[VHFcontesting] Microwave Liaising in the Rover

[Mark Spencer]

Hi Sean.   In my (quite limited) experience I have typically used 144 MHz SSB to coordinate contacts on 1296 MHz.   During my last attempt at long haul 1296 contacts I found a 50 watt 144 MHz radio and a 4 element beam was more than adequate for coordinating a contact at 1296 with 10 watt radios and 55 element antennas at each end.

I worked a number  of stations on the 144 MHz liaison frequency that I wasn't able work on 1296.   

Your mileage may vary (:

73

Mark S
VE7AFZ

mark at alignedsolutions.com
604 762 4099

> On Aug 27, 2018, at 7:57 AM, Sean Waite <waisean at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm planning out the next phase of our rover, and we're going to be
> mounting 6' (ish) uW beams and going to try and spend more time operating
> these bands.
> 
> A lot of people suggest ON4KST for coordination, which is an option. We've
> used 2m FM for coordination as well. What do people suggest using? We'll
> have a dedicated microwave op (me), so we'll be able to just spend the time
> working those bands.
> 
> I don't know if a 2m liasion radio would count against the 1 signal per
> band rule. I suspect it does, though we wouldn't be making contest contacts
> there. The major problem is the QRM of our 2m station, we'd probably be
> clobbering each other. The microwave beams will be on a dedicated rotator,
> so it wouldn't be too unreasonable to slap a small 2m vertical beam on
> there and have it, with a dedicated mobile with the microwave gear.
> 
> I can also use cell phones.
> 
> What do people do? How do I manage these contacts? Some will be passed up
> from the other op (or ops) in the rover, which is fine, though coordination
> through the lower band op can really suck up his time and you have to play
> a lot of pass-it-down-the-lane until you sync up on a uW band. On weaker
> signal contacts this becomes unreasonable as it ties up both ops. Being
> able to coordinate via another method, especially on passes, can keep the
> waiting passed ops in tune with what's going on and free up the 6-70 op to
> work other stations.
> 
> I'm really new to the microwaves, just a handful of contacts from a few
> grids in the January and June contests this year with little teeny 2
> element PCB beams. Not really any weak signal, and my beamwidth was
> basically "is it in front of me roughly?" It's going to be a whole new
> animal with a minimum of 18 elements. Any tips would be super helpful.
> It'll be a little while before we're up and running again for a big rove,
> but I figure I can get everything built up between now and then and be
> ready to go.
> 
> Thanks for any help!
> 
> 73,
> Sean Waite, WA1TE
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