ARRL September 2000 VHF ContestBig Changes! For this contest a few small changes were made to my rover station. The most obvious is the 1998 GMC Jimmy. Because the new vehicle has an external rear mounted spare tire, a trailer hitch and a roof rack new antenna mounting possibility opened up. I decided to use the top section of a TV tower and telescoping mast. The tower section was bolted on the spare tire mount and trailer hitch. The whole mast is on an Armstrong rotor made from a heavy duty Lazy Susan. The antennas use were M2 23CM22EZ for 23cm, Crushcraft A27010 for 70cm and 2m and a Arrow 52-4T for 6m. Radio equipment used was a Kenwood TS-790 for 2m 70cm and 23cm. A Yaesu FT-847 for 6m. We also brought along my Kenwood TS-690 just in case. Power output was 100w on 6m 35w on 2m 100w on 70cm (after going through the Mirage D 1010 N) and 10w on 23cm. The power source for the station was the regular battery in the truck and a extra old car battery. I also brought along the Kenwood TH-D7 and the Magellan GPS 315 so we could play with APRS. Other equipment that was brought along included a laptop computer, SWR meters and tuners, various cable/coax, tools and safety supplies. Hugh VA3TO handled the 6m band from the front seat while I took care of 2m 70cm and 23cm from the back. Despite the poor conditions we still had a lot of fun. This contest was more like an experiment for me. Next year (2001) will be a much more serious attempt. Stephen VA3MOD
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