August UHF Contest 2006
category: SINGLE-OPERATOR, LOW-POWER
callsign: N2SLN / M





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

440:
    Icom IC-t90a tri-band HT on 446.0 FM simplex
    5 watts






DESCRIPTION

This is a UHF contest sponsored by ARRL and occurs every year 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 time the activity level was better than previous years, so I decided to put forth some effort and then submit my log. 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.

Some thought was given to entering the contest as a rover, but there were already many rovers planning to be on the air. So in order to "stand out" a bit, I decided to operate as a mobile rather than a rover. For those who don't know the difference, a mobile station operates from the same grid the whole time (whether in motion or not), while a rover activates more than one grid. I decided to go hilltopping at the closest good hilltop Saturday night with my usual 222 setup but only a loop and 100 watts for the 432 setup (Mirage D-3010 brick). Then I went back to the same spot Sunday morning with an improved antenna on 432 (11-element yagi) but a decrease in power from 100 to 20 watts (by taking the amplifier out of line). I ended up doing better with more antenna gain and less power, so let that be a lesson! When given a choice between only those two alternatives, pick the higher antenna gain over the higher power output / better receive preamp offered by the typical amplifier. Specifically, I worked NY to NC on 432 using only 20 watts--I worked K4QI in FM06 for a distance of 485 miles (780 km), my longest distance ever on 432. My only regret was not getting my 16-element 432 yagi from my friend's house in time for this contest. No FM simplex contacts were made from my HT while I was on the top of a nearby fire tower Saturday evening.









POINTS SUMMARY


Band   QSOs    QSO pts.    Mults.
----------------------------------------------
222     15        45         9
432     13        39        10
----------------------------------------------
TOTALS  28        84        19


        --- Claimed score = 1,596 ---





LOG


START-OF-LOG: 2.0 CALLSIGN: N2SLN/M CATEGORY: SINGLE-OP LOW POWER CLAIMED-SCORE: 1596 CONTEST: ARRL-UHF-AUG CREATED-BY: WA7BNM Web2Cabrillo 1.07 NAME: ADDRESS: ADDRESS: ADDRESS: OPERATORS: N2SLN SOAPBOX: QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 0005 N2SLN/M FN22 W2SZ FN32 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 0015 N2SLN/M FN22 W2SZ FN32 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 0023 N2SLN/M FN22 N2PA FN12 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 0026 N2SLN/M FN22 N2PA FN12 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 0037 N2SLN/M FN22 K1WHS FN43 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 0114 N2SLN/M FN22 KA1LMR FN43 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 0127 N2SLN/M FN22 AF1T FN43 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 0227 N2SLN/M FN22 KB1JDX FN31 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 0232 N2SLN/M FN22 W1AUV/R FN32 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1356 N2SLN/M FN22 K1TR FN44 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1359 N2SLN/M FN22 K2KIB FN21 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1412 N2SLN/M FN22 W3CCX/R FN20 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1413 N2SLN/M FN22 K3TUF FN10 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1413 N2SLN/M FN22 K1TEO FN31 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1414 N2SLN/M FN22 K1TEO FN31 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1415 N2SLN/M FN22 K3TUF FN10 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1443 N2SLN/M FN22 WA2FGK FN21 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1443 N2SLN/M FN22 WA2FGK FN21 QSO: 432 CW 2006-08-06 1452 N2SLN/M FN22 K4QI FM06 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1506 N2SLN/M FN22 N3EMF FM19 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1507 N2SLN/M FN22 N3EMF FM19 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1521 N2SLN/M FN22 W3GAD FN20 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1522 N2SLN/M FN22 W3GAD FN20 QSO: 432 CW 2006-08-06 1535 N2SLN/M FN22 W1ZC FN42 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1615 N2SLN/M FN22 N3LJK/R FN20 QSO: 432 PH 2006-08-06 1650 N2SLN/M FN22 KB3HJA FN20 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1652 N2SLN/M FN22 KB3HJA FN20 QSO: 222 PH 2006-08-06 1639 N2SLN/M FN22 WA3QPX FM29 END-OF-LOG:






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