without that coordination by good experienced ops with  
the right equipment and good Es on 6M.

Now that I have presented my reasoning as to why I think such a large  
score is possible; I am interested in why you think it is absolutely  
impossible.  - Duffey
--
KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM