[VHFcontesting] where to find 222 activity night?

[David Olean]

Hello Michael,

finding activity can require some time on 222 Mhz. It is not like there 
are a Gazillion stations on all the time, so at any given time, you 
might not hear anything. Once you have been on a few times and seen what 
transpires on a Tuesday evening, you will have better success because 
you know where everyone is "hiding".

It helps if you have a good setup. Then people will hear you, but a 
small station (100 watts and a single yagi) will require that you search 
for stations and hope that you can ambush them!  Right now, there is 
some decent activity in Massachusetts near Boston and Cape Cod.  Diehard 
regulars on the Connecticut shore include Ron WZ1V and Pete K1PXE. They 
are like beacon stations.  I think Ron WZ1V, has an uncanny ability to 
sniff out stations, and he goes very well with a single yagi and a few 
hundred watts. If you aim at the CT shore and make noise, You will 
attract attention in short order.   There are other activity spots. 
Toronto and western NY, VE2 and northern VT. etc. etc.  Then there is 
VE3KG in FN24 a very rare grid. His heading from me is 294 degrees, and 
I always stop the beam at 294 and make a few calls in hopes that he 
might hear me.  The VT boys and VE2XX are at 316 degrees or so.  W9KXI 
is at 256 degrees and N2JMH and W2BYP are  a bit farther to the North.  
My heading forWA3EOQ in FM09 is etched into my memory at 242 degrees.

So certain beam headings seem to be in play and it is a good idea to 
keep rotating the antenna to cover the directions that are most 
profitable.  If I were you, I would read a few comments about who was 
worked on previous Tuesdays and then figure out the beam headings for 
those stations at your QTH.  K1PXE and WZ1V are on every Tuesday. You 
can bet on that.  Most of the others are quite regular attendees too. I 
am typically on between mid March and mid December, when the shack is 
accessible to me.

If you can monitor the ON4KST Chat page, that is a great way to set up 
skeds on 222.  Many of the ops are monitoring ON4KST. Just be sure to 
pick the correct chat. (144/432 MHz Region 2)   I usually can work Phil 
with good signals on SSB 55 to 57. Some times we do not connect. It all 
depends on where the beams are pointing. I tend to get running 
impossible paths and a 15 or 20 minute sked might cause you to miss some 
of the local activity. I always hope to work N2SLO and KC2KAE on 
Tuesdays, but we are far enough apart that our beams must be aligned for 
any success.  That is where knowing all the good headings comes in!!

On another note, I have recuperated from Covid enough that I snow-shoed 
up the hill and checked out the shack today. For the first time in a 
week, I feel OK. Everything is in one piece up there, but the last storm 
really killed the forest and there are snapped trees all over the place. 
We had 13.5 " of very heavy snow at the house. The shack is a bit over 
200 ft higher and snow depth up there was much greater.  I suspect it 
was 18" or more. The woods road is impassable from downed trees along 
with all the snow and ice. All of my beverage antennas for 160 meters 
have been knocked down. I see a downed tree every 50 ft or so. It will 
take much chain sawing as every wire has to be walked and cleared of 
debris!  I am hoping the storm tomorrow does no more damage.  Some rain 
is predicted and I am hoping it reduces e snow cover enough so that I 
can drive up and remove a few radios for the winter. They do not fare 
well with no heat and all that condensation. Hopefully I will be QRV 
next Tuesday night for one last time.

73

Dave K1WHS

On 12/21/2022 5:19 PM, Michael Davis wrote:
>
>
>
> 	Hello Friends,
>
>
> 	Phil WA3NUF shamed me and others at our last Packrat meeting.
>   So I decided to turn on my 222 MHz rig last night in the hope of
> contacting other VHF hams.  No luck.   So where might I
> find other hams on 222 MHz activity night?  I did call CQ for a
> half-hour (7-7:30 PM).
>
>
> 	I will mention that my 222 MHz yagi is very directional so if I am not
> pointed right at another station, I might not hear them.  I
> noticedthat Ron WZ1V was working stations well north of my QTH last
> night.
>
> 	
>
> 	73,
>
>
> 	Michael KB1JEY
>
>
> 	--
>
> 	Michael L. Davis
>
> 	533 Tennis Avenue
>
> 	Ambler, PA 19002-6016
>
> 	email: Michael.Davis at alumni.duke.edu
>
> 	mobile: 203-562-0640
>
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