4 over 4 elements: two horizontally polarized 2m end-mount yagis stacked vertically
another pic of both antennas
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.
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.
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
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the N2SLN rover team." |