[VHFcontesting] 222 MHz Activity Night is coming up

[David Olean]

Hi Pete

The activity in CA is very encouraging.  It used to be almost 100% FM 
with remote bases and repeaters everywhere.  It is great to see SSB & CW 
reports.  Ian W6TCP is active on 222 eme as well.

I am glad to see that you pronounced Wistah properly.

Dave

On 8/30/2022 11:52 AM, peter h wrote:
> And don’t forget the Greater DM12/03/04 area & CN85/86/87/88/89 areas 
> either!
>
> Bt73
> K1fjm/N6ze of DM04ne, CN87tw, & decades ago in Newton, ma & wistah, ma
>
>
> Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS 
> <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aol-news-email-weather-video/id646100661>
>
> On Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 07:44, David Olean <k1whs at metrocast.net> 
> wrote:
>
>     For an old geezer, I am pretty proud of myself. I actually swapped
>     out a
>     HAM-M rotator and cabling on the 432 tower all by myself and now
>     have a
>     shiny new Prosistel rotator up there to turn my never used array
>     of 4 X
>     15 element 432 yagis. I lugged the rotor up on my climbing belt along
>     with a cordless drill to fashion a few new mounting holes up there.
>     These antennas were supposed to be the solution to the narrow
>     beamwidth
>     main contest antenna, but it was never hooked up to be fully
>     operational. I think it went up in 2015, and around that time, our
>     small
>     contest group disbanded and then I got sick shortly afterwards.
>
>     The idea was to have a 432 yagi that was high gain (so people
>     could hear
>     me) but have a wider beamwidth than the 11 degrees available on
>     the 4 X
>     25 el H frame array. The smaller yagis are stacked vertically and
>     four
>     high and provide a 30 degree beamwidth, so it is much easier to
>     aim and
>     will still provide some decent gain. It is all working now and my
>     next
>     trick is to get my band switching system finished so I can run
>     multiple
>     bands from one radio.  That project is almost done.
>
>     What has this to do with 222 Night?..... Absolutely nothing!  It does
>     indicate that I am fired up about getting the VHF bands running
>     again.
>     I have the 222 MHz system running about as well as possible.  I did
>     manage to repair my motor driven coax switch and it is happily
>     clunking
>     away when it selects any of three (soon to be four) 222 antenna
>     systems.
>     I have 2 X 16 element yagis that I am hoping to put up on a side
>     mount.
>     All this for the biggest orphan band in the ham radio spectrum. No
>     off
>     shore manufacturers make any 222 gear, so, unless you have an
>     FT736 with
>     a 220 module, or an ICOM  IC-375, you must roll your own, or buy a
>     transverter from an American manufacturer.  I note that Elecraft does
>     not make any transverters anymore and from the sound of things,
>     are not
>     planning anything in the future.  Q5 Signal makes a nifty unit. I
>     just
>     got one and it works like a dream with my K3 exciter.
>
>     So why should you get on 222 MHz? That is a good question. The
>     coverage
>     is about the same as 144 MHz and the antennas are smaller.  If you
>     put
>     up a really good antenna, don't be surprised to work stuff that you
>     can't work on 144 under marginal conditions. Being a higher
>     frequency,
>     the sky noise is noticeably down and all the switching power supplies
>     and cruddy routers don't put out as much garbage on 222 as they do on
>     144, so it is a double-whammy in your favor! 222 is very quiet by
>     comparison!
>
>     I ran into K1DS at the New England Hamfest this past Saturday and
>     we had
>     a great visit and he recounted his 222 antenna situation to me. This
>     year he is spending the warm months near Philly and has a 1st floor
>     condo with a tiny balcony. He puts his wooden boom WA5VJB coat hanger
>     wire yagi on the balcony and aims it NE and talks to all the gang on
>     Tuesday nights. This past Tuesday, I called CQ and who calls back on
>     SSB, but K1DS from his ground floor condo on SSB with 25 watts.  Blue
>     Bell, PA, where K1DS is staying is about 500 km or 316 miles from
>     me, so
>     think about that....a 3 element wood boom yagi about ten ft off the
>     ground and 25 watts for a 300 mile plus QSO on VHF!   I know a guy,
>     locally who can't get into the next town on 2M packet radio!! I
>     should
>     tell him to use a wood boom yagi sticking out his ground floor
>     window!!!  I also saw N1GJ at the hamfest. He gets on for the Tuesday
>     nights from FN41 on Cape Cod.  George just had his 89th birthday and
>     still does a little climbing!  Way to go George!
>
>     So activity starts up after supper, about 2300 UT or 7PM local
>     time and
>     there are many people who are looking for contacts all over the
>     eastern
>     USA and even points west. Last week I worked W4ZST in Georgia using
>     meteor scatter during the Tuesday night activity period. We set
>     things
>     up using the ON4KST (144/432 Region 2) Chat page. It took about 18
>     minutes to complete. Meteors also work on 222 as does aurora, when
>     ever
>     the Sun decides to produce one.
>
>     So , to get in on the fun, I would recommend scouring the flea
>     markets,
>     E Bay, and used gear sites and score a 222 rig of some kind.  You can
>     buy or build your own transverter too.  Put up a small beam and
>     get in
>     on the fun. On Tuesday nights, it sounds like ham radio in the
>     good old
>     days on 222.100 here in the northeast. There is building activity in
>     Ohio, to Illinois, and some more activity down IN Tennessee, NC,
>     GA, and
>     Florida too.
>
>     C U on 222.100 on Tuesday.
>
>     Dave K1WHS
>
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