[VHFcontesting] Rover Action on Mt. Washington NH

[Mark Adams]

Hi All,

A bunch of web searches came up empty but I’m sure that someone here knows the answer. If you don’t know me, I’m Mark K2QO and in September I run the NF2RS/R. My rover partner K2ZR and I have managed eight or nine first place Limited Rover finishes in the September contest in the past 11 years. 

ZR mentioned to me that we should try Mt. Washington as our first stop on the Saturday of the contest this fall. I’m pretty sure that we’ve never worked a station who was there. The mountain is well off the beaten path and travel times to other grids would be torched, but if it would proved 150-200 Q’s for a 304 hour effort it might be OK. 

I’d imagine that the QRM up there is brutal, but does anyone have insight as to whether this is doable? My partner tells me that we has a solid “contact” so that we may have some leeway on places to park the rover for effect. 

A few years ago, Wayne, N6NB mentioned that he tried a mountain in HI but found that above a certain elevation you are actually ABOVE the typical tropospheric duct and will have worse results than being at a lower elevation. I’m not sure what the elevation might be and whether it might apply to an east coast situation with no salt water nearby.

So, do you need that grid this September? Will I need new filters with a 100 kHz notch and the ability to block signals at the 100 dB ++ level? Making the trip only to find massive QRN would not be fun! I suppose if is that bad, people with pacemakers would simply fall over dead.

73,
Mark K2QO
FN03ra