4 over 4 elements: two horizontally polarized 2m end-mount yagis stacked vertically

    pair of KU4AB squalos [pic]

    another pic of both antennas







RADIO EQUIPMENT

    Icom IC-706mk2g at full power (50 watts) with no amp







DESCRIPTION

The 2 meter fall sprint 2007 was sponsored by SVHFS, the Southeastern VHF Society. This single band contest ran from 7pm until 11pm local time, Monday, September 17th, 2007.

Some thought was given to entering the contest as a rover, but due to the significant setup and teardown time as well as the lack of good equipment to use while in motion, I had to operate in the single operator category. The location was a favorite rover site of mine in FN22, my home gridsquare. The antennas were at 1940+ feet above sea level with a downward slope in all directions, plus there was no foliage in the immediate area. The weather was cooler than last year's sprint by 20 degrees, but still enjoyable by rover standards. The receiver desensitivity was not as noticeable this time, mainly because I did not have a preamp available.

A high pressure system was centered over New England during this contest. There was no tropospheric ducting [forecast], but TrE (Tropospheric Enhancement) was unusually strong--the lack of wind along with clear skies allowed radiational cooling to set up a weak temperature inversion near the ground. Fourteen minutes into my operating, I worked 3 northeast OH stations, then one station who said I was 5x5 near Detroit. I left the beam where it was, and thanks to the wide beamwidth, I proceeded to work a couple VE3s further north and picked up two new grids in the process.

The sprint was a delight from start to finish, despite the fact that I started a few minutes later than I would have liked (again). Setup time was significant since I was also trying out a pair of loops for the first time. I did operate right through to the end and collected 45 QSOs and 22 grids. I had more QSOs than last year despite having a third of last year's power output and no preamp.

One of the most interesting contacts was with AF1T who was located on the island of Martha's Vinyard (FN41) which was also my longest distance reached to the east (for the 2nd year in a row) at 265 miles (427 km). The best DX to the south was North Carolina station K4QI / FM06 for the second year in a row at 485 miles (780 km), also my longest distance overall in this contest. Best to the west was Michigan station N8WNA / EN82 (near Detroit) at 381 miles (613 km). I didn't hear anything to the north, but the best DX to the northwest was VE3CRU/R in FN04 at about 200 miles. I was hoping to hear him again after he moved to FN03, but despite keeping my beam pointed his way for a good chunk of time after 9 pm, I didn't hear him again. I did not hear any activity from FN00, FN01, FN23, FN24, FN33, or FN44. Staff were not letting people drive up the Mt. Washington access road on Sunday, so it's not surprising that no one was operating from the summit Monday. The contest ended with a pleasant surprise--in the last few minutes of the sprint my last 3 contacts were all new grids, and all 3 were among the longest distances reached in the whole contest.







POINTS SUMMARY

BAND   QSOs   QSO     UNIQUE
              PTS.    GRIDS
----------------------------
144     45    45       22


--- Claimed score = 990 ---

EDT     CALLSIGN       GRID    OTHER
--------------------------------------------------------
1945    KB1DFB         FN41
1949    K1TEO          FN31
1950    N2LID          FN12
1954    KA2LIM         FN12
1956    KE2DN          FN12
1959    KC8QAE         EN91
1959    KB3WL          FN02
2000    K8TVD          EN91
2000    K8MR           EN91
2001    KJ1K           FN32
2003    N8WNA          EN82    5x5 near Detroit
2005    VA3ST          FN03
2007    VE3CRU/R       FN04
2013    AF1T           FN41    Martha's Vinyard
2019    WB2RVX         FM29
2020    WA2VNV         FN30
2023    N8RA           FN31
2027    NN3Q           FN10
2027    N3RN           FN11
2028    N2UIO          FN13
2029    W3MTP          FN21
2041    K1IIG          FN31
2042    WA1RKS         FN32
2043    N1JFU          FN42
2043    W1TDS          FN32
2044    KW1AM          FN41
2045    W1LE           FN41
2046    KA2FWN         FN22
2055    N1MIW          FN41    requested QSL
2105    N2GHR          FN30
2118    WA2FGK         FN21
2121    W2KV           FN20
2136    K1TR           FN42
2145    N2JDQ          FN20
2146    WB2SIH         FN31
2207    VE3TFU         EN92
2208    VE3TMG         EN82
2212    K2AXX          FN12
2214    W1ZC           FN42
2219    K8JA           EN82
2227    WZ1V           FN31
2229    WB2LEB         FN20
2242    W4SHG/R        FM08
2257    K4QI           FM06
2259    KN4SM          FM16