[VHFcontesting] VHF contesting newbie

[Rogers, Ron]

Dick,
Is your 706 a standard 706, a 706 MKII, or a 706 MKIIG ? If it is a MKIIG, then you can also enjoy 432MHz UHF activity.

Yes, during the VHF contest weekends (June 13th & 14th is the big one coming up) you should find numerous stations on 6 meters and 2 meters in or around Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, Cinci, Detroit, IN and PA all running SSB around the frequencies Steve mentioned. 

Do you have access to Yagi beam antennas for 6 and 2 meters? If not, you might find you will have good luck simply starting out by using omni-directional horizontal loop antennas such as the "Squalo".


Ron
WW8RR


-----Original Message-----
From: vhfcontesting-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of w1rrd at columbus.rr.com
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:13 AM
To: Steve Clifford
Cc: VHFcontesting at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] VHF contesting newbie

Steve, thanks for taking the time to provide some information on this. I appreciate it.
I'm sure others will chime in as I've always found the ham community helpful to new folks.
Thanks again,

Dick, W1RRD

---- Steve Clifford <k4gun.r at gmail.com> wrote: 
> 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
> > _______________________________________________
> > VHFcontesting mailing list
> > VHFcontesting at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
> >

_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting at contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting