August UHF Contest 2007
category: SINGLE-OPERATOR, LOW-POWER
callsign: N2SLN





OPERATORS

N2SLN -- solo effort from the mobile while hilltopping; paper and pen logging






CONTEST VEHICLE

The personal vehicle of N2SLN was used in "stationary mobile" configuration for the UHF Contest. The antenna support structure was the usual pole sticking out the passenger's side rear window. Pipe insulation was added to the top edge of the window to help provide friction, which helps keep the antennas from rotating in a gentle breeze.

contest vehicle







ANTENNA SYSTEM






RADIO EQUIPMENT

222:
    Radio Shack HTX-100 10m mobile
    50 milliwatts
    Downeast Microwave 222-28 222 transverter
    25 watts

432:
    Icom IC-706mk2G
    20 watts
    100-watt brick with preamp





DESCRIPTION

This is a UHF contest sponsored by ARRL and occurs the first full weekend in August. It is less popular than the "big 3" ARRL contests in January, June, and September, so normally I use it to try new equipment or check out new rover sites rather than try to get a big score. This contest starts on a Saturday at 2 pm eastern time every year and runs through the same time the next day (only 24 hours versus 33 hours for the big 3 ARRL VHF contests). It is all bands higher than 2m, but I only had 222 and 432 SSB/CW, so those were the only two bands I used.

Only two weeks prior was the CQ Worldwide VHF Contest which I entered as a rover. So I entered the UHF contest as a low-powered single-op just for something different. I decided to go hilltopping at the closest good site--a summit with a clear shot in all directions only 7 miles from home. Despite the good location, the contest was a slugfest. Every contact was hard work. Other stations in the northeast, including K1WHS, also complained of extremely thick ether. But this is a UHF contest, after all.

I made only 6 contacts in 3 hours. I worked only two grids, both of them adjacent to my own, and didn't work anyone in my own grid. I was testing out two new lengths of coax to be used in the September contest, and thankfully both were determined to be working. It was frustrating not to be able to use the amplifier on 222, but if I had, that would have put me over the limit for the low-power category. Perhaps the new DownEast Microwave 60-watt transverter for 222 is in my future...and a Directive Systems DSFO222-10RS rover yagi would be a nice improvement in the antenna department. I did hear WN8R EN91, but the signal was barely audible without a preamp, and my 25 watts would not have been enough to make the 290-mile path, especially since I'm not equipped with CW on 222.











POINTS SUMMARY


Band   QSOs    QSO pts.    Mults.
----------------------------------------------
222      3         9         2
432      3         9         2
----------------------------------------------
TOTALS   6        18         4


        ---  Claimed score = 72  ---





LOG


START-OF-LOG: 2.0 ARRL-SECTION: WNY CALLSIGN: N2SLN CATEGORY: SINGLE-OP ALL LOW CLAIMED-SCORE: 72 CONTEST: ARRL-UHF-AUG CREATED-BY: WA7BNM Web2Cabrillo 1.08 NAME: ADDRESS: ADDRESS: ADDRESS: OPERATORS: N2SLN SOAPBOX: QSO: 222 PH 2007-08-05 0058 N2SLN FN22 KA2LIM FN12 QSO: 432 PH 2007-08-05 0059 N2SLN FN22 KA2LIM FN12 QSO: 432 PH 2007-08-05 0147 N2SLN FN22 N3LJK FN21 QSO: 222 PH 2007-08-05 0335 N2SLN FN22 N2PA FN12 QSO: 222 PH 2007-08-05 0342 N2SLN FN22 WB2YL FN21 QSO: 432 CW 2007-08-05 0401 N2SLN FN22 K2KIB FN21 END-OF-LOG:






If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the N2SLN rover team.