--- /dev/null
+<head>
+ <title>CODE Rover Report - 2000-08 </title>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+
+<center><h1> August 2000 ARRL UHF </h1></center>
+
+<center><h2>
+A New Divison Rover Record Score!
+</h2></center>
+
+<h2> Bdale's Report </h2>
+
+This contest represented simultaneously both a strong desire on my part to
+have a very laid-back weekend, and a definite attempt to beat our record rover
+score in this contest last year. When it was all over, I felt pretty good
+about both goals!
+<p>
+My big last-minute burst of energy was getting the system integration of the
+Down East 2304 transverter finished. I've had it put together for quite a
+while, but two items were pending. First, the 1W GaAsFET power amplifier
+wasn't working, leaving me with only 20 milliwatts or so. Second, the kit
+does not include T/R switching on the antenna side... that's left as an
+exercise for the builder. I had stalled on both issues.
+<p>
+Somewhere along the line I decided to punt worrying about the power amp, and
+just see what I could do with the low-level output. So, that left me with the
+T/R switching. I had acquired some Transco SMA relays, but they needed 28VDC.
+To make a very long story (that finally ended at 4:30am on the contest morning)
+much much shorter, I ended up designing and building a switcher to make 28V
+from nominal 12 using some Linear Technologies parts I had samples of in my
+pile of parts, and then swiped the relay from the unassembled 3456 transverter
+kit's IF switch board to switch it on PTT. It all works wonderfully.
+<p>
+Somewhere on the Down East Microwave web site, I read about a new board they've
+designed to replace the older PINK board, that provides the 28V power supply
+to switch relays like this. I'll probably invest in one for the 3456 kit, and
+see how it works out.
+<p>
+John was getting ready to head to Venezuela on business. Steve showed up at
+about 9am on Saturday morning, and we started putting things together. I was
+dragging from the lack of sleep, so we were running a bit late by the time we
+headed out. One change from previous roves is that I had the back seat out
+of the Trooper, and instead of putting it back in, we decided to just put the
+radios inside the rear door, and cross our fingers for good weather. The last
+time we ran that way was the first time we went out, in September of 1998.
+It turned out to be a good choice...
+<p>
+After a quick stop at the Safeway in Falcon to snag some lunch materials, we
+were in DM89 at our usual spot somewhere around 1pm local,
+an hour into the contest. From there, we dropped south into DM88, and then
+called it a day in time to get home for late dinner. Steve called Sunday
+morning early to report a death in the family, so I ran
+the rover solo for the first time ever in DM78 and DM79. Fortunately, with
+the radios inside the back door, it was possible for me to drive the radios
+with one hand and rotate the antennas with the other. It was hard to hold
+the antennas steady, but since there wasn't much wind, it worked out ok.
+<p>
+The highlight this time was, without doubt, my first four contacts on 2304.
+With the 20 milliwatts, about 20 feet of Andrews heliax in an assembly bought
+at Dayton this spring, and a 45-element loop yagi, I was able to work W6OAL
+from each of the four grids. What a kick in the head!
+
+<p>
+
+It's also really neat that, if my claimed score holds up, this year's effort
+resulted in more than twice the points of last year...
+
+<p>
+
+The biggest frustration, other than Steve having to stay home on Sunday, was
+an odd source of very strong noise on 222 somewhere in the Colorado Springs
+area. John WD0FHG talked about having serious trouble making any contacts at
+all from Palmer Park during the 222 Sprint this spring, but this was my first
+experience with it. Working N0KM from DM78, and K5RHR from DM79 were both
+extremely difficult because of this noise. By turning the antenna, I could
+watch the noise floor go from about S1 to S8+ on the meter in John's IC-735.
+Pretty amazing, whatever it is.
+<p>
+
+I really like this contest. As always, it's tempting to say that it'd be more
+fun if more folks were on... and since I worked everyone I heard and heard
+almost everyone that I heard about being on, there's some truth to it.
+However, one of the nice things about fewer people being on, most of whom have
+worked each other before, and in an environment where we're not all crazily
+busy every instant trying to snag one more contact, is that we actually take
+time to chat some. I'm not much of a rag-chewer, but it's good to communicate
+a little more than just callsigns and grid squares, and until I make some
+major changes at the QTH, these roving expeditions are the only real chances
+I have to talk with friends on the microwave bands.
+
+<h2> Photos </h2>
+
+I bought a new digital camera earlier this summer, and went a little crazy
+with it this weekend.
+Excuse the repetition, but I took various views of the vehicle hoping to end
+up with one that might make a good start for a new QSL card, now that I've got
+a new callsign...
+
+<ul>
+<li> <a href="vga01.jpg"> Operating position </a> at the rear of the Trooper.
+<li> <a href="vga02.jpg"> In DM89 </a>, with Steve admiring the antenna stack.
+<li> <a href="vga03.jpg"> Closeup </a> of the antennas against the clouds.
+<li> <a href="vga04.jpg"> Front top </a> view of the rigs.
+<li> <a href="vga05.jpg"> The mess </a> of wires making it all work.
+<li> <a href="vga06.jpg"> Another view </a> of the operating postion. Note
+ the back seat not present in the Trooper.
+<li> <a href="vga07.jpg"> Another shot </a> of the vehicle in operating stance
+ in DM89.
+<li> <a href="vga08.jpg"> From the front </a>, just another angle.
+<li> <a href="vga09.jpg"> Another similar </a> view.
+<li> <a href="vga10.jpg"> Steve KC0FTQ </a>, taking a break and beating the
+ heat in style...
+<li> <a href="vga11.jpg"> Bdale KB0G </a>, at the operating position in DM88.
+<li> <a href="vga12.jpg"> Steve </a> "assuming the position", also in DM88.
+<li> <a href="vga13.jpg"> Another with Steve </a>, who was intrigued at the
+ mix of linear and loop yagis we were running.
+<li> <a href="vga14.jpg"> Another </a> shot of the vehicle.
+<li> <a href="vga15.jpg"> Close up </a> of the antennas.
+<li> <a href="vga16.jpg"> Rear view </a> of the mess in the back of the
+ Trooper. Note the 2304 transverter sitting loose, I had to swap it
+ in for the 902 since the TIB only supports one transverter at a time.
+<li> <a href="vga17.jpg"> Looking back </a> from the front seats.
+<li> <a href="vga18.jpg"> Sunday morning </a> in DM78, with Pikes Peak in the
+ background.
+<li> <a href="vga19.jpg"> A different angle. </a>
+<li> <a href="vga20.jpg"> This time </a>, with the antennas broadside. Note
+ the callsign tags with the old callsign... I have the forms in hand
+ to request new ones, but haven't sent them in yet... /o\
+<li> <a href="vga21.jpg"> Cables </a> on the roof ready to move, I was more
+ casual this time around, just looping them over the roof rack and
+ taking off.
+<li> <a href="vga22.jpg"> The secret </a> to how we have so much fun. The
+ mast which is 15 feet of Radio Shack antenna mast gets preloaded and
+ then just set on the roof and duct-taped to the 2x6. That allows us
+ to set up or tear down in a minute or two. And yes, there is an inch
+ or three of clearance between the ground and the bottom of the 432
+ and 1296 antennas! We have to be careful off-road, but on the
+ highway it just works! Just before leaving DM78...
+<li> <a href="vga23.jpg"> Same shot </a> but a slightly different angle.
+<li> <a href="vga24.jpg"> In DM79 </a>, on a ridge just south of Franktown.
+<li> <a href="vga25.jpg"> Antennas </a> in the sunlight. The stack from the
+ bottom up is 11 elements on 432, 24 elements on 1296, 10 elements
+ on 902, 8 elements on 222, and 45 elements on 2304 at the top. I'd
+ center-mount them all if I were doing this from scratch, but we use
+ what we have!
+<li> <a href="vga26.jpg"> Operating position </a> on Sunday morning in DM79.
+<li> <a href="vga27.jpg"> Proof </a> that we really don't quite scrape the
+ ground while in transit...
+</ul>
+
+<h2> Our Score </h2>
+
+<pre>
+ Valid QSO Claimed
+ QSOs Pts Mults Score
+----------------------------------------------------
+| 222 MHz | 17 | x 3 | 51 | 6 | 306 |
+----------------------------------------------------
+| 432 MHz | 30 | x 3 | 90 | 7 | 630 |
+----------------------------------------------------
+| 902 MHz | 8 | x 6 | 48 | 1 | 48 |
+----------------------------------------------------
+| 1296 MHz | 17 | x 6 | 102 | 3 | 306 |
+----------------------------------------------------
+| 2304 MHz | 4 | x 12 | 48 | 1 | 48 |
+----------------------------------------------------
+|Grids Activated--Rovers Only | 4 | |
+----------------------------------------------------
+| TOTAL | 76 | | 339 | 22 | 7458 |
+----------------------------------------------------
+
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ DATE TIME STATION EXCHANGE NEW
+ FREQ MODE (UTC) WORKED SENT RCVD MULTIS PTS
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 1 446. FM 20000805 1855 WD0HHQ DM89 DM78 DM78- 1 3
+ 2 432. SSB 20000805 1913 K0RZ DM89 DM79 DM79- 2 3
+ 3 432. SSB 20000805 1914 KC0COU DM89 DN70 DN70- 3 3
+ 4 432. SSB 20000805 1915 W6OAL DM89 DM79 3
+ 5 432. SSB 20000805 1916 WA7KYM DM89 DN71 DN71- 4 3
+ 6 222. SSB 20000805 1919 K0RZ DM89 DM79 DM79- 1 3
+ 7 222. SSB 20000805 1920 WA7KYM DM89 DN71 DN71- 2 3
+ 8 222. SSB 20000805 1923 W6OAL DM89 DM79 3
+ 9 1296. SSB 20000805 1927 K0RZ DM89 DM79 DM79- 1 6
+ 10 1296. SSB 20000805 1928 W6OAL DM89 DM79 6
+ 11 1296. SSB 20000805 1931 WA7KYM DM89 DN71 DN71- 2 6
+ 12 1296. SSB 20000805 1931 KC0COU DM89 DN70 DN70- 3 6
+ 13 902. SSB 20000805 1934 K0RZ DM89 DM79 DM79- 1 6
+ 14 902. SSB 20000805 1939 W6OAL DM89 DM79 6
+ 15 222. SSB 20000805 1942 K5RHR DM89 DM65 DM65- 3 3
+ 16 2304. SSB 20000805 1953 W6OAL DM89 DM79 DM79- 1 12
+ 17 222. SSB 20000805 2146 W6OAL DM88 DM79 3
+ 18 222. SSB 20000805 2150 K0RZ DM88 DM79 3
+ 19 432. SSB 20000805 2151 K0RZ DM88 DM79 3
+ 20 432. SSB 20000805 2152 W6OAL DM88 DM79 3
+ 21 432. SSB 20000805 2152 KC0COU DM88 DN70 3
+ 22 1296. SSB 20000805 2154 K0RZ DM88 DM79 6
+ 23 1296. SSB 20000805 2155 W6OAL DM88 DM79 6
+ 24 1296. SSB 20000805 2157 KC0COU DM88 DN70 6
+ 25 902. SSB 20000805 2201 W6OAL DM88 DM79 6
+ 26 902. SSB 20000805 2202 K0RZ DM88 DM79 6
+ 27 2304. SSB 20000805 2212 W6OAL DM88 DM79 12
+ 28 432. SSB 20000806 1430 W0AH DM78 DM89 DM89- 5 3
+ 29 222. SSB 20000806 1431 K0RZ DM78 DM79 3
+ 30 432. SSB 20000806 1430 K0RZ DM78 DM79 3
+ 31 902. SSB 20000806 1435 K0RZ DM78 DM79 6
+ 32 1296. SSB 20000806 1433 K0RZ DM78 DM79 6
+ 33 222. SSB 20000806 1444 W6OAL DM78 DM79 3
+ 34 432. SSB 20000806 1446 W6OAL DM78 DM79 3
+ 35 902. SSB 20000806 1505 W6OAL DM78 DM79 6
+ 36 1296. SSB 20000806 1454 W6OAL DM78 DM79 6
+ 37 2304. SSB 20000806 1502 W6OAL DM78 DM79 12
+ 38 1296. SSB 20000806 1454 KC0COU DM78 DN70 6
+ 39 446. FM 20000806 1516 K6LS DM78 DM79 3
+ 40 446. FM 20000806 1519 KB0CY DM78 DM79 3
+ 41 446. FM 20000806 1520 KC0AMO DM78 DM79 3
+ 42 432. SSB 20000806 1525 N0POH DM78 DM79 3
+ 43 222. SSB 20000806 1538 N0KM DM78 DM67 DM67- 4 3
+ 44 432. SSB 20000806 1529 N0KM DM78 DM67 DM67- 6 3
+ 45 432. SSB 20000806 1545 N0UGY DM78 DM79 3
+ 46 222. SSB 20000806 1558 W0KJY DM78 DN70 DN70- 5 3
+ 47 432. SSB 20000806 1548 W0KJY DM78 DN70 3
+ 48 1296. SSB 20000806 1550 W0KJY DM78 DN70 6
+ 49 222. SSB 20000806 1646 K0RZ DM79 DM79 3
+ 50 432. SSB 20000806 1642 K0RZ DM79 DM79 3
+ 51 902. SSB 20000806 1654 K0RZ DM79 DM79 6
+ 52 1296. SSB 20000806 1652 K0RZ DM79 DM79 6
+ 53 222. SSB 20000806 1645 W6OAL DM79 DM79 3
+ 54 432. SSB 20000806 1642 W6OAL DM79 DM79 3
+ 55 902. SSB 20000806 1655 W6OAL DM79 DM79 6
+ 56 1296. SSB 20000806 1650 W6OAL DM79 DM79 6
+ 57 2304. SSB 20000806 1658 W6OAL DM79 DM79 12
+ 58 222. SSB 20000806 1647 WA7KYM DM79 DN71 3
+ 59 432. SSB 20000806 1644 WA7KYM DM79 DN71 3
+ 60 1296. SSB 20000806 1652 WA7KYM DM79 DN71 6
+ 61 222. SSB 20000806 1646 W0KJY DM79 DN70 3
+ 62 432. SSB 20000806 1645 W0KJY DM79 DN70 3
+ 63 1296. SSB 20000806 1651 W0KJY DM79 DN70 6
+ 64 222. SSB 20000806 1647 N0POH DM79 DM79 3
+ 65 432. SSB 20000806 1702 N0POH DM79 DM79 3
+ 66 432. SSB 20000806 1719 KC0COU DM79 DN70 3
+ 67 1296. SSB 20000806 1720 KC0COU DM79 DN70 6
+ 68 446. FM 20000806 1705 KI0QM/R DM79 DM78 3
+ 69 432. SSB 20000806 1710 WD4MUO DM79 DN70 3
+ 70 432. SSB 20000806 1712 W1XE DM79 DM79 3
+ 71 1296. SSB 20000806 1716 W1XE DM79 DM79 6
+ 72 222. SSB 20000806 1730 K5RHR DM79 DM65 3
+ 73 446. FM 20000806 1743 KC7GOL DM79 DM78 3
+ 74 446. FM 20000806 1743 KI0QM/R DM79 DM79 3
+ 75 222. SSB 20000806 1752 N0KQY DM79 DM98 DM98- 6 3
+ 76 432. SSB 20000806 1752 N0KQY DM79 DM98 DM98- 7 3
+</pre>
+
+<h2> Equipment </h2>
+
+For 222, we ran John's IC-735 and DEM transverter, and his K1FO yagi.
+
+<p>
+
+For 70cm, we ran Bdale's Kenwood TS-790, a Mirage amp making about 100 watts,
+and a Landwehr preamp mounted near my Rutland Arrays K1FO yagi.
+
+<p>
+
+On 33cm, we ran the TS-790's 2m section through a DEM TIB to a DEMI
+transverter making about 10 watts into a homebrew Kent Britain-style yagi.
+
+<p>
+
+On 23cm, we ran the TS-790 making about 10 watts into a 24 element loop yagi.
+
+<p>
+
+On 13cm, we ran the TS-790's 2m section through a DEM TIB to a DEMI
+transverter making about 20 milliwatts, through Andrews half-inch heliax to
+a 45 element loop yagi.
+
+<p>
+
+Unless otherwise mentioned, cables were a mix of RG-8 sized cables with mostly
+N connectors.
+Power was from a 27DC-form-factor deep cycle battery for everything.
+
+<p>
+
+I logged on paper, and post-processed the logs using VHFTEST. The beta
+version of VHFTEST I tried had some problems, but I worked around them well
+enough for this time. The fundamental logging interface isn't bad, though,
+and since it runs on DOS and claims to do monochrome screens moderately well,
+I may have to try logging on computer next time using an Omnibook 425... they
+handle sunlight better than most of the newer color displays. We'll see. My
+paper logging system works well, but typing it all in afterwards is a pain.
+
+<hr>
+<address>
+<a href="http://www.gag.com/~bdale/">Bdale Garbee</A>,
+$Id: index.html,v 1.3 1999/12/23 04:08:14 bdale Exp $
+</address>
+</body>
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