CQ Worldwide VHF Contest 2024
 category: ROVER
 callsign: N2SLN / R





ANTENNA SYSTEM

6m
  • Moxon rectangle on Day 1
  • 5-el Yagi on Day 2
2m
6-el Directive Systems Rover Special yagi (now Directive Systems and Engineering DSE144-6RS)




RADIO EQUIPMENT

6m
driver side Icom IC-7000

TE Systems amplifier at 150w, built-in preamp

1500w lowpass filter

2m
passenger side Icom IC-7000

Advanced Receiver Research RF-sensed external preamp

Telewave bandpass/bandreject filter

TE Systems amplifier at 150w







DESCRIPTION

Last year I hoped for a turnaround in this year's event due to poor results, but no such luck. In fact, the number of QSOs went down (again) this year. The score has dropped every year since the peak in 2019. As a result, I had reluctantly decided to try the single-op 2m-only category for 2025 after 22 years of roving in this contest, but hope has been restored: The contest has been split into two contests--one for CW/SSB and one for digital modes. So it will be interesting to see which contest can produce the highest scores--the high QSO count / moderate grid count of the SSB/CW contest or the moderate QSO count / high grid count of the digital contest.

I left FN22 for northwestern FN20 and got hit with a torrential downpour on the interstate just as I arrived at my first rest stop on the way south. I figured I might as well eat and hydrate while waiting for the wx to improve. I got to the first grid activation and made only 5 contacts in 2 hours--very strange for being within range of the Packrat VHF Group. Then I drove to southeastern FN11 in the rain, set up with no rain, and made *zero* contacts in 2 hours. I tore down in dry wx and made the 2.5 hour trip home wondering whether I should continue the next day. As it turned out, there was a Packrat picnic scheduled for noon Saturday and apparently many members continued to stay away from the radio which is what caused the low turnout. Let's hope that the picnic gets scheduled during a non-contest weekend next time.

On Sunday morning I woke up extra early, exchanged the 6m Moxon for the 5-el rover Yagi, and took off for a hilltop in northwestern FN22, hoping to get in on some 2m tropo before the layered fog burned off. There weren't enough folks on the air to provide a feeding frenzy, but I did, at least, work one Maryland station in FM28 (323 miles / 520 km) so I suppose minimally it was "mission accomplished". On 6m I began hearing VE2CSI/b FO60 at S9+30 and thought, "Surely there must be someone on SSB/CW from somewhere with beacon signals as loud as that." Wrong! I guess that means that there is no need for beacons anymore.

Instead of driving north to FN23, I turned west and drove to FN12. This grid activation produced 3X more QSOs than the last one, although not as many as I would've had in the good ole days. It started with working VO1SIX GN27 for a new grid field. I also worked W2EV/R in two of his grids on both bands--what a huge help to the log. It was also great to give Jeff K1TEO my FN12 which was a new grid for him. Near the end of the contest (and my time in FN12) I finally worked FN23 on both bands for a new grid. The grand finale (and a strange one) happened when six meters opened to only one person: South Dakota station WB0HHM EN13. My site is such a quiet one that I went to 2m and heard QRP beacon VE3DDW/b EN93vu from 213 miles / 342 km away. Pretty neat to find out later that the beacon uses only a loop antenna. Propagation over water paths does peak in the afternoon, and this particular path does cross Lake Ontario. I arrived home at 431 miles traveled for the weekend.






POINTS SUMMARY 



FROM   BAND   QSOs   QSO PTS.   MULTS.
--------------------------------------
FN20   50       2       2         2
       144      3       6         3
FN11   50       0       0         0
       144      0       0         0
FN22   50       3       3         3
       144      5      10         5
FN12   50      14      14        11
       144      9      18         9
-------------------------------------
TOTALS         36      53        33


       claimed score: 1,749





LOG 


CATEGORY-OPERATOR: ROVER
CATEGORY-ASSISTED: NON-ASSISTED
CATEGORY-BAND: ALL
CATEGORY-POWER: LOW
CATEGORY-MODE: MIXED
CATEGORY-TRANSMITTER: TWO
GRID-LOCATOR: FN20 FN22 FN12
CLAIMED-SCORE: 1749
NAME: 
ADDRESS: 
ADDRESS-CITY: 
ADDRESS-STATE-PROVINCE: NY
ADDRESS-POSTALCODE: 
ADDRESS-COUNTRY: USA
OPERATORS: N2SLN
EMAIL: 
CREATED-BY: hand
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-20 1821 N2SLN/R          FN20   N2NT             FN20
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-20 1822 N2SLN/R          FN20   N2NT             FN20
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-20 1851 N2SLN/R          FN20   K2MD             FM29
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-20 1929 N2SLN/R          FN20   K1TEO            FN31
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-20 1930 N2SLN/R          FN20   K1TEO            FN31
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1200 N2SLN/R          FN22   K1TEO            FN31
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1201 N2SLN/R          FN22   K1TEO            FN31
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1208 N2SLN/R          FN22   NX3B             FM28
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1224 N2SLN/R          FN22   NS4T             FN22
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1228 N2SLN/R          FN22   NS4T             FN22
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1246 N2SLN/R          FN22   VE3MLM           FN04
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1407 N2SLN/R          FN22   N1NQD            FN13
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1409 N2SLN/R          FN22   N1NQD            FN13
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1721 N2SLN/R          FN12   VO1SIX           GN27
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1723 N2SLN/R          FN12   K2ZD             FN21
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1727 N2SLN/R          FN12   W2EV/R           FN12
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1728 N2SLN/R          FN12   VE3MIS           FN03
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1730 N2SLN/R          FN12   W2EV/R           FN12
QSO:    50 CW 2024-07-21 1733 N2SLN/R          FN12   VE3MIS           FN03
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1739 N2SLN/R          FN12   N2XNB            FN12
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1746 N2SLN/R          FN12   N2NT             FN20
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1748 N2SLN/R          FN12   N2NT             FN20
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1805 N2SLN/R          FN12   NS4T             FN22
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1807 N2SLN/R          FN12   NS4T             FN22
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1835 N2SLN/R          FN12   K1TEO            FN31
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1837 N2SLN/R          FN12   K1TEO            FN31
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1844 N2SLN/R          FN12   W2EV/R           FN02
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1845 N2SLN/R          FN12   W2EV/R           FN02
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1858 N2SLN/R          FN12   N1NQD            FN13
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1900 N2SLN/R          FN12   N1NQD            FN13
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1902 N2SLN/R          FN12   VE3MLM           FN04
QSO:   144 PH 2024-07-21 1920 N2SLN/R          FN12   KQ2N             FN23
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1921 N2SLN/R          FN12   KQ2N             FN23
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 1933 N2SLN/R          FN12   WB0HHM           EN13
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 2008 N2SLN/R          FN12   KB2IAU           FN13
QSO:    50 PH 2024-07-21 2011 N2SLN/R          FN12   KD2YGU           FN13
END-OF-LOG: