I have been having fun on the VHF bands for a long time. The challenge of VHF weak signal work keeps on calling me away from the HF bands to make another contact on the higher frequencies.

Over the years I have worked lots of 6m DX, mostly into Europe. I also enjoy meteor scatter and other modes for longer "local" contacts on 6m and 2m.

I have used various radios for the VHF bands over the years, at the moment the primary radios used for VHF are an Icom IC-746 and Yaesu FT-847 for operation from the shack and a Yaesu FT-897D for field operation. I have never used more than 100w on 6m but I have decided a bit more power would be great to compete with some of the local "big guns". I love tube amplifiers so those will be investigated first. I have an old Heathkit SB200 amplifier that could be converted to 6m and have recently acquired a Henry Tempo 6N2 amplifier running 2 x 3CX400A7 (8874) tubes. This amplifier will do 1kw on 2 or 6m from 25w input.

Update 20/08/2014:  I must admit after being active for a while on VHF/UHF I have become rather bored with the local scene. There are a few guys on the bands but to talk to the same, relatively local, guys every weekend is not my idea of fun. I know there are some plans to activate a few grids and high spots soon, maybe it will add some excitement! I am considering taking my 6m/2m/70cm antennas down and using the space on the tower for HF antennas. Will wait a while before I make the call. Somehow I am not feeling the same excitement when working VHF/UHF as in the past....

Update 21/06/2014: This morning I listened out for the group on 144.300 SSB, I could hear 8 stations well so between trying to work some DX on HF in the All Asia CW contest I reported into the net and took a few rounds. Today I was only running 100W from the IC-746, no amplifier connected but my signal seemed to be fine and everyone could hear me. Rotating my antenna around showed me that it has quite a narrow beam and a good front to back ratio, I just need to get it a bit higher.

In another late evening development (this seems to be becoming a habit) I secured a Fisher FE-40 linear amplifier for 430-440MHz. It is a really well made unit running a 4CX250B producing 300W output when fed with 5-10W, finally I will have a better signal on 70cm! I am hoping to fetch the unit sometime this week, I hope it is not too difficult to get it running, I am feeling guilty because the Henry 6N2 is still not in service....

Update 21/06/2014: The shortest day and longest night for us down south!

While in the shack this morning I listened to the local 2m SSB net, I heard 10 stations, most of them ok copy but I again did not report in. I think the main reason why I have not reported in recently is because when there are many stations it is difficult to hear everyone plus you can often get left out and not called in for an hour or so, it has happened to me....... I think the way the net is run needs to be looked at with maybe a more official "round robin" approach. I know some other local stations have given up on the net for the same reason. I know it is difficult and I am not blaming the "net controller"!!

Update 18/06/2014: A quick trip this afternoon secured the few bits and pieces I needed and the Yaesu FT-726R for the collection. Here is the FT-726R after I moved her into the shack, she is still dirty and someone stuck a label right on the display, I need to remove the glue.... I don't think the FT-726R will become one of my main operating radios, she is a bit old for that, but I will test her on the local SSB net and use her occasionally for local work.

A few quick tests showed that she is working well. She came with 144Mhz and 430Mhz as well as satellite modules installed. There is place for one more module so I will be looing for a 6m or HF module, won't be easy to find but you never know.

Here she is in all her (still dirty) glory.

Now the growing stack on the workbench looks like this:

Time to move some of them to the main operating position or else to the museum.

Update 14/06/2014: I Started this morning by working a bunch of stations on 2m and 70cm SSB, that was followed by lots of fun working via and tracking a High Altitude balloon carrying a parrot repeater and APRS tracking equipment. I went into the shack just before 6am thinking I would spend an hour or two but I only left the shack after 1pm! More about the Habex balloon fun can be read under the Habex notes.

Here you can see the VHF/UHF radio stack while working Habex and making a few local HF/VHF/UHF contacts. The HF radio is simply there to help co-ordinate contacts on VHF and UHF.

I did a few tests comparing the IC-746 to the FT-847 on 2m. The results show that the FT-847 is indeed more sensitive, when the signals are really weak I could hear the stations on the FT-847 but not on the IC-746. The 847 will now become the primary 2m SSB/CW radio.

Here is the winner!

Update 12/06/2014: Hectic day! Hoping to have a 70cm contact tonight, will be testing with Carl, ZS6CBQ a bit later. Will be using the FT-847 tonight running in un-linked satellite mode so that I can monitor 2m and 70cm at the same time. We will be using 3.725MHz as a backup and coordinating frequency. 20:00 update: Does not look like the contact is going to happen, power failure on Carl's side and also a short one on this side, welcome to dark Africa.....

Update 10/06/2014: I have still not made a 70cm SSB contact, there seems to be no activity on the 70cm band around here, not even on FM or the few repeaters, quite sad. Well, hopefully the early morning session on the weekend will produce some results. The low local UHF activity is making me reconsider adding 1296Mhz to the shack, MAYBE making a few contacts might not be worth the time and expense, I think I will wait a bit before proceeding with the planned 1.2Ghz upgrade......

I have been comparing the IC-746 and the FT-847 on 2m, initial tests seem to show that the RX on the FT-847 is quite a bit better than the IC-746! Will swap between the 2 radios during the weekend nets to confirm my suspicions. 

Considering the low local activity on the VHF/UHF bands I am considering working a few satellites, and maybe even have a look at EME but for that I would need to upgrade my antennas and find an elevation rotator.

Update 09/06/2014: Again had a great early morning session on 2m SSB, this morning we had 15 stations reporting in. We also had a great technical discussion. Today I could hear and work everyone. I managed to do some work on my VHF antennas today. The 70cm antenna is almost ready, I just need to redo the matching balun and replace the feedline then it is ready to go up the mast. The 6m antenna is posing more of a challenge, there are problems with the joiners on the driven elements, it has 4 driven elements, but I am fixing that and replacing all the elements. Hoping to finish it in time for next weekend, it is a long weekend and I would love to try a few longer distance 6m  contacts.

Here is the IC-746 while working the 144.300MHz SSB net.

This weekend was just too short, never got around to working on the Henry 6N2...

Update 08/06/2014: Had a great early morning (6am) session on 2m SSB. Eventually worked 12 stations on 144.300 USB, mostly ZS6 stations but also a few ZS4 stations. It looks like my antenna is working, just need to put it a bit higher sometime. I used the Icom IC-746 running 100w most of the time but did use the TE 1452G for a while, limiting output to 250w (about 12w drive) because that is the highest my VHF watt meter can read.

I manage to find tubing this morning to fix my 6m yagi. Unfortunately work was interrupted by an unplanned family visit. Hopefully I will get time tomorrow!

Update 07/06/2014: Today was a good day as far as my VHF capabilities are concerned! I managed to fix my 2m yagi and mount it on a rotator about 15m high. I also connected the TE Systems 1452G amplifier to my IC-746 so I can now run 350w on 2m, hopefully I can commission the Henry 6N2 soon for a bit more power....

My 70cm yagi is also ready to be mounted and I am hoping to fix the 6m yagi this weekend. Soon the station will be QRV on more VHF/UHF bands!

I will take a few photos of the antennas soon and post them here.

Update 04/06/2014: The Henry Tempo 6N2 is now in the shack! I have not used it yet as I want to give it a complete cleanup and check, it is rather dusty and dirty. I did fire it up and confirmed that all the voltages is at they should be.

On 2m I have used a TE Systems 400w amplifier with good results in the past, the Henry 6N2 will now be the more powerful alternative to this amplifier.

At the moment (June 2014) I need to rebuild my VHF antennas, or maybe replace them (they are home-brew) with commercial products, I will see what I can find in the local market.

Update 04/06/2014: I have had a good look at my 15 element long boom 2m yagi, other than 2 broken director elements it is fine, I will replace them and use this beam again. It worked really well in the past. The 7 element 6m beam has a bit more damage, 4 elements are damaged on the one side but the boom and matching mechanism is fine so I will rebuild it as well.

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