[VHFcontesting] Grid activation DN02/03/04 final thoughts.

[James C]

Howdy folks,

I'm home, well rested and unpacked.
I had an absolute blast heading activating these grids. There will
definitely be more activation's to come.
I don't think I could have picked a better weekend. The band cndx were
awesome!

A couple of trip highlights,

Watching Scott (AA5AM) work Petr (AG6EE) for 'all the marbles' in real
time! What an awesome feat!

Working KL7, ZF1 and everything in between.

Between Petr and myself. Putting DN01/02/03 on the air all at the same time
AND during an awesome opening. I think we made a lot of people happy.

Having an absolutely awesome group of guys on Slack. Slack enhanced the
trip 10 fold. You probably wouldn't understand unless you were there. Such
a blast and I made a bunch of new friends. It was super fun to celebrate
Scott's achievement with him and the rest of the group in real-time too.

All the support I received from the community before, during and after the
trip.


I tried to work the DN04/05 line, and although I found it, it was in a
terrible location (slot canyon). I lost a few good hours getting there,
getting stuck, getting back out.. On the bright side, Some of the guys on
Slack did some map work and found a couple of amazing 04/05 line locations.
I'll go back and work these line spots someday.

Special thank you to all the people who supported me on this trip. An
amazing outpouring of generosity.


Extra special thank you's to Barry (K7BWH), Dan (N5TM), Doc (WA7HQD) and
Mike (K7ULS) for going the extra mile in one way or another.

Extra EXTRA special thank you to Mike (KB7ME) for helping me find the
DN02/03 line, tons of advice and mentoring. Mike also called me before and
during the trip to make sure I was doing OK, Mike also kept a watchful eye
out the entire trip and volunteered to come help if I got in a jam. I was
very fortunate to have Mike as my 'sherpa'.



All the logs have been uploaded to LoTW. Please check on the actual LoTW
site before contacting me if you think there is a problem. Some of the
logging software out there doesn't know how to parse out two grids at once.
LoTW site is the only way to be sure.  If your still not seeing your
contact or have a problem, please email *off-list *and we'll figure it out.
jabeco at gmail.com

Needless to say.. the rove bug has bitten and bitten hard. I'm already
dreaming up the next trip. A DN07/08 trip was batted around the group and
seemed to garner the most chatter. I have a very busy summer schedule but
keep an eye out on this reflector for my next activation notice.

Wyatt, Dave and I talked about collaborating in the future. Who knows where
that might lead :)

73 till next time, .-James K7KQA DN06