[VHFcontesting] Why are no VE1s on 222?

Fri Apr 21 09:43:51 EDT 2023

Hi folks,

I realize that any action on a VHF band is now a labor of love and not a 
source of instant gratification. There is no getting around it. You 
cannot justify getting on any band based on the economics of it either.  
Back a few years ago, old yagis were freely given away or hauled to the 
dump. Today a corroded and pitted 7 element 144 yagi will set you back 
$150. It is hard and I cringe every time I have to purchase anything.

Our bands are under constant attack. Political leaders are not going to 
listen to you or me. Their decisions are cash based and I see the 
writing on the wall for ham radio. If we are not using the bands they 
will be gobbled up whenever there is a buck to be made.  My approach is 
to try as hard as I can to justify the allocation.  That requires 
regular activity and, unfortunately, it demands that you put together a 
very good station so that you can be heard.  It also demands commitment. 
The only way to get noticed on 222 from the hinterlands is to have 
meteor scatter, aurora, or EME capability. I was discouraged with the 
lack of any activity on 222 MHz here, and decided to do something about 
it. It is not easy. During the big March aurora, I could have been 
having a ball on 50 MHz with my 1.5 KW amp and antenna, but I stayed on 
222.100 CW calling CQ in hopes of attracting attention.  I only worked a 
few stations, but I did work some, and I heard N4PZ in Chicago very 
well. It was a bummer that we could not complete, but I did send in a 
report to the CQ and QST VHF editors so that maybe someone will get out 
of their comfort zone and try something a bit more difficult the next time.

W1GHZ has a nice 222 MHz transverter PC board available.  When he 
mentioned it to me, I decided that I would try to make one as I am a 
good candidate at 78 years of age and tremors in my right hand. 
Apparently Mouser has the parts list and ordering is a snap, plus I am 
learning the ins and outs of surface mount work. I hope to use my 
toaster oven to reflow the solder paste.  I have already built up 12 
W6PQL surface mount directional couplers the old fashioned way with 
tweezers or toothpicks. It was a struggle with shaky hands, but I did 
succeed and I am proud that I never lost a part. A few flew off on the 
bench, but I found them!  I will report back when the transverter 
project is completed. WW1M is helping me with that project.

I checked the amplifier pallet status here and there are three 500 watt 
amp pallets and 11 of the 1500 watt units. It would be nice to plop a 
1500 watt unit down in New Brunswick or PEI, or Nova Scotia. I started 
ripping apart the first of the 1500 watt units yesterday with some metal 
work and am hoping to have a bunch of them done by mid summer. They will 
go to homes where there is scant activity. VE1 and VE9 do qualify!!  I 
sure miss working Bernie, VE1UT, guys in FN95 on VHF.

Paul, I hope you get the upper hand with the exhaustion issues. I miss 
the big signal out of FN55!  K1PXE is the voice of Milford, but N1BUG IS 
the voice of Milo for sure!

To finance my ham radio habit, I have been selling off old vacuum tubes 
on EBay. Who knew?  Ruggedized 6SN7s go for $100. Anything that says 
Western Electric is expensive.  My old stash of 417As is a gold mine. 
Two or three  audiophool tubes will finance a UHF transverter.

Dave K1WHS

On 4/21/2023 6:43 AM, Paul N1BUG FN55mf wrote:
> 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
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