[VHFcontesting] VHF contesting newbie

[Steve Clifford]

You chose a bad time to ask this question.  We're in the middle of a very
heated debate and a lot of guys are deleting a lot of messages from this
reflector.  Your question however, is a good one.  With your 706, you've got
a lot of possibilities.  The first thing you need are antennas that are
horizontally polarized.  Without that, you're not going to hear much.

There could be a book written about how to get started, but I'll just give
you one or two tips to get you pointed in the right direction.  On contest
day, you don't have to bother with the whole 6, 2 and .7 meter bands.  Use
SSB and scan around 50.125 to 50.225, 144.150 to 155.300 and 432.070 to
about 432.170.  Most activity on 144 and 432 will be centered close to the
calling frequencies (144.200 and 432.100).  On 6 meters, things can get
interesting if there is any E skip.

Like I said... there is a LOT to learn but this should get you started.

73
Steve
K4GUN/R

On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 9:38 AM, <w1rrd at columbus.rr.com> wrote:

> I'm a newbie to VHF contesting and was wondering where I could read up on
> participating in these events. I've got a base 706, so i think I could
> operate with that. I'm located in Central Ohio so I'm not sure if there is
> much activitity in this area. Thanks for any help you can provide.
>
> Dick, W1RRD
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