[VHFcontesting] Why are no VE1s on 222?

[Paul N1BUG FN55mf]

Hi Mike and all,

I have never seen 222 gear for sale at swap meets or the like here 
either unless you count the very beat up, broken CushCraft yagi (11 
elements?) I found at Hosstraders/Deerfield back in the late 1990s. I 
rescued that poor thing from ending up at the scrap yard for $10 which 
was probably more than I should have paid but after replacing several 
elements that were snapped in half I had a lot of QSOs with it. 
Admittedly I haven't been to any in a few years but used to go to most 
of them. I did find a Microwave Modules transverter on Craigslist New 
Hampshire in 2016 or 2017 and managed to find a way to obtain it with 
lots of help from the VHF community. It is now for sale, but I suspect 
shipping to Canada would cost enough to make it pretty uninteresting.

Activity here in Maine is down for the same reasons. Some have gone 
silent key, some have given up as QSOs have become harder and fewer. I'm 
trying to avoid joining either group for a while longer!

Sadly I am getting more and more discouraged with VHF. I want to love it 
like I used to but the relationship has faded.

I am still struggling with chronic fatigue (more like chronic 
exhaustion) and have not managed to be on for a single 222 Activity 
Night in many months. I tried extra hard for the 222 Sprint but it was a 
no go.

VHF contests are a real slog here now. If I run for 24 hours the 2 meter 
QSO rate runs around one per hour. I imagine that's probably more than 
the VE1/VE9 guys got back in the VHF heyday. If so I don't know what 
kept you guys interested! I have a much more capable station now than I 
did back when 70 to 100 QSOs was the norm. Obviously 222 and 432 QSOs 
are fewer in number.

Bill seems to do well from FN54 but I think superior QTH plays a big 
role in that. Being 50 miles closer to most of the stations probably 
doesn't hurt either.

I don't want to give up, but I don't know how to put the fun back in it. 
Back in the day there was EME to take up the slack and keep the spiders 
blown out of the HV (literally! Yikes!) but now there's not that and 
stuff just gathers dust. The bald eagles enjoy sitting on the 2m antenna 
as it is the highest lookout spot around by some 30 feet and they have a 
nest nearby.

I am reminded of something Dave, W5UN (SK) told me when I tried 
returning to 2 meter EME in the early 2000s. He said the bloom came off 
the rose some years before that in terms of activity. I would say the 
same of VHF terrestrial activity now, at least in terms of what can be 
worked from here.

Sorry about the long winded commentary.

73,
Paul N1BUG




On 4/20/23 19:57, Mike Smith VE9AA wrote:
> Dave asked, so here's one possible explanation.
> 
>   
> 
> Probably at one time there were 1 or 2 VE1's(Ve9's as well) on 222 but the
> reasons are likely many why there is little to none now.
> 
>   
> 
> Equipment is more expensive in Canada as a rule and not as plentiful on the
> used market, especially out East where
> 
> there are way less of us guys (especially now).  For example, I have never,
> in the last 45yrs, ever seen a used 222MHz rig or transverter at a swap shop
> or on our local Internet (or Telnet/Packet back in the day), swapshops.
> Never, as in not even once!
> 
> (If I had, I would've bought one by now.even if only to give Dave, Bill/DY
> and Paul/BUG a Tuesday night Q, hi hi)
> 
>   
> 
> There used to be a healthy (for our area) amount of guys on 144MHz CW and
> SSB and a few also on 6m and 70cm, but the truth of the matter is most of
> them are now SK.  When I came on the VHF CW/SSB scene around 1988 I was one
> of the youngest VHF allmode guys around(I had already been on HF CW for
> 10yrs prior to that-since 14yrs old).  Fast forward 35yrs, and I am now 59
> and all those guys who were active or mentors are long since SK. Back in the
> late 80's/early 90's I could count on around 12-13VE QSO's on 2m in a VHF
> contest and I could always get WA1T and sometimes K1WHS to hear us "off the
> back" so now, for me to be QRV in a VHF contest on legacy modes means
> working several Maine and NH stations for an entire weekends worth of
> work..and virtually nobody in VE1/VE9/VY2...so I simply don't bother most of
> the time.
> 
>   
> 
> Even the VHF repeaters, their sysops and packet networks have mostly all
> gone silent so many don't even have FM equipment (or antennas), let alone
> all-mode gear.
> 
>   
> 
> So it's a bit of a convoluted answer but a lot of it is the fact there just
> weren't/aren't a lot of hams here to begin with and what there were are
> largely no more, sadly. (or if they are still alive, have moved QTH..for
> example, VE9CB once very active on HF and VHF is now VE3KG, who I think is
> QRV on 222MHz from his place in Eastern Ontario.)
> 
>   
> 
> Sorry for the long winded reply Dave !
> 
> -Mike