[VHFcontesting] VHF contesting newbie

[Nate Duehr]

On May 28, 2009, at 8:32 AM, Rogers, Ron wrote:

> In addition Dick, here is the link to the rules for the ARRL June  
> contest coming up.
>
> http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/june-vhf.html

Actually, you need to read three documents to cover all the rules for  
June VHF:

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/rules-all.html
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/june-vhf.html
http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/rules-vhf.html

One is linked but not super-obvious at the top of the June VHF rules  
that Ron posted, the other is linked way down at the bottom and also  
easily missed.

If it all seems confusing, don't worry... once you get on the air,  
you'll find folks in your local area, and if you ask... they WILL help  
figure out anything that's confusing.  The VHF contesting crowd are  
some of the nicest folks on Earth.  We have all sorts of debates and  
things here on the mailing list(s) about these rules, but what you  
really need to know for the contests is this:

- Be prepared to log.  Not all logging software (if you like using a  
computer to log) has any clue about VHF contesting.  You can (of  
course) log on paper and figure it out later... lots of people here  
will help you figure out how to do it, but computer logging is nice if  
you can do it... this is true of most contesting.  ARRL has some  
printable forms for paper logging in all of their contests too.  You  
should at least log the minimum needed data for the contacts, which is  
usually callsign & grid square on most VHF contests.  Unlike HF  
contests, signal report is rarely needed and rarely offered by a busy  
station.

- Know your Maidenhead Grid Square to at least four digits.  Some  
contests use six.  I live in "DM79"... give it on-air with phoentics,  
since this is weak-signal work... "Delta Mike Seventy-Nine".   
Otherwise you'll give your callsign and get a lot of "where are you?"  
questions that won't make much sense... helpful stations will explain  
it on contest day, but it's an easy one to be prepared for.

- If you're planning on moving from Grid Square to Grid Square, you're  
a "rover" and you must sign your callsign ending with that word  
"rover" on SSB, or "/R" on CW or other digital modes.  If you start  
out the day not doing that, the good fixed operators will figure it  
out in their software and adjust, but you'll confuse other folks when  
you move grids.

- Horizontally polarized antennas are the order of the day... you can  
of course use verticals if that's all you've got, but you're  
penalizing yourself by about 20dB in our receivers... big stations  
with gain antennas or even some "backup" vertical antennas will find  
you, but you'll work more folks with horizontal.  Antennas are king...  
LOTS of plenty-competitive stations are using limited power, but at 2m  
and up... pointing that beam right at the guy you want to work has  
benefits for BOTH ends of the RF "link"... if you can hear him/her,  
you can work 'em!

If it all sounds overwhelming -- if there's enough activity in your  
area, there's usually weekly "activity nights" on at least VHF that  
you can get involved in and talk to locals year-round.  Also you'll  
hear plenty of examples of how the contest exchanges go ... and of  
course, ask questions here...

We all (me especially) may seem "cranky", but if you meet us in person  
or on-air, we're all out here to have fun with VHF operating.   
Contests tend to be where activity centers around on the VHF+ bands,  
so that's where it's easiest to find us all... but there's other  
activity year-round.  After you're bitten by the VHF bug... it doesn't  
go away easily, and you start looking at digital weak signal modes,  
you pine for another day of Aurora Scatter, and if you're really  
hooked... you start trying to figure out where airliners fly over to  
bounce microwave signals off of them to extend your range beyond the  
horizon... you can get in as deep into the pool, or as shallow, as you  
like... but we'll all be happy to see you on the air.

This time of year is the "right" time to typically see some Sporadic-E  
type openings start happening, and is often the time of year new folks  
get hooked on 6 meter SSB... one afternoon you have the 6m rig on  
quietly hissing with noise in the shack, and then you hear voices and  
think at first they're in your head... you reach for the AF gain knob,  
and there's someone six or seven states away having a ragchew with a  
local buddy, or calling CQ... and then anywhere from a few minutes to  
a few hours later, they fade away, as mysteriously as they came...

I will never forget the first time I heard Aurora Scatter... I was  
sitting there thinking, "Why haven't we heard that guy up in Northern  
Nebraska before, and why is he whispering?  Is he so focused on the  
contest he lost his voice?  Wow!"  Then after a few more voices  
"whispering" faded in around him in frequency, it started to become  
obvious that, "Hey, there's something new going on here."

Have fun, ask questions... tell us your antenna setup, and think  
seriously about homebrewing some loops like the squalo or the moxon  
type antennas relatively quickly since contest weekend is coming up  
REAL soon... but if you don't get it done, don't let it stop you from  
getting on the air!

--
Nate Duehr, WY0X
nate at natetech.com