[VHFcontesting] The high point of your week. 222Night!!

[David Olean]

Of course, everyone's high point of the week can vary, but for many of 
us, Tuesday nights on two twenty two MHz sure is exciting.  Many of the 
gang on 222 have bought and re programmed the Quansheng $28 
handi-talkis.  I got one and hope to get it working on sideband on 222 
soon. I am figuring it won't be long until we have a Quansheng 
Sweepstakes or similar contest where people see how many Quanshengs they 
can work in an evening.

Anyway, don't forget that it is a Tuesday and there will be a star 
studded cast of hams on 222 this evening looking for contacts with 
anyone and everyone.  Here in the Northeast, it is quite warm, but no 
big tropo is expected.  Still, with warmer wx we could get a slug of 
better refraction than we have been accustomed to.  I sure plan to be on 
and will be there before 23:00 UT on or about the calling frequency 
looking for a contact.  Typical modes found on 222 include SSB, FT8, and 
CW for the most part.   The 222 ops tend to take over the ON4KST 144/432 
Region 2 Chat page for the evening and it is a great way to let folks 
know that you are there and looking for a contact.

I still keep trying to get a members of a local radio club interested in 
VHF. I will periodically let them know about some neat contact made, or 
interesting conditions observed on weak signal VHF. It always end the 
same ...... "crickets".  They all think VHF is FM repeaters and don't 
seem to be very inquisitive. Yesterday I helped out on a rather large 
tower job in Gloucester, MA. at a VHF repeater site. The tower was about 
250 ft high and self supporting. It is loaded with cellular stuff on top 
and there are multiple Station Master type antenna festooning the tower 
just below the cellular panels. We hauled up a big station master and a 
sidearm that weighed more than I do!  We also hauled up a long run of 
7/8" Heliax. When we were done, the repeater was turned on after many 
months of down time.  Everyone was trying it out and calls were coming 
in from downtown Boston, Quincy, and Up to Newburyport. I did hear 222 
op N1LHP (Good Buddy Doug) running 5 watts on FM  in Newburyport.  I was 
able to make a contact as well through the repeater with my Quansheng 
while standing under the tower. So when I got up this AM I tried to 
connect with the repeater while using my IC-7100 in my truck here in 
Mumbo-Jumbo Land.  I have a 5/8 wave whip. Alas my 35 or 40 watts was 
not able to be heard. I could hear the TX OK, just could not break in on 
the rx side.  I even had marginal listening results with my Quansheng 
and its little whip antenna. So then contrast that with 144 MHz SSB and 
a mobile antenna done at the same time from the same truck. I copied 
good buddy Ron WZ1V at about 160 miles. He was S7 to S9 and pretty loud. 
Also worked were K1FSY and K1PXE. K1PXE is at about 186 miles, and that 
is sure a lot farther away than Gloucester at a mere 55 miles.

CU all this evening on 222


Dave K1WHS