With everything thats been going on I almost forgot to mention the RAC CANADA DAY CONTEST which starts at 0000UTC on July 1 and runs for 24 hours…
I will be operating for a short time during this event as VA3QV and I will be at home in the noise that living in a city brings…
If you hear me… you might get one of these…
73bob
Well…. I got the truck packed up and got on the road with Toby on Friday morning and we arrived in Cornwall early afternoon.
I quickly??? set up the windom, and then extended the vhf masting and fired up the rig…. VHF coverage into Ottawa using VE2CRA and HF coverage throughout Ontario/Quebec using my FT 817 with 5 watts.
Saturday morning I got into the “Field Day spririt” and installed the field day antenna systems (re-thought after finding out there would be no digital…)
Using a 15 foot mast I attached the dual band (2m/70cm) beam at the top and then put the 6m beam about 3 feet below… Both beams were attached to my FT 857 and the rig was set to 5w. This rig was powered by my 30AH battery pack and was being charged (extended) by a solar panel. Unfortunately I had not had the time to rig up the rotor so…. it was vice grips on the mast to turn the beam (AGAIN)
Attached to my main masting on the trailer at approx 25 feet was my home brewed 10-80 windom. This was in a slight inverted vee configuration with the ends at approx 15 feet and 20 feet. This antenna was attached direct (no tuner) to my FT 817. The 817 was powered by a Motomaster 700amp booster pack and was charged (extended) a smaller solar panel.
As I was only using one radio at a time and both radios were set to QRP I felt it was fine to operate as “1B ON” Battery QRP.
NOW TO BE HONEST I DID RAISE THE POWER UP A BIT ON THE 2M AND 6M SIDE. THIS DID ALLOW ME TO MAKE A FEW MORE CONTACTS BUT IT ALSO CUT DOWN MY OPERATING TIME ON THE TWO BANDS AS IT TOOK MY PANEL LONGER TO RECHARGE THE PACK AFTER FUNNING IT AT HIGHER POWER LEVELS … I GUESS IT ALL BALANCES OUT IN THE LONG RUN AND AS I AM NOT SUBMITTING THE SCORES…. AND IN REALITY THE MAIN OBJECTIVE IS HAVE FUN AND I DID HAVE FUN SO EVERYTHING WORKED OUT INTHE LONG RUN…
The theory behind this was while I was using one setup the other setup was getting a charge from its respective solar panel which was on the roof of my trailer. This hopefully would extend the life of both booster packs to last for the duration…
I started operating at 1400 eastern on the dot and quickly reeled in the VE3AIR (Manotick Amateur Radio Club )crew on 6m and 2m from their location in Manotick at the marina…
6m was open and this made things a real treat…. but lots was learned….Firstly I gotta get the rotor working…Running outside fighting the mosquitoes just to change the heading on the beams is a major pain in the ….
Now here is my unsubmitted report:
VA3QV operating 1B ON from Cornwall Ontario
2m (Maximum power used 50W)- 6 contacts in 2 sections
6m (Maximum power used 100W)-34 contacts in 14 sections
10m (Maximum power used 5w) - 3 contacts in 2 sections
15m (Maximum power used 5w) – 8 contacts in 8 sections
20m (Maximum power used 5w) – 24 contacts in 12 sections
40m (Maximum power used 5w) - 20 contacts in 9 sections
80m (Maximum power used 5w) - 11 contacts in 4 sections
Lessons learned 2—> If I am going to operate in a crowded band with the FT 817 I better get some sort of filtering installed. The Yaesu ssb filter or the W4RT DSP system (OR BOTH) come to mind as there were several station who could hear my 5w signal but I could not confirm the contact as I could not hear them due to splatter from adjacent frequencies.
The fact that so many stations were running more than 100w or 200w from their “Field installation” makes me wonder how they can find the fuel which powers the generators which in turn provides electricity for their KILOWATTS will most likely be a rant of mine in a future blog…
Major dissapointments…I was “not pleased” with the fact that my digital attempts (PSK31) did not work. To be honest I am not a real big digital fan but I figured this would be a good time to make some contacts. To be honest (again)…. the last time I used it…. it worked fine but on Saturday stuck out in the “field” with no internet access or back up disks…..it did not work….
Lessons Learned 3 —> Make sure if you are going to depend on a computer that you test it out on a regular basis and that you are very familure with how to operate the software and the interfaces with the radio. Having back up disks would of been a good thing as well…
In my opinion every amateur should do a solo field day at least once. No back up and having to depend only on yourself builds character. It also makes it easier when you screw up as there are no witnesses to your stupidity…
For next year I plan to go it alone again and this time will be a bit better set up. Bigger or more solar panels, Three battery packs so one is in use and two are charging would be a good thing… getting the beam set up properly is something I have been promising myself since I bought the beams…I wonder how many 6m contacts I missed when I was too lazy to go outside to spin the beams. I do wonder however in an emergency how much use I will get out of vhf SSB or to be more correct if I could get the beams up and running and who would I talk to. Maybe next year its will be the 817 with a doublet antenna and one small battery pack with 2 solar panels and lets see how good I can do. lets see if I actually get the filers installed…
DONT FORGET THE MOSQUITO REPELANT
The main idea of field day it to test our our ability to operate in a setting that is not our shack. This could be a field, an EOC or whatever. Recently it has become more of a contest… Even myself was heard to utter the words “Thanks for the contact…good luck in the contest”… Its not a contest, its an exercise!!! The purpose of any exercise it to learn from your mistakes. I learned plenty
73bob
Hi folks,
I just got back from the first part of my holidays which included field day at the trailer site in Cornwall…
I did get a visit from “Murphy” as for whatever reason none of my computer software for the radios…PSK 31, APRS etc seemed to want to work…
To make matters worse I was unable to connect to the local wifi location and therfore could not download the upgrades??? needed to try and get digital… In addition I was not able to update the blog as I had no internet connection…
Now the “funny” part about all this is that as soon as I got home…everything seems to be working so far…I was able to connect to the home wifi as well as the home network (hardwired) with no issues…When I was out of town I could not even see the system I knew was there…
I will check out the psk 31 and other sound card stuff today and report back later
Next posting will have the radio stuff in it….
73bob
Well things are getting closer. The list of antennas and radios (don’t forget the coax runs) are now complete and the bins are getting packed… I am really looking forward to some days off and the chance to play radio when most other amateurs will be on the air as well…
Before field day Don VA3GFD and my self will be doing some 80m antenna testing between his QTH in Orleans and my QTH at Cornwall. The three setups we will be testing at my end are as follows:
-A- Hamstick 80 dipole at approx 30 feet
-B- 80 meter windom antenna at approx 30 feet
-C- Hamstick 80m dipole (same as above) at approx 12 feet (NVIS)
The purpose of this testing is to compare how the different antenna systems react in a “Local Communications” style setup. I am not trying to work DX here… I want to talk locally around the province. If I can talk withing 400kms of Cornwall its a success…
From previous testing its been determined that the 80m windom at 30 feet works better than the hamstick dipole at 30 feet but it was not a true “A/B” test as one antenna went up and some reports were exchanged. I then took a break, took down antenna 1 and raised antenna 2 and we exchanged reports again. With the “LOUSY”HF Conditions these days and the approx 1 hour between tests its hard to say was it the antenna or the band changing.
This time I will do it a bit quicker as both antennas will be installed with the coax run into the trailer and all I have to do is switch between antennas and then lower the antenna and try again…
The purpose of this test is to really determine what antenna system I will run at the trailer… and pure sigtnal strength is not the only factor to be concidered. Ease of installation will play a part, along with real estate used as next year when the trailer moves to its permanant home I might not be able to stretch out a 130 foot dipole without upsetting some of my neighbors. If the antennas are close in signal reports, I will go with hamstick dipole as its easier to install and has a “smaller footprint”. It the windom is vastly superior in reports then I will figure out a way to get it up without pis*ing off my neighbors next year.
For those of you who are intersted and want to participate Don and I are planning to conduct this test on or about 3.730 this coming Friday evening at approx 2000 EASTERN. We will co-ordinating this test on VE2CRA Repeater just incase we have any issues with HF comms that day. Initial contacts will be made on 2m then over to the hf antennas. VE2CRA Repeater also has an IRLP Node (2040) but to be honest I’m not sure if the node is up 24/7 or not. It fun just to chat but sometimes chatting with a purpose is better….
73bob
T minus 4 days and counting
The long range weather for Cornwall is looking good so far the weather man is calling for good weather and I for one hope THIS TIME HE IS CORRECT.
CHECK OUT THE CORNWALL WEATHER PREDICTIONS.
As it stands right now Toby and I will be leaving Ottawa around noon on Friday and heading back to the trailer. Friday afternoon will be spent unpacking, hooking up the windom… and then I will be firing up the BBQ for a gourmet hot dog meal…
In the sprit of “Field Day” Saturday mid morning will be spent installing the beams for my VHF/UHF/6M ssb station and then resting up a bit…
I plan to operate 70cm to 80m SSB and PSK 31. This will be on of my first attempts into Digital Communications and I figure with all those stations out there…It should be a good time to learn…
The rigs up there will be my FT2400 2m mobile rig hooked into a rig blaster nomic interface for AX25 Packet and APRS as a just for fun mode. I will also have my FT 817 up there for PSK31 (uses the same connections as the FT2400) and the primary voice rig on all bands will be my FT857. I will be hopefully using a rotor this time to spin the beams but…lets see if I can get it going in time…..
********************
REMEMBER
WHAT YOU SEE IN THIS BLOG IS REALLY ME “THINKING OUT LOUD”
THINGS CHANGE
PLANS CAN CHANGE
BUT SO FAR THIS IS WHAT I AM HOPING WILL HAPPEN
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Unfortunately on Monday morning after all that fun Toby and myself will be returning to Ottawa for a couple of days. I have been called in to work for Canada Day in Ottawa (all leaves cancelled) which is not as bad as I have been b*tching about as Liz and myself both have doctors appointments right after on the 2nd and 3rd.
This means that on the afternoon of the 3rd I leave my faithful K9 Companion “Toby” at home to look after Erika and Trisha (and watch the house) while Liz and myself head back to Cornwall for a few more days rest. She is into Telescopes and star gazing and we are hoping for a clear couple of nights so she can view the heavens. There is next to no light pollution at our location….
Thats about it for now….
More details to follow later in the week along with the sked frequencies while I’m away….
73bob
….and we had a wonderful weekend….
Toby (man’s best friend) and myself departed Ottawa early Saturday morning and headed south east to the trailer in Cornwall. Once there the normal setup proceedures took place (hook up electricity, turn on water and open windows etc…) and then the important stuff happened…
Raise the telescopic mast, attach two coax lines and string up the windom and finally PLAY RADIO!!!
For HF this time I decided on the home made 10-80m windom antenna and used the dual band groundplane that I made from a 6m Larsen mobile antenna.
No contacts were made on 6m but the repeaters seemed all to be local on 2m… I could not believe the reception I was getting. I was able to recieve the Brockville Repeater on 146.820 but could not open it up. Pity as I heard an old friend VE3MUD Ian who was driving thru Brockville at the time… However I was able to easily contact Ottawa using several different repeaters including Moose Creek 145.370, Mount Rigaud (VE2RM) 147.000 and much to my astonishment Camp Fortune PQ 146.940 VE2CRA.
Using VE2CRA I was able to have a trailer to trailer QSO from my trailer at Cornwall to White Lake Ontario with Doug VE3DLJ. This is an approximated distance of 115km as the crow flies which I admit does not make for real DX and yes we used a repeater but…Its nice to chat with a friend and I really did not expect to be able to access that repeater…
Kudos go out to the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club for their recent renovations to the repeater…
I also found the time between naps, home made chili and 2m ragchews to heat up the airwaves on HF with a multitude of 80m contacts. ONTARS, the 3730 group, the North Bay Net and of course the OVMRC Pothole Net made the time go by very quickly. Signal reports were good which leads me to believe that the windom is still doing a great job. However as the bands are so poor its hard to do comparisons as conditions change so rapidly. The reports given to me a few weeks ago on the 80m hamstick dipole were not as good as those I received using the windom but the hamstick dipole goes up in a matter of minutes as compared to putting up the windom…
The Ottawa contacts on Sunday morning from the Pothole were really intersting as from home I can’t hear all the participants as some are too far for groundwave but too close for even the first hop as my home antenna is a bit lacking. But further out all the stations were good copy including VA3STL who was operating QRP from Greely. I am not able to copy Alan from my home QTH so this was a treat. The net did raise a question however as the strongest signals I received were from stations that were running horizontal antennas (Dipoles, G5RVs, doublets) and the weaker signals were from those running Vertical antennas(80m mobile, multi band verticals). I thought that the first bounce would of been more of an equalizer but it seems horizontal to horizontal would be the way to go. I guess one of these weekends I should make a hamstick vertical and then compare the signals “vertical to vertical” and see what sort of results I get…
This idea is starting to intrigue me as I have been having some troubles with my long wire antenna (end fed inverted L or folded vertical) recently and I have been thinking as I can’t really stretch out a dipole to switch over to a vertical and try that for a while…
Field Day update:
This year I have decided to head south and participate in Field Day from the Cornwall Area… Toby and myself will leave Ottawa Friday morning and travel back to the trailer… I plan to setup with the Yaesu FT 857, my 6m beam, my dual band beam and the windom and give out lots of contacts over the 24 hour period.
“4.3. (Class B) One or two person portable: A Field Day station set up and operated by no more than two persons. Other provisions are the same for Class A except it is not eligible for a GOTA or free VHF station. One and two person Class B entries will be listed separately”
If I remember the exchange correctly …
VA3QV 1B ON
So remember to get out there and make some contacts….
73bob
The weather as usual is unpredictable…
According to the weather network the Ottawa weather is going to be damp tonight (So I can’t load the truck early) with scattered showers Saturday morning with a chance of Thundershowers on Saturday afternoon with light rain on Sunday…
And according to the weather network the Cornwall weather is going to Scattered showers on Saturday with a chance of Thundershowers on Sunday with light rain on Sunday…
Wonderful travelling weather and antenna weather…
Right now the living room is packed with some necessary items that must be in Cornwall before field day weekend and the start of my 4 day mini holiday and more important the 4 day mini holiday with Liz after the Canada Day festivities…
The plan as it stands right now is to load up the truck early Saturday morning and make it to Cornwall before noon. Get as much as I can set up and if there is no “Sound and Light” then play some radio, have supper and play some more radio…. If there is “Sound and Light” then the plan would be to catch a nap, have supper and then watch a movie on the tube. Either way it will be restful and Toby and I will return on Sunday after the Pothole net on Sunday Morning…
If some of you are so inclined and the Weather co-operates here is some good hints of where you will be able to find me radio wise over the weekend….
Saturday AM
VE3TWO 2m 147.300 (+) from Ottawa to Casselman
Moose Creek Repeater 2m 145.370 (-) from Casselman to Cornwall
While in Cornwall I will be monitoring either 147.180 (+ CTCSS 110.9??) which is located in Cornwall or VE2RM 147.000 (-) (non standard offset) which has good coverage into Ottawa East…
On HF if the sound and light lets me put up the windom or the hamstick dipole you should hear me on a net frequency…ONTARS 3.755 UNTIL 1800 EASTERN, THE MARITIME NET 3.750 (1800 EASTERN), THE ONTARIO PHONE NET 3.742 (1900 EASTERN) then the 3730 GROUP AT 2100 EASTERN which of course is on or about 3.730.
Sunday morning I plan to check in to the North Bay Net on 3.765 at 0900 EASTERN then follow up with the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club “POT HOLE NET” which you will find on 3.760 at 1000 hrs eastern.
When the Pothole Net closes at 1100 EASTERN Toby and I will probally have lunch then head for home so the same two meter frequencies as the trip down come back into play but only in reverse order…
As in the case of all that i try and plan this summer all of it is at the whim of a mother…. Mother Nature is one of them and the Mother of my children is the other….Liz reserves the right to change my plans at any time…. I cant really complain as she is really good about my hobby and what it takes to particiapte and in return I remember that it is only a hobby and family comes first (most of the time)…. Right now both mothers say i can go so its a good thing….
There might be an update later or just might hear you on the air later…..
73bob
Well this year with the blessing of my XYL my holidays were to split into 2 areas of enjoyment. The first week was to start the Friday before field day allowing me to participate in field day here in Ottawa then have me moving to the trailer in Cornwall and get everything ready for a serious attempt at participation in the RAC CANADA DAY CONTEST. I was then to return to Ottawa on the Wednesday and then do family stuff for the rest of the week….
Well after using a few old phrases like “Nothing is carved in stone” or “SH!T HAPPENS” or even “Plans were made to be changed” it looks like the Canada Day contest attempt will have to be changed to next year. I will be able to participate in Field Day at a serious level but MUST be back in town in time to supervise some serious work issues on Canada Day here in Ottawa.
Those of you who live in or close to the City of Ottawa know that the city is really messed up for that day due to road closures and the massive crowds who celebrate our country’s founding/birthday celebrations here in the capitol city.
For some info on the festivities click here
For those of us who work with the public and the different levels of Law enforcement in the region all leaves have been cancelled and all staff are expected in for their regular shifts…. Basically translated this means I can leave when I planned but I must be back in time to work a shift in the COMM Center for Canada Day. I can then leave after Canada Day and return to my holidays….
But in reality who wants to be off for 3 days then work for one day the off for 5 more days???? This makes it more like a long weekend…..
So it looks like Radio might suffer slightly as I will not be able to participate in the Canada Day Contest, but the local club will gain an operator on Saturday for field day it was not expecting….
I am still pleading my case but as it stands right now….
As far as everything else is going…. The recent run of wet weather is really dampening the parks….so far the ground is not saturated yet but the grass is more than damp. I’m wondering how this will effect many of the field day groups around the Ottawa area. This dampness should definately stimulate the local Mosquitoes not to mention will really add to the discomfort of those of us who suffer some some form or arthritis and already hate the damp when we try to assemble radio gear in a portable situation….
On the bright side we should have softer ground to pound ground stakes, tent stakes and tower supports onto but at the same time our trucks might get stuck in the wet ground as we try to drop off the equipment at the site….
The wet ground should also improve the ground plaine effect and be conductive for good signals on the HF Bands…
The latest long range forcast shows lots of dampness till the Wednesday before field day and then it starting to dry out on the Thurdsay. So far no other data available for the rest of the week and into Field Day weekend….
I will keep watching the local long range weather forcasts as well as all the other information I can find on the local radio Clubs and their Field day projects…
For now check out:
Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club
And you should find out some good local information on what the local amateur community is doing for field day. In addition there are usually a couple of contest groups who set up and operate field day but they do it really seriously….The local clubs usually take a more relaxed approach to the event with the intent of teachng new hams as well as having fun…
There will be more details posted here once I find out more infomation and see how the weather is looking….
73bob
Traditionally, this is a weekend that usually puts family matters above ham radio…
And so it should be…All holidays are for the familys (if they are still around) but if you time it right you still can find time to play some radio and keep the kids happy as well. For me this year it was easier as Daughter #1 was home with her family watching her kids (my grandkids) spoil her husband and Daughter #3 had missed her transit connection and now will not be returning to Ottawa until Tuesday at the earliest. Daughter #2 and I had a great day and a super supper on Sunday evening along with my wife…
Now back to the radio stuff….
Saturday I operated VA3RCS/VE2 from the Brule Lookout which is in the Gatineau Park close to the Champlain Lookout. I arrived around 11am and got the equipment setup. I was using my FT857 along with a home brewed 30AH battery Pack. The antennas were my Cushcraft 2/70 dual band beam for 2m and 70cm with my Maple Leaf Communications 3 elemement 6m beam for 6m of course. Due to the fact I had not been able to successfully “Roll my own” or find a rotor cable in time the rotor for the beam was my tried and true “Armstron Rotator.
I started operating at 1400 eastern and had some good luck on all the bands. I managed 5 contacts on 70cm ssb. (3 grids). On 2m ssm I managed 12 contacts (5 Grids) and on 6m ssb I managed 10 contacts (7 Grids).
Now if you read my earlier posting then you have the details but it was fun….Until 1600 eastern….
All day long we had been operting under a severe weather warning and if you check back through last weeks entries I was actually thinking of not participating due to weather concerns. Well at 1600 it came partially true… The wind picked up conciderally…..my masting and antennas were swaying in the wind, the sky suddenly got dark…. the trees were swaying heavily and I figured my day was over for operating. I quickly disconnected the 857 from the batteries and antenna and got it safely back in the pickup truck and then just as suddenly the wind stopped. It went absoluetly calm and the sun came back out….As I was debating if I was going to re hook up the radio and go for a while longer I suddenly noticed that the blackflies were out. I am going to assume that they were in the trees above me all day long and with the light-moderate breezes we had all day long they had decided to stay under cover in the trees. Well the heavy wind seemed to wake them up and once the wind died down (the calm before the storm seems to come to mind) they came down and feasted on me with a vengence. My bug spray designed more for mosquitoes did not help at all… In between slapping and cursing I got the rest of the station torn down and packed in about 30 minutes and was heading back to Ottawa….
Lessons learned were:
BRING STRONGER BUG SPRAY
I still need to have a better way to control the beam and determine beam headings from where I am. I will be buying a rotor cable before field day and I am looking for a grid square map that I can laminate and put on my operating table to make finding locations easier.
Sunday (Fathers Day) I headed out to a new operating location with my FT 817 with the 5ah battery pack and the 88 foot doublet.
The location can be found HERE and its only about a 10 min drive from my place so its easy and quiet to work from. The actual greenspace has the parking lot which you can enter from the corner of Riverside Drive and Data Center Road. Not exactly rustic or out of the way but it does have trees for the doublet and its close to home.
“Its nice to spend more time on the air than trying to get on the air”
As I was out ther in the morning (0900-1100 EASTERN) all contacts were meade on 80m. I managed to check in to the ONTARS Net 3.755 with their NCS station in Oshawa Ontario at 9am. I then checked into the OVNRC Pothole Net on 3.760 at 10 am and was able to hear and work all stations who participated. This is usually more of a ground wave or locall net. Today from where I was at the park I was able to work stations in Orleans to the east and the VC3C Station set up today in Fitzroy Harbour Provincal Park. Although the distance was not earth shattering the approx 60 km contact was not bad for 5w and a doublet at 20 feet at my end and although I’m not sure what VC3C was using for an output power he did say he was using the 80m hustler mobile antenna at his end…
Its not real DX but I’m very pleased with the contact. Its amazing what you can do with little power if you have no noise level to restrict your listening pleasure. I bring this up because once I got home we had an afternoon of thunderstorms….Not a big deal here at the home QTH as the only antenna I have put back up so far is the VHF/UHF J pole and that is hooked up to my FT7800 for local repeater work only and its below roof height so no chance of getting a hit there….The maple tree is much higher…
In between storms I did try to get a long wire hooked up as it was still in the tree, the transformer is still out there and the counterpoises are still along the fence. All I really had to do was run the coax and hook up one of the HF rigs… After doing that…..S9 NOISE LEVEL…. This was a constant….no pulsing, no bursts….just a solid S9 static level. Well after operating several times in the parks and getting spoiled by a “0″ noise level I just decided to say “screw it” and for now the FT897/FC40 combo will get some rest. I will keep the wire up and the counterpoises out there so i can hook up and operate from the Kitchen table if I need/want to but it looks like I will have to try and re-work the grounding system to see if there is anything I can do to lower the noise level. The bands are so poor these days that I think I am missing half the stations as anyone between a S2 and a S9 are just lost in my static levels….
More on this as I continue to work on the problems…..
I do have some upcomeing events which I will be going into more details on in the near future….
Field Day will be in Ottawa and the Canada Day Contest will be in Cornwall but more info on that later…
73bob
The weather was much better than the VC3C event two weeks earlier. It did not rain….However the blackfiies won…i left early but it was a fun couple of hours….
I operated from 1400 EASTERN to 1600 EASTERN and made 25 contacts in 14 qrid squares for a claimed but unsubmitted score of 350.
Breakdown as follows:
BAND CALLSIGN GRIDSQUARE APPROX QTH
70 CM VE3LCA FN14 PERTH
VE3OJN FN25 MOOSE CREEK
VE3CVG FN25 CUMBERLAND
VE3YYY FN15 GLASGOW STN
VE3MY FN 25 OTTAWA
Furthest 70cm contact was VE3OJE at approx 65 kms
2M VE3LCA FN14 PERTH
VE3CVG FN25 CUMBERLAND
VE3OJN FN25 MOOSE CREEK
VE2QNN FN25 CHELSEA
VE3YYY FN15 GLASGOW STN
VA3NFA/R FN25 OTTAWA
VE3AP/R FN15 ?
K8GP FM08 WASHINGTON DC
VA2UK FN25 ALYMER QC
VE3MY FN25 OTTAWA
VE3FGU FN04 SOUTH OF BARRIE
Furthest 2m contact was K8GP at approx 900 km
6M W4TAA/VE3 FN15 ALMONTE
VE3LCA FN14 PERTH
VE3CVG FN25 CUMBERLAND
VE3OJN FN25 MOOSE CREEK
K2AXX FN12 SOUTH OF ROCHESTER
VE3IGJ FN25 OTTAWA
W1QK FN31 BROOKFIELD CT
N2PA FN12 SOUTH OF ROCHESTER
VE3WCC FN04 GRAFTON ONT
Furthest 6m contact was W1QK at approx 700 kms
Now I know that this score is not going to win any awards at ARRL or even “honourable mention” but…Its the first time I seriously participated (if only for 2 hours) in a VHF Contest and it was a real learning experience…
I really enjoy VHF/UHF DXing and it seems the only real time you find bodies out there is when there is a contest…So even if I don’t concider myself a contester….It looks like I have to contest if I want to make any contacts…
The battery pack lasted at full power levels, the beams functioned great…I must remember to get the rotor working for the next contest or outing however…
I am thinking as going out on Sunday WX Permitting again but this time as VA3QV and operate with the 817 as a QRP station with the vertical 6m ribbon J pole…. but no guarantees as its also Fathers Day and I’m not sure what the Kids (my three daughters) have planned….
73bob
