VHF contesting is similar to, but yet different than, the HF contests most of you have participated in. For starters, the antennas are much smaller! Also, band crowding is never an issue!
There are 3 large ARRL VHF contests each year, in January, June, and September, along with other, smaller contests such as sprints. The ARRL contests run from 1800 UTC (1:00 pm Central time) on Saturday, until 0300 UTC Monday(10:00 pm Sunday).
I would like to describe these contests from the standpoint of two hams, one with minimal equipment, and one with a moderate station. You "BIG GUNS" already know the ropes, so just open your station for the new hams!
Joe Tech, KZ9ZZZ, has a 5 watt FM HT and a dual band vertical on his roof. Knowing that the 2m FM national calling frequency of 146.520, and the two adjacent 15 kHz frequencies are off limits for these contests, he sets his radio to 146.550. He found his grid square by searching the ARRL web site, or he might have asked another ham, or his GPS unit might give grid squares. Making sure that the HT is on simplex (Don't laugh- as if you never had the settings wrong!), he turns the squelch down from his normally tight repeater setting. He hears a station calling, and he answers:
"CQ Contest CQ Contest this is November Nine Romeo Echo Papa, November Nine Romeo Echo Papa"
"Kilo Zulu Nine Zulu Zulu Zulu"
"KZ9ZZZ, please copy Echo November Five Two"
"Roger, please copy Echo November Six One"
Pretty routine stuff, call sign and grid square. Note the use of phonetics- much of this VHF stuff can be very weak signal. But then, "Thanks for the contact. Do you have any other bands?"
"Yes, I have 70cm FM"
"OK, lets meet on 446.025" Note that 446.000 is the national 70cm calling frequency, and CAN be usedin these contests. They QSY, and complete the exchange on 70cm. That'sit! Score is based on band (the higher up you go in the bands, the more points you get per contact), number of contacts, and number of grid squares("multipliers").
Going back to 146.550, Joe calls CQ and bags a few more. Knowing it is VERY poor practice to hold a FM frequency, he also goes to 146.490, and finds a few more. Almost all 2m FM activity is on these two frequencies. Once he has worked all he can hear, he leaves the radio on and starts reading the latest AES catalog, making a wish list of VHF equipment. When he hears a new cq, he works the station, perhaps throwing out a few CQ's himself. He hears a station calling:
"CQ contest, this is K9PG,Rover, EN62."
He works K9PG/r, EN62, and waits for him to travel to other grids, where he is a brand new contact! K9PG/r, meanwhile, gets a multiplier for every grid square he operates from, and also counts the new contact with Joe. Please see the contest rules for a more complete discussion of scoring.
Over the course of the contest, KZ9ZZZ might make a hundred contacts between the two bands, and have a lot of fun seeing how far he can work on FM.
Sam, WX9XXX, has a few more goodies at home. His brand new FT847 covers 6,2 and 70cm, all mode. He has a dipole for 6m, an omni-directional M2 loop and a 13 element horizontally polarized beam on 2m, and a 17-element beam on 70cm, along with a 2m/70cm vertical.
144.200 is the calling frequency on 2m SSB, and there is activity from about 144.175 to 144.225. After making his contact on 2, they qsy to 6m. 50.000 to 50.100 is cw only, and 50.100 through 50.125 is for international DX only! 50.125 is the 6m SSB calling frequency, and the activity goes up from there- past 50.225 or more if the band is open. A band opening on 6 is a wonderous thing--you can hold a frequency and rack up the grid squares for as long as the opening lasts! Note that polarization is not as important during an opening- during last years June contest, I worked an XE station in Baja California, 20 over s9, using the short 6m Hamstick on my van!
Moving to 70cm changes things! 432.100 is the ssb calling frequency, and qsy's are generally in the 432.110 to 432.200 range. Due to the narrow beamwidth antennas, accurate pointing is needed for stations on the edges. While making the 2m contact, Sam asks the other station for her location, and when she replies Aurora, IL, he knows where to point the beam. Having a grid square map close by also helps (look in the ARRL handbook for one, or look here. Sam calls the other station on 70 cm, but cannot hear anything. He calls again, and hears a faint CW signal. He hears his call and hers, and replies on SSB with grid square. She sends RRR, and sendsher grid. They complete the mixed, or cross mode QSO. For this reason, there is no scoring difference between CW and SSB. There is a fair amount of CW activity, and if there is an Aurora(as in northern lights!) opening, 2m will be filled with the hissss-hissss-hiss-hissss of Au! Point your beam more or less north and have at it!
These three bands are where most of the activity takes place, but don't neglect 1.25 cm, 900 MHz, 1.2 ghz, etc. If you have the equipment, you can work up the bands, through the microwaves, all the way to laser light!
There are a few other things worth mentioning- in the Midwest, at least, there are not a whole lot of VHF contesters, and so the activity levels are not going to be like 20m during Sweepstakes. The contests are a little more laid back, and brief conversations are common. You will not hear the garbage common on "other" bands. For many new hams, this is their first contact with contesting, and positive experiences here can pay big dividends down the road. The more participants, the more fun!
For the June contest, our group sets up a portable operation near McHenry IL, and operates in the Limited Multi-op category. Limited to the 6,2,1.25, and 70cm bands, we invite local hams to come out and operate. The emphasis is placed on FUN, although the FINISH is never far from our minds! This is also a great time to shake out the Field Day VHF setup.
This covers the basics of VHF contesting- like so many other endeavors, the best way to learn is to JUST DO IT! More resources can be found on the web, from your local club, and over your local repeater. I hope to hear you in the next contest!
73, Wendell Smith N9REP
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