ARRL 222-And-Up Distance Contest 2026

ARRL 222-And-Up Distance Contest 2026
category: MULTI-OPERATOR, FIXED
contest region 11 (MI, OH, VE3, NNY, WNY, WPA)
callsign: N2SLN

OPERATORS

Lu N2SLN -- 222 / 223.5 / 432 equipment supplier

Jon W2BDN -- 902 / 1296 equipment supplier

ANTENNA SYSTEMS

van 1:

222: Directive Systems 10 element "rover special" yagi, horizontally polarized, used for both SSB/CW and FM
432: Directive Systems 25-element K1FO Yagi

van 2:

902: single Directive Systems 19-el Loop Yagi
1296: single Directive Systems 25-el Loop Yagi

RADIO EQUIPMENT

van 1:

222:
    driver side Icom IC-7000
    DownEast Microwave transverter
    Advanced Receiver Research RF-sensed preamp
    DCI bandpass filter
    TE Systems amplifier at 200 watts

432:
    passenger side Icom IC-7000
    TE Systems 4452G amplifier at 95 watts with built-in preamp

van 2:

902:
    IF Radio: Icom IC-706
    DEMI transverter, 25 watts
    homebrew sequencer
    VHF Design preamp

1296:
    same IF radio
    DEMI transverter, 25 watts

DESCRIPTION

MobileComm1 was running rough toward the end of the CQ Worldwide VHF Contest. So I figured it was either a bad ignition coil or a fouled spark plug. Unfortunately, in the Ford E250 cargo vans, part of the dashboard has to be disassembled in order to get to that part of the engine. So I had to remove both IC-7000 control panels, cup holder mounts, boom mic headsets, foot pedals, the rotor control box, and all the smaller stuff. I emailed my friend John who's my mechanic and told him that the van needed help. Well, he was on vacation that week and said that when he gets back to work the following week he would be behind schedule and wouldn't be able to work on the van right away. I asked him if he could get it done by August 1st and he said yes. So I dropped off the van at his shop an hour away Saturday, July 18th. Then Tuesday, July 28th I get a call that the van is done. I call the same friend who helped me with a ride the first time and he said he could help again, so we drive to the shop Wednesday and I drive the van home. I begin re-installing everything Thursday and finish on Friday, less than 24 hours before using the van for the contest.

Earlier in the week I got the key for the gate from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and printed the permit so that we could use the hill. We get to the area of the parking lot at the base of the hill at noon and find two vehicles already at the summit. We decided to take a walk up there to see what challenges we would have. The fire tower steward and his wife were there (and should probably have parked in the parking lot at the base of the hill unless the DEC forgot to tell them about our plans) and lots of groups of pedestrian visitors came and went, but there was just enough room for us to squeeze our two vehicles into a spot. Unfortunately, I did not have enough room to use the stacked 25-el Yagis on 432, so I just used one. I was getting some strange results during testing and discovered that the 432 bandpass filter has something wrong with it (or the associated sockets / connectors / jumper feedlines), so I took it out of line and was pleased to see that the location was so quiet that we didn't need it. I began hearing stations as soon as I did that. Jon operated 222 and would then re-locate to his vehicle to do 902 and 1296. I operated full time on 432. Activity and propagation were down (high winds on the summit), but the highlights were

1) no rain and limited direct sunlight
2) we accomplished 3 clean sweeps

We ended up with 15 QSOs in the 5 hours that we were on the air from 1970' ASL. Best DX on all 4 bands was Maryland station K1RZ FM19jh 382.7 km / 237.8 mi. Only one contact was the result of calling CQ, the rest were done by people calling us on Jon's cellphone and setting up skeds. The microwaves accounted for 63 percent of our points. The 432 band provided the biggest total distance, but 902 provided the most points. We tore down at 7 PM and by 9 PM I was returning the key to the drop box at the DEC office.

POINTS SUMMARY

Band   QSOs   total distance (km)   band factor   total points
---------------------------------------------------------------
222     4           1015.5               2           2031.0
432     5           1285.0               1           1285.0
902     3            957.6               4           3830.4
1296    3            957.6               2           1915.2
---------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS 15           4215.7                            9062

all distances are calculated with the Grid Distance Calculator

LOG

START-OF-LOG: 3.0
CALLSIGN: N2SLN
CONTEST: ARRL-222
CATEGORY-OPERATOR: MULTI-OP
CATEGORY-BAND: ALL
CATEGORY-POWER: HIGH
CLAIMED-SCORE: 9062
LOCATION: WNY
CREATED-BY: hand
NAME: Luther Schaefer
ADDRESS: 
ADDRESS-CITY: 
ADDRESS-STATE-PROVINCE: NY
ADDRESS-POSTALCODE: 
ADDRESS-COUNTRY: USA
OPERATORS: W2BDN N2SLN @N2SLN/P
SOAPBOX: contest region 11 (MI-OH-VE3-NNY-WNY-WPA)
QSO: 222 PH 2026-08-01 1841 N2SLN FN22dn AF1T FN43cd
QSO: 432 PH 2026-08-01 1843 N2SLN FN22dn AF1T FN43cd
QSO: 902 CW 2026-08-01 1849 N2SLN FN22dn AF1T FN43cd
QSO: 1.2 CW 2026-08-01 1856 N2SLN FN22dn AF1T FN43cd
QSO: 432 PH 2026-08-01 1909 N2SLN FN22dn KC2PLJ FN12xc
QSO: 222 PH 2026-08-01 1912 N2SLN FN22dn KC2PLJ FN12xc
QSO: 222 PH 2026-08-01 1953 N2SLN FN22dn K1RZ FM19jh
QSO: 432 PH 2026-08-01 1954 N2SLN FN22dn K1RZ FM19jh
QSO: 902 CW 2026-08-01 2004 N2SLN FN22dn K1RZ FM19jh
QSO: 1.2 CW 2026-08-01 2008 N2SLN FN22dn K1RZ FM19jh
QSO: 432 CW 2026-08-01 2058 N2SLN FN22dn KF3Y/R FN20ad
QSO: 222 PH 2026-08-01 2140 N2SLN FN22dn K1TEO FN31jh
QSO: 432 PH 2026-08-01 2141 N2SLN FN22dn K1TEO FN31jh
QSO: 902 CW 2026-08-01 2146 N2SLN FN22dn K1TEO FN31jh
QSO: 1.2 CW 2026-08-01 2150 N2SLN FN22dn K1TEO FN31jh
END-OF-LOG: