[VHFcontesting] Tuesday night Activity.

[David Olean]

Well, we keep hearing that spring is on the way.  We did get a nice warm 
day, but the winds came up and temps plummeted down into the teens 
again. Still, things are warming up and Tuesday should be a great time 
for snagging all sorts of exciting contacts on the VHF band that 
combines the good features of 144 and 432 MHz. You get the quietness of 
432 along with the propagation capabilities of 144! What more could you 
ask for? Just look for contacts around 222.100 MHz starting at about 
2300 UT which is 7 PM on the East Coast.

I missed last week as a good friend had passed away but I expect to be 
active starting at 23:45 UT or earlier for this Tuesday, and I hope the 
contact totals keep rising.  The 222 MHz Activity Committee has just 
informed me that  Orville Podgorni the IOTA operator who was selected 
for the fantastic trip to Beechey Island has been air lifted back to the 
USA after suffering mild frostbite on his hands, nose and other 
appendages after spending too much time with bare fingers while pushing 
keyboard buttons to activate Beechey Island on 20 meter FT8. Note that 
his operating  spot is located well above the Arctic Circle and is 
inhabited by Polar bears and a few seals. Poor Orville was trying to get 
that last RR73 across when his right and left hand fingers stuck to the 
keyboard. I have been told that the typical procedure up there is to pee 
on the keyboard to loosen the hands, but things were so cold that the 
procedure did not work and other parts were subsequently exposed and 
partially frozen. The keyboard had to be abandoned as it is now stuck to 
the rocks on the shore of the island.  Orville is resting comfortably in 
a re hab center in Keokuk, Iowa. He reports that he loved the trip and 
misses the sled dogs but not the load of whale blubber used to feed the 
dogs. All's well that ends well. I can't wait for the next Committee 
prize offering.

So make a resolution to get on 222 MHz plus or minus the 222.100 MHz 
calling frequency, and see what you can work. Many ops also use the 
ON4KST chat page (144/432 Region 2)  for setting up skeds. Last week, 
Good Buddy Ron, WZ1V made a 510 mile contact with N8LRG by using the 
ON4KSTchat page. Congrats to both ops.

The Moon will be up on Tuesday night and Moonrise in Texas will be about 
22:30 UT. I will get on early if anyone wants to try a rising Moon sked 
via the EME route. I can do Q65B or even CW. Let me know if interested. 
By 00:00 the Moon elevation here is 38 degrees so it is in a good spot 
for most of the country.

CU on 222 MHz!!

Dave K1WHS