+ +We were frustrated in September to have our 6m setup work so poorly, and +decided to focus first on getting that fixed. January is typically not a big +time for 6m openings, but we wanted to get that nailed and "out of the way" +before the June contest. To that end, we acutally did some planning and spent +some money! New antennas, an amplifier, a 27DC deep-cycle 12V battery, and +big boxes of 1/4-20 carriage bolts, fender washers, and wing nuts. + +
+ +John tried to buy some M2 "SQLoop" omni antennas, one on 6m and +a stacked pair on 2m. As I type this a week after the contest, they still +aren't here. Apparently, M2 has changed the design and John got caught in the +switchover. WD0E pointed out that W6OAL's Olde Antenna Lab makes a nice 6m +omni, so I pointed John that way, and we drove up to Parker a few days before +the contest to visit Dave and pick up one each 6m and 2m omni antennas. Jim +WD0E showed up while we were there, and helped twist our arms to buy one of +the "PortaPole" telescoping masts. We got to talking about where we were in +the process of getting ready for the contest, and Dave ended up throwing in +a couple of used 50' feedlines with N connectors, and Jim found us a bag of +the whizzy, nice N connectors that work well on 9913. It's nice having friends +in the hobby... thanks guys! + +
+ +I researched commercially-available 6m amplifiers after deciding I just +didn't have time to build something, and ended up buying a Teletec amp through +Down East Microwave. It's a nice amp, and worked well for us, but it sure +needs a power-on LED indicator! There's only one LED, and it indicates +shutdown due to high VSWR or thermal overload... when operating in a rover, +the warm glow of a power-on LED is reassuring. We'll pass a suggestion back +to DEM and Teletec. + +
+ +Mounting the omnis involved further creative application of my $50 Harbor +Freight drill press, some 2x6 and 2x4 leftovers, and a new set of "load stops" +for the Thule rack on the Trooper. The basic notion is that we mounted +an 8-foot 2x6 vertically as a "keel" down the center of the Trooper's roof. We +drilled holes through the load stops so that long 1/4-20 carriage bolts could +be used to hold the 2x6 in place. This gave us a very rigid base structure. +We then cut a couple of 2x4 pieces as mounts for the two omni antennas. One +is held vertical at the rear with carriage bolts through the 2x6, and holds +the 6m halo about three feet above the roof. The other is a touch shorter, +mounted near the front of the vehicle, and holds the 2m circularly folded +dipole. I heard a neat idea at the CSVHFS rover forum in Kansas City, which was +to use some pipe insulation to clamp the cables in the top of a window without +either mashing the cables or having the wind rush in. We kept forgetting to +pick up any of the stuff, so John hacked a piece of the squishy packing foam +from his new laser printer's box to make a cable feed-through thingy for the +top of the left rear window on the Trooper. It worked out great. + +
+ +Unfortunately, our 1x4 hack from September wasn't gutsy enough to make us +comfortable holding the new Portapole, which is about 25 feet at full extension +versus the 15 feet we had last time in Radio Shack mast sections. Fortunately, +there was another 2x6 in the pile, so we fabricated a new bracket much like the +one we had in September, but larger. We found some U-bolts in the garage, and +used two at each Thule roof rod to hold it down. The U-bolts were 1/4-20, so +we used fender washers and wing nuts on each, making it really easy to put +things together and tear them down. In fact, once we realized the U-bolts +were 1/4-20, we went through and replaced the hex nuts on the 23cm and 70cm +yagis, making them *much* easier to put on and take off. Unfortunately, the +2m yagi uses 5/16 or 3/8 hardware, so we still had to carry a wrench along. + +
+ +The antenna mounts worked out fine, but we realized once we put the pole up +that the 6m antenna was pretty close to the pole, and we kept thinking it +would have been nicer to have it higher. The idea we've hatched since which +we will try in June is to use about an 8 foot 2x4, set up to hold the 6m +antenna above the front end of the Trooper near where the 2m antenna was this +time. For travel, we pop one of the carriage bolts, and use the other as a +hinge point to fold it down along the top of the vehicle, with the halo hanging +down behind the Trooper. When we arrive at a location, we fold it up and stick +the carriage bolt back in, and we're ready to operate on 6m. This gets the +6m antenna higher, gets it away from the pole, and we didn't operate while +mobile this time anyway. Maybe we'll give it a try next time. + +
+ +Saturday, I picked John up mid-morning, after taking my daughter Elizabeth to +her violin lesson. We fabricated cables, and got things mostly put together. +My mother-in-law (visiting to help take care of Robert Dickinson, born 12 Jan!) +cooked a pile of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. After lunch, +we finished getting things together, and fired up on 6m to see if the new +antenna and amplifier worked. Congrats to K0RI for being our first contact +on the new hardware, followed quickly by N0NKG, N0KIC, and N0VSB. Four QSO's, +two grids, and we hadn't even started the engine yet! + +
+ +We got rolling, and John worked a few folks on 2m and 70cm FM simplex while we +drove out to the extreme southwest corner of DM89. We tried the "better spot" +we had picked out in September, and it was a good location for us. There's a +good picture of the Trooper at that location below. We had the 6m and 2m omni +antennas, and 11 element yagis on 70cm and 23cm at the top of the pole. The +yagis were the same as September, but I'd found and dusted off my Mirage 70cm +amplifier. We definitely were "best" on 70cm on Saturday. Good antenna, amp, +preamp, 22 feet or so up... + +
+ +The highlight in DM89 was probably our contact with KI0AG/R... he was +only a mile or two from us at the time, and he *pegged* our S meter on 23cm! +What a hoot! + +
+ +It didn't take long for me to really start missing the yagi on 2m. We +had decided to go omnis since we were expecting blizzard conditions for the +contest. But, as often happens, the front did something different, and we had +nice weather... cold, but not bitterly so. Sunday, we found another feedline, +put the 4-element 2m yagi up on the pole below the 70cm yagi, and I was much +much happier! I credit the yagi with giving us N0LL in EM09 from DM78, and +K5RHR in DM65 and KK5YY in DM66 from DM79. Those were some fun contacts! + +
+ +Our stop in DM88 late Saturday afternoon was unremarkable. The equipment was +all working, but we were near some power lines, and the noise was pretty bad +on 6m and 2m. It started getting cold quickly when the sun went down, so we +didn't stay long. The highlight in DM88 was probably pulling up behind +KC0ETU/R. The Witte clan fielded two rovers, the other being KB0CY/R... we +had fun trying to keep the logs straight working each other as we shuffled +around the grid corners! + +
+ +Sunday morning I picked John up and we headed to Palmer Park, which is in the +middle of Colorado Springs, just north of where John lives in DM78. There +are a couple +of good hills in the park, and we found a decent parking space in the lot on +the southern hill, with a good shot in all directions. The wind was fierce. +We tried putting the Portapole only partly up, but got "too cute" trying to +use the bottom sections and leave the top ones collapsed. We hadn't thought +about the fact that not extending the top sections meant the wind would be able +to whip things around since the sections weren't locked together. After a +couple of iterations of dropping the mast to wrap more "universal solution" +(duct tape) around the joints, we got 15 feet or so of mast that worked ok up +in the air. + +
+ +While we didn't experience any real band openings, we had a good time in the +Park. We worked N0LL in EM09 on 2m and 70cm, and heard W7XI in EN13 on 2m but +couldn't +raise him. We worked W0KJY in DN70 on 70cm, and picked up a variety of +contacts on all 4 bands we were carrying (6m/2m/70cm/23cm) from DM78 and DM79. +K0RZ's signal on 23cm was note-worthy. He claimed to only be operating 23cm +and 10Ghz narrow-band... so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he was so +solid on 1296! + +
+ +We packed up, stopped on the north side of town for some monster burritos, and +headed north on highway 83 into DM79. On the ridge just south of Franktown, +we found a road leading into a new subdivision that was the highest point +around, with no powerlines nearby, and wonderful shots north and south. We +parked behind the community mailboxes. The wind was still fierce, but not +as bad as in Palmer Park. We put the mast all the way up... and were +rewarded with a full page on the logging pad! We had a couple of "visitations" +from the locals. Once they realized we were amateur radio types (confirming +their worst suspicions, no doubt!), they were content to leave us alone. A +ham stopped his car and came over to ask how we were doing, I unfortunately +didn't think to make note of his name and call. + +
+ +We worked "all the usual suspects" from this site, and were really excited to +work K5RHR in DM65 and KK5YY in DM66 on 2m. K0GU gave us DN70. We could +hear W7SAO in DM59 and K7TNT in DN74, but weren't able to raise either. As +with Saturday, the moment the sun started to go down, it started to get +viciously cold... so we packed up and headed home. + +
+ +All in all, we had a lot of fun! The working 6m setup including the Olde +antenna and Teletec amplifier definitely made that band a lot more fun, and +the Mirage amp on 70cm working with the K1FO 11-element yagi from Rutland +Arrays made that band a no-brainer. We worked everyone on 70cm that we heard, +I'm pretty sure. + +
+ +Things that went well... The deep-cycle battery was an excellant +addition, since not +having to even think about the possibility of running down the Trooper's +starting battery let us be a lot more relaxed about operating, particularly +with the amplifiers on. My splurging and buying full boxes of the 1/4-20 +carriage bolts, fender washers, and wing nuts made it a lot easier, and more +fun, to put things together and take them apart this time. The time we spent +putting wire-ties on the feedlines so that we had a single bundle going up the +mast to contend with was a big win, it tangled less than it might have. +I found a set of colored electrical tape rolls at Home Base, which electricians +call "phase tape". They use it to keep up with which phase is which in +multi-phase electrical wiring. We used it to color-code the bands, so that we +didn't have to think very hard in the cold about which cable went to which +antenna, or amplifier, or radio. For a couple of bucks, this was an amazingly +useful thing! + +
+ +Things to do differently next time... The power cabling was a bit messy, and +would probably be improved if we made up a distribution box with cabling to the +battery on one side and a bunch of our standard connectors for the low-current +stuff... amplifiers should still cable directly to the battery, of course. The +back-seat operating position was a bit cramped for Bdale. We keep talking +about pulling out the right front seat and putting the rig stack there. It's +not clear that we have the right formula yet, but we'll keep thinking about +it. We ought to add another band for June. Several folks asked us if we had +222 gear. Nobody asked about 902 or anything higher, except 10Ghz... which +would have been problematic from most of the sites we used. It would be really +nice to have 150+ watts on 2m. With the 4-element yagi, we heard several cool +grids that couldn't hear us... would be nice to be more balanced. I suppose +we could think about a longer 2m yagi, too. We also think it would be in +everyone's best interest to try and figure out how to get more of the FM-only +folks in Colorado excited about working some simplex contacts. We got one +grid combination *only* because we had 2m/70cm FM capabilities, and if we can +do it without violating the "manufactured contact" rules, we think rousing up +more of the locals to see what we're about might bring more folks into the +VHF weak signal community. + +
+ +For June, if we don't get crazy, we'll probably use the same sites in DM89, +DM78, and DM79... but I think we've got more poking to do for a good site in +DM88 without all the powerline noise. + +
+Call Used: N3EUA +Grid(s) Activated: DM79 DM89 DM88 DM78 +Entry Type: Rover + + QSOs Pts/QSO QSO Pts Mult +50 MHz 26 1 26 3 +144 MHz 38 1 38 10 +432 MHz 39 2 78 6 +1296 MHz 8 4 32 3 + +Total +All Bands 111 174 22 + +GRIDS ACTIVATED 4 Rover Scoring Used + +N3EUA CLAIMED SCORE: 4524 ++ +
