[VHFcontesting] Working K5QE in the Jan VHF contest...

[Marshall-K5QE]

Hello to all our friends in the Meteor Scatter / WSJT world from the 
K5QE contest team....K5QE will be operating in the ARRL January VHF 
Contest and would really appreciate any contacts that we can make via 
digital meteor scatter or EME for that "rare" grid.  The contest begins 
1900 UTC Saturday and ends 0400 UTC Monday (the weekend of Jan 19 and 
20).  For those of us still on local time, that is 1PM Central Time on 
Saturday to 10PM CST Sunday night.

For those stations that are outside our normal range, I invite you to 
try to work us on 6M, 2M, or 222 using digital meteor scatter OR 2M, 
222, or 432 EME(When the moon is up). We will be operating EME on 
144.142MHz, 222.085MHz, and 432.080MHz Second Sequence.  For this 
contest, the moon rises at 2230Z(4:30PM CST) on Sat and again about 
2330Z on Sunday(5:30PM).

We will also be able to operate FT8 when conditions are good for that 
mode.  Please remember that everyone MUST be using the new WSJT-X 
v2.0.0.  That is the standard now and the earlier versions are NOT 
compatible, so if you don't have it, download the new version and 
install it before the contest.  We will use the NA Contest Mode for 
meteors and FT8 on all bands.

On 6M, we will be operating WSJT-X MSK144 digital meteor scatter on 
50.265MHz, grids, using the NA contest mode.  We will begin 6M meteor 
scatter operations at 0100Z Sunday = 7:00PM CST Sat Night.  Our QRG for 
6M meteors is 50.265MHz, as usual.  We may call CQ K5QE 265 on 
50.260MHz, but we will RX on 50.265MHz and we will complete our contacts 
there.  If we are calling CQ towards the NE, we will be on First 
Sequence.  If we are calling towards the West or NW, we will be on 
Second Sequence.

This is a good opportunity for smaller stations to get a DX contact on 
6M, because the chances of an Es opening late at night are nil.  Please 
give us a try on 6M meteor scatter.  We run 1KW output on 6M meteor 
scatter with fairly large antennas.

On 2M, we will be operating WSJT-X MSK144 digital meteor scatter on 
144.142MHz, grids, SH=ON using the NA contest mode. The moon rises at 
2230Z(=4:30PM on Sat),  and we will be on EME thereafter.   If there is 
no activity on EME, we can switch to 2M meteors and operate 2M digital 
meteor scatter.  On meteors, we will RX on 144.142MHz.  We may call CQ 
K5QE 142 on 144.150MHz, but we will complete our contacts on 144.142MHz. 
Please call us there.

We will be on normal sequence(see above).  Again, remember that the 
contest requires exchanging GRIDS.  We run a stacked pair of 17el M2's 
at 160ft and 1KW output on 2M MSK.

222 meteor scatter contacts are harder than 6M or 2M, but they they are 
much easier than most folks think, especially with MSK144.  If you have 
a decent 222 antenna and some power, visit with us on PingJockey or call 
us on the phone and we can set up a sched.  Even if we only make 5 
contacts via MS on 222, that is 5 grids that we(and you) will not make 
otherwise.  I have never tried FT8 on 222, but if we got just a little 
bit of enhancement, it might work wonders.

On 6M, 2M, and 222 we will cease digital operations at 7AM CST(=1300Z) 
on Sunday morning and revert to normal tropo type operations.  We will 
be watching the PingJockey reflector whenever we are doing digital 
meteor scatter and the N0UK EME-1 reflector whenever the moon is up for 
us.  The reflector is a wonderful resource, so feel free to use it 
liberally.  The new ARRL rules allow us to make schedules on PingJockey 
or the EME-1 page, so don't be shy about chatting with us there.  Using 
the reflector, there is no reason for us to tie up 50.260MHz or 
144.150MHz, just tell us to look directly on 50.265 or 144.142. NOTE:  
NO contact information can be exchanged on the reflector.

For specific schedules, you can call the contest station at 
409-787-3831.  We can also run FT8 if conditions are favorable. Just 
contact us on PingJockey or call us to set up a sched.

Thank you in advance for spending some time to work us in the contest.

73 Marshall K5QE, EM31cj
www.k5qe.com
East Texas
Phone at the contest shack is 409-787-3831