[VHFcontesting] FM Activity in Milwaukee/Chicago Areas

[Todd Sprinkmann]

    Todd KC9BQA here.  

    There was a noticeable bump in FM activity for the Jan. 
2013 ARRL in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas.   

     Been V/U contesting for 10 years now.  Always on the 
SSB side, but also have a 146/147 MHz vertical up 70' and 
I keep an FM rig where I can see it during contests, just to 
see if the S-meter ever lights up.  It rarely does.  
    This year was different.  That S-meter lit up plenty for the 
first few hours on the FM side.  Plus, I'm 40 miles north of 
Milwaukee, so I probably missed H/T's and stations with 
indoor antennas.  
    I was too busy with SSB at the start to work FM.   
Later, when SSB grew quieter, and I had time to switch, 
the activity had dried up.  Sunday had far less FM activity, 
but I still felt good about what I heard on Saturday.  
    
    Post-contest news out of the Chicago area says they had 
strong FM activity.   I hope list members from those areas -- 
all areas really --  will post and give their own impressions.  

    N1LF and others who promote this idea to Joe Q. Ham 
are on the right track.  Keep promoting it and keep spreading 
the word.  Not just about FM, but the 3-band category, too.  
There was plenty of talk on the air about the 3-band category 
this weekend.  I know it got hams in our area motivated to 
contest longer than they usually do.  Which says a lot, consid-
ering the weather, the poor conditions and high noise levels.   
   
     Will most Joe/Jane Q. Hams want to try V/U contesting?  
No.  But perhaps a few % will.  And 2-3% of 700,000+ 
hams would be a darn good start.  
     I know this -- if we don't spread the word, nobody new 
will get on.   V/U contest activity is down far too much to sit 
back and wait for the good ol' days to magically reappear.  
ARRL did V/U contesting at least one favor with these new 
categories.  It will be interesting to see how it is going after 
the June and September contests. 
    
     73,
     Todd   KC9BQA    EN63ao    40 N of Milwaukee
     www.kc9bqa.com  For Frequent VHF/UHF Updates
     www.wivuch.com  WI VHF/UHF County Hunters Award