[VHFcontesting] Any other rovers running MSK144

[Roger Rehr W3SZ]

I think you would really enjoy, be helped by running MSK144 at night.
I have only 100 watts (at most) and a small yagi on 6 and have only been
using MSK144 for a week, but
after midnight Saturday in the early hours of Sunday with this pipsqueak
station I was able to work on 6 with MSK144 from FN20ag:
EN35
EM45
EM45 again
EM31
EN52
EM48
FN31
FN43
FN44
EN80
And during the same time period using various digital modes was able to
complete with
FN03 on 144,222,432,1296 and with
FN25 and FN35 on 144.
I had LL on 2, but only 90 watts on 222, 40 watts on 432, and 15 watts
or less on 1296.

So I think your plan to use MSK 144 etc at night is a great one.  If you
are a solo rover you could even have a "guest" op come in to do the MS
stuff overnight while you sleep :)
Unfortunately, if you are a 2 person rover you couldn't do that, but one
of you could sleep while the other one had all the fun (and it is GREAT
fun)  :)

If you do this, it would be best for you to make sure you set your cell
phone up as a hotspot so that you can then use your laptop[s] to
coordinate / advertise on PingJockey (which I used exclusively for this
rather than going to ON4KST, etc).

The rover rules do not prohibit you from using commercial power.  They
do prohibit you from using equipment (including power supplies) that you
have stashed at a remote site.  This is to prevent rovers from
essentially setting up "superstations" at a number of fixed locations
which they then drive to and operate from while claiming rover status. 
(2.5.3 of General rules for Contests above 50 MHz). 
http://www.arrl.org/general-rules-for-arrl-contests-above-50-mhz
"2.5.3. Rover vehicles must transport all the equipment, power supplies,
and antennas used at each operating site".

So go to it and have fun!

73,
Roger Rehr
W3SZ

On 1/23/2017 5:15 PM, Sean Waite wrote:
> Color me also interested. My big hangup at the moment is power. I don't
> have 110VAC in the rover and even with an inverter, the laptop power draw
> and the 100% duty cycle of these modes is going to suck batteries. One
> thing we considered is possibly only running MSK144 at night once we're at
> our sleeping destination, we can pick a campground or something with street
> power. I'm not sure if this is legal under the rover rules, though.
>
> Sean WA1TE
>
> On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 4:34 PM n12614--- via VHFcontesting <
> vhfcontesting at contesting.com> wrote:
>
>