[VHFcontesting] 222 Activity Night Wrap up.

[David Olean]

Hello VHFers,

Things were a bit different in the northeast last night. Everybody was 
all tired out from all the tropo activity the past few days. That is a 
good thing as  we have not been blessed with many days of good tropo. 
The 144 band was very active Monday night with the Fall Sprint coupled 
with good conditions. Reports I heard indicated that the best paths were 
to the NE into the Maritime Canadian provinces, but I know that the good 
conditions extended down at least into Virginia. Tuesday morning was 
very good as well, and the 144 band was hopping then as well.  I was 
making noise on 222 and 432 but activity was sparse. The bit of local 
lift allowed me to hear K3CX/b again from Philadelphia. It was about S4 
here in Maine.   I did not work anything out of the ordinary, but it was 
great to work a few stations on 432 and get to test out my cavity filter 
mod. The new filter on 432  has tamed the receiver and I can now hear 
weak signals again.

Here is my list of 222 MHz stations worked during Activity Night. 
Fourteen different stations is a pretty good number for the north woods.

WZ1V    FN31
K2AEP    FN33
W9KXI    FN12
KA2LIM    FN12
W2BVH    FN20
W1AIM    FN34
N1SV    FN42
N2SLO    FN30
W1XR    FM19
W1JR    FN42
K1PXE    FN31
N1YCQ    FN41
KO4YC    FM17
W5AFY    EM04


KO4YC had a great signal on SSB, peaking at a good 5X5 from FM17gv.  He 
claims that his good results to the northeast are due to the fact that 
he has few trees in that direction. My advice to all is to cut down 
every tree on your property so you can do as well as Cornell! He does 
have the secret recipe!  I did not encounter much FT8 activity last 
night. I know N1SV was on FT8 and I went and listened for a bit, but had 
to QRT for a sked at 01:25 UT with W5AFY in EM04.  The evening started 
out with beautiful weather, so I went outside to look at the moon low in 
the East to verify my headings. When I opened the shack door, water was 
dripping off all of the coax cables and I was in a heavy fog bank! 
Visibility was about 100 ft. I had trouble even seeing the 222 antenna! 
So I turned the antenna to where I thought the Moon should be and 
crossed my fingers. The moon rose in Texas at 01:25 UT. I called from 
01:25 to 01:26 and stood by. In a few seconds I started to hear tones in 
my headphones. It was W5AFY blasting in right at his Moon rise!I copied 
every sequence, but he was not detecting me. After about 15 minutes, he 
copied me and we completed!  That makes a new mode for me on activity 
night. Contacts have now been made on CW, SSB, MSK144, FSK441, FT8 and 
now JT65 off the Moon.  W5AFY is running a single 7wl long yagi as a 
tropo antenna, but it works very well for EME too! Really, his single 
yagi signal was audible in my headphones.

Next Tuesday is the Fall 222 Sprint. It will run from 2300 UT until  
0300UT. Circle your calendar for Tuesday so you do not forget.

73

Dave K1WHS