[VHFcontesting] [NEWSVHF] 222 Activity Night

[Paul N1BUG FN55mf]

I feel your pain Dave. I got the ice but was spared ending up on my 
backside this morning by a dusting of wet snow that had stuck to wet ice 
before everything froze last night, creating a very course sandpaper 
like surface. They weren't so lucky 12 miles west in the next town. 
"Like a bottle" is the phrase of the day there.

This late fall and early winter has been brutal. I got a touch of 
frostbite three times repairing an HF antenna past the "safe" season. 
Well, more during reinstalling than repair. I guess that is why the 
repaired antenna is working so great! The 144 antenna remains broken in 
half and I am questioning whether I will even attempt repair. Eventually 
I will... but I dread it. It is several days of work getting to it and 
getting everything back up working alone. When I do take that on, I will 
think long and hard about reducing stacking distances in the VHF/UHF 
stack. I need to review what you wrote on that some years back. That 
wouldn't fully solve the problem of getting to the top antenna in the 
stack, though, unless I stack them very close together. Unlike my HF 
mast, that one is not safe to climb. OK, safety of the other one is 
probably debatable but I do it anyway.

Evenings and 222 Activity Night are still mostly the nebulous stuff of 
dreams for me. I haven't seen one in ages. But I am making progress 
towward breathing life into the 432 amp!

[sigh] QWERTYitis time for me...

73,
Paul N1BUG


On 12/30/2025 3:09 PM, Dave Olean wrote:
> Well , it is Tuesday and the time for getting on the 222 MHz band this 
> evening. We had some serious weather come through on Monday that covered 
> everything in ice. As a result the road up the hill is alternating 
> between a raging river and a skating rink. The antennas are still iced 
> up, but I am not sure how badly as I have not been able to get up there 
> yet.  I was hoping to walk up but the temperatures are very cold, under 
> 20 F and with strong winds. I was outside  this afternoon, checking out 
> the stream on my property, and decided that it is too cold for me to 
> attempt the walk up.  I was afraid of getting frostbite on my face.  I 
> suspect that I am going to miss the festivities if the truck cannot get 
> past the ice patches. 4WD does no good on ice.
> 
> Still, any Tuesday is the time to get on 222 MHz, so please get on and 
> make a few contacts and look for other stations with 222 gear. This is 
> your last chance in 2025. Next week is in 2026. I am sure that the new 
> year will be good for 222 MHz. I plan to be around and hope to also have 
> my 144 station run ing again. I am so close, but just could not get 
> enough help to finish the new tower. It will have to wait for Spring! 
>   Activity starts around 00:00 UT on the East Coast and can go to 0200 
> or later as you head West. The Moon is up so some EMErs will be around 
> for sure.
> 
> 73
> 
> Dave K1WHS
> 
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