Due to the low activity level expected for such a rare band, I decided not to enter the contest as a rover, and use all available time to make contacts. The location was the nearest rover site in my home gridsquare FN22. The antenna was at 1960 feet above sea level and thankfully there wasn't much foliage in the immediate area. Due to the workable wx conditions, I was able to install the full setup. I enjoyed 50�F and low winds when taking down the antenna system at the end of the sprint. The only complaint is that I didn't get the new Directive Systems 10-element rover yagi assembled in time for me to test it during this sprint.
Activity levels were better than expected for the spring version of this event (tropospheric ducting and evening enhancement generally don't play a role this time of year). The good activity level can probably be explained by the curiosity surrounding the new distance scoring method for the spring sprints which replaces the conventional formula of QSOs times unique grids. I operated the entire sprint and in looking back over the years, it looks like this is my first time in the spring version of the 222 sprint. I spent some time calling CQ with the antenna pointed north but got no results. My best DX to the west was VE3ZV EN92vw at 230.4 miles (370.7 km). Best to the south appears to be Maryland station W3ZZ FM19jd at 248.5 miles (my longest DX for this contest). Best to the east was Massachusetts station W1RIL FN42ah at 192.5 miles (309.8 km) and to the northeast was Maine powerhouse K1WHS FN43mj at 247.5 miles (398.3 km).
Here is a list of stations I heard but was unable to work: K1TR, K2ERG, K3TUF FN10we, and W3KWH. Notably missing were W2EV (whose 222 signal is usually stronger than 2m), WA2FGK, N2GHR, and the FN12 ops from the KA2LIM team. In fact, I did not work anyone in adjacent grid FN12 at all, but I did work my own grid. I would have liked to hear activity out of FN01, 02, 03, FN21, 23, 24, and FN32, 33, 34. Results are listed here.
BAND QSOs TOTAL AVG DIST DIST (km) PER QSO (km) ------------------------------------- 222 12 3,281.6 273.5
LOCAL CALLSIGN GRID DIST (km) ------------------------------- 1948 K1DS FN20ie 266.1 1949 WA3NUF FN20ke 268.2 1951 WZ1V FN31mp 249.2 2009 W1RIL FN42ah 309.8 2019 K1ZE FN31vx 295.9 2035 K1WHS FN43mj 398.3 2040 K1TEO FN31jh 249.5 2106 N2DCH FN22ac 54.9 2112 VE3ZV EN92vw 370.7 2119 KK1CW FN32tw 276.0 2132 N3RN FN11wh 143.1 2228 W3ZZ FM19jd 399.9
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the N2SLN rover team." |