[VHFcontesting] [VHF] 1st Time Rover-What the Hell was I thinking?

[James Duffey]

OK Les, you will have a lot of fun with that setup. It is very  
impressive. I am glad you have mentors right there that can help you.  
I pretty much started out from scratch, using advice I read about in  
QST and on the internet. Be aware, though that those mentors have  
gotten you addicted to something that you can never shake, roving is  
as addictive as alcohol, nicotine, and opiates. Like pushers, they did  
it for their own good, so they can have more contacts on bands with  
sparse population! :^)= Seriously it looks like you go a lot of good  
help and that setup will keep you busy the whole contest weekend.

Now you know why I, and others, suggest rovers start out small. A two  
meter and six meter station are ideal for the beginner. It gives you a  
good taste of roving and doesn't overwhelm. In the June contest, there  
is usually a lot to do with just those two bands. Plus with two bands  
you will get a lot of encouragement to add others. A rover requires  
heavier and heavier doses.

As you have probably discovered, roving is very much the art of using  
the limited resources of a vehicle to the best advantage. Space for  
rigs, height for antennas, power to run everything, and operating  
position are all limited in a vehicle and one can quickly run into  
brick walls. How you use those limitations makes a big impact on how  
well your rover performs.

And yes, setting up a rover seems to be a spectator sport. Small  
children are usually very impressed with the goings on and very  
willing to fetch dropped items. I set up for the July CQ contest in my  
inlaws drive way. My mother in law made a pot of iced tea and she and  
my father in law and wife sat in lawn chairs watching me set up the  
whole thing.

Be sure to take a key. CW will let you make a lot of contacts you  
couldn't otherwise. Plus it will save you time. Trying to eek out a  
contact on SSB will eat into your roving time when you can do the same  
thing right away on CW. If I call a readable station on SSB a couple  
of times and they don't come back, I switch to CW right away. Usually  
they come right back.

If you get good 6M openings, you will not want to leave 6M to go to  
the higher bands. Remember that the contacts on the higher bands are  
multiplied by the 6M mults, so it is worth while to spend a little  
time on the higher bands to get hte higher QSO points.

Have fun, and I hope that we can get some Sporadic E for the contest.  
- Duffey

On Jun 5, 2009, at 11:01 PM, Les Rayburn wrote:

> After completing all the cabling for my 9-band rover operation, and  
> doing a
> series of on-air tests with Jimmy Long, W4ZRZ, I have a new found  
> respect
> for rovers! As far as I'm concerned anyone stupid enough to try it  
> deserves a
> plaque just for pulling out of the driveway and making the first  
> contact!
>
> First of all, I have to thank my wife Abby, who helped overcome an  
> entire
> series of engineering problems with the tilt up mast. She also  
> endured all the
> jokes, sneers, funny looks, and comments of our conservative  
> neighborhood
> during the past couple of days. Also, Marcus Thomas, KF4YHP who  
> provided the
> US Army surplus mast, and showed up this afternoon with a truck bed  
> full of
> 1/2 Superflex hardline and Belden 9914. We spent the afternoon  
> measuring,
> labeling, putting on connectors and finally raising the mast for the  
> on-air
> tests.
>
> Worked Jimmy on 7 of the bands, but ran out of time to attempt 5.6  
> and 10ghz.
> Did make a contact with Jimmy on 3.4ghz, which was my first contact  
> ever on
> that band. Have an issue with the 432 beam, so I'll have to check  
> that during
> daylight. Also a big problem with RFI getting in the nice Alpine car  
> audio
> system in my new truck. Time for some ferrite beads, shielding, and  
> more
> checks. Whew! I'm exhausted just doing the test. You guys do this  
> rover thing
> for real? I must be nuts.
>
> If you'd like to see photos of what this set up looks like, visit:
>
> http://n1lf.blogspot.com/
>
> The backseat was filled with radios, transverters, and amps...but I  
> forgot to
> snap a photo. More later, I'm sure.
>
> Forget debating if we should change the rules for "Limited Rover". I  
> say we
> give all the regular rovers a medal, dancing girls, and a ticker tape
> parade!
>
> 73,
>
>
> Les Rayburn, N1LF
> EM63nf
> 121 Mayfair Park
> Maylene, AL 35114
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