[VHFcontesting] 222

[Dana]

Dave
Always something… 
I don’t know how you manage all that…good for you! What a view!
220/222 is a great band.. I keep telling people that up here… but everyone says but my 705 doesn’t have 222.
What we should have done is pay for a ticket to have LEE fly to Tokyo and read the big 3 the riot act…….!!! 
Maybe she did? We used to have gear covering 222 from the big 3.
Even today, Elecraft seem to be on the path for a 144 / 432 transverter… what about 222?? Guys C’mon...

I’ll be on tonight from FN03… 

I got into 220 back in 1970-71, first exposure was at VE3ASO/3 June Contest in what is now FN04 at VE3DMF’s farm…  with some old CW gear that Larry VE3CWT now VE2DO  brought from Montreal (Montreal was a hot bed of VHF UHF activity back then) …and this was in the days when the Rochester NY AFB was still running 220 RADAR… yup the RX was working BZZT BZZZT…
I then built up a 6360 transverter and got on SSB making the FIRST Canada/US SSB contact with John WA8PKB in Parma OH - May 2 1972. 
I was running a borrowed KW at that time and an  8 bay array of 4 ele yagis @ 50 ft, my ex RAF neighbour said he saw one like
it in the UK during WWII LOL…. 
Last contact with thet KW was May 24 1972 with W2EIF and WA8PKB. 
We used it in the contest in June, i think under the call VE3ASO/3 as we didn’t get the VE3ONT call until 1973

The station evolved to Microwave modules when Hans VE3CRU convered a 2 m modult to 222 for me…. Later we changed the IF to 50 Mhz and goosed the power to 25 w
At Dayton  I picked up an AM6155 at Fair Radio  and have been using it ever since…almost 40 years with the same tube…
When the US hams lost 220 and moved up to 222, my Telrex 15 ele yagi would not play, so I wound up building a K1FO 16.  But that old Telrex got well used for Aurora contacts and meteors !
So today the Demi, has been replaced with the Q5 signal 5 band, same amp, same yagi….need to make some changes… have yet to try EME there...

There is a lot of 222 activity up here in the east… VE3ZV En92, VA3ELE, VE3MIS (club station) FN03, VE3SST FN04, VE3OIL/R, VE3SMA VE3MIX both FN03, VE3ROR FN03, VE3FN FN25, VE3KG FN24 VE2DFO FN25, VE2XX FN25 and stations in FN35 and up toward Quebec City.


73 Dana VE3DS




> On May 16, 2023, at 08:29, David Olean <k1whs at metrocast.net> wrote:
> 
> Last Tuesday I happened to look up at the microwave tower and saw something out of the ordinary.  Among other antennas up there, I have a quad loop yagi array for 903 MHz.  They are the long 47 element versions. It seems that one of the 47 el loop yagis had managed to break itself loose from the H frame. Apparently the hardware had worked loose and the antenna fell off. ( So much for my preventative maintenance abilities)  The looper was hanging by a kinked 1/2" hardline phasing cable.  I rescued the damaged antenna. Several elements were broken, but no real damage was done. I replaced a few of the broken loops and straightened things out. It looked pretty darn good when I was done. A quick check showed  30 dB return loss and it is ready to go back up. (I'll need to make a new phasing line and phase match it.)  When I am up there, I will test all of the loop yagis and do the PM work that I should have been doing up there all along.  I figure a day up at 130 ft and I can pinpoint any problems in any of the bands.
> 
> After all the tower work, Tuesday evening is the appointed time for 222 Activity Night. I am itching to try some meteor scatter. Last week seemed to be fair for meteors and we are getting into the more productive part of the year for them. I know that the current term du jour is "rocks", but they are really grains of sandlike particles. I guess "sand" doesn't cut it when discussing conditions. " Geez, the sand was really bad last night" or  " The sand was really flying this morning."  Last week, everybody noticed that conditions generally, had improved and some neat QSOs were made in many parts of the country.  QSO totals in the northeast were high and some of the regulars were missing in action. If everybody gets on in New England and the mid Atlantic States, we could have contact totals up in the 50's for a few hours of operating.  As it is  Good Buddy Ron WZ1V worked about 25 stations. I did about the same. I think WA3EOQ in extreme western MD worked 14 stations from his spot in FM09. That is impressive.
> 
> So fire up the rig on 222 tonight and make some noise. While you are at it, make a point to get on and celebrate the life of Lee Fish, K5FF, the God Mother of the 220 MHz band. Lee passed away on May 3rd. She was a true sparkplug and was responsible for keeping 220 MHz alive and fostering activity on the DX modes.  The fun starts after dinner around 2300 UT on the East Coast and a bit later in the midwest.  I will hopefully be there shortly before 23:00 UT on 222.100 MHz.
> 
> 73
> 
> Dave K1WHS
> 
> 
> 
> 
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