[VHFcontesting] [NEWSVHF] 222 Activity Night

[David Olean]

I had the decimal point in the wrong place. It is 24.9 cents per kWh!

We had a huge rate increase in December.

Dave K1WHS

On 3/8/2022 6:45 PM, Ron Klimas WZ1V wrote:
> Dave OK on 222 - I will be there !
> But complaining about 2.5 cents electric ?
> Try Connecticut, cheapest supplier is over 10 cents !
> I might have to go QRP !
> 73 Ron WZ1V
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: David Olean <k1whs at metrocast.net>
> To: "vhfcontesting at contesting.com" <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>,        "NEWSVHF at mailman.qth.net" <NEWSVHF at mailman.qth.net>,        "222 >> 222Activity at groups.io" <222Activity at groups.io>
> Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2022 16:43:59 -0500
> Subject: [NEWSVHF] 222 Activity Night
>
>> Hey, it's Tuesday!! That means a fun evening frolicking on one of the
> best VHF bands we have allocated in North America.  That is the 222 MHz
> band BTW.  I am all fired up because we had about 2 days warmish of
> melting and a lot of ice and snow has disappeared. I am thinking that
> the ham shack may be accessible very soon. Of course, with our nation's
> fuel supply, diesel fuel prices have gone through the roof and I will
> cringe every time I hit the start switch on my 20 KW generator.   Then
> there is the base cost of electricity in Maine. I am not sure what
> happened, but I am now paying $0.0249 per kilowatt hour! All this makes
> me want to go QRP!
>
> Still, I am hopeful that I can get back on the band soon. I am already
> planning to rig up the big rope on the 222 tower so I can haul up some
> gear to raise the 222 H frame again and make the setup operational.  I
> just hope all is well up there. We had simply awful winds last night. I
> rate the wind as being bad when I feel the house shake, and it was
> shaking last night after the weather front came through. I think it was
> the worst of the winter so far.
>
> If you have 222 gear, why not dust it off and see what you can hear this
> evening on the CW and SSB frequencies around 222.100. Don't forget FT8
> if you are so inclined. 222.174 is the FT8 frequency.  ON4KST Chat page
> (Region 2 144/432MHz) is one of the liaison spots for the northeast. You
> might also try HB9Q Logger and select the 222 page there. It gets
> heavily used for 222 EME but most times it has very low traffic.  Action
> starts around 6 PM local time and typically goes past 9 PM or 0200 UT.
>
> I have been working slowly on my 222 solid state KW. It is almost
> finished. Most of the wiring has been done.  I am now building a current
> shunt for my 150 amp DC meter. I have installed a bunch of ferrite cores
> on all the control and measurement wiring. I used 43 material, figuring
> it would work fine on 222. A few more days, and I will be ready for the
> smoke test. The amp has been tested, but I need to calibrate the VSWR
> protection circuits, and calibrate the RF output meter and the DC
> current meter. I am using a W6PQL control board and so the temperature
> settings need calibration too. I am using the control board to run  my
> array of box fans. (4 X 12 volt DC fans)  I need to adjust fan speeds
> for proper cooling.
>
> So don't forget to post how you did on 222 for the evening.  It is a
> great way to let folks know what they are missing if they don't have 222
> gear to enjoy.
>
> 73
>
> Dave K1WHS
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> NEWSVHF mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/newsvhf
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:NEWSVHF at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>