ARRL January VHF Contest - 2023
Call: NV4B/R
Operator(s): NV4B
Station: NV4B/R
Class: Limited Rover LP
QTH: MS
Operating Time (hrs): 15:07
OpMode: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 90 29
2: 75 23
222: 47 16
432: 44 16
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
-------------------
Total: 256 91 Total Score = 31,577
Club:
Comments:
Multiplier total reflects 7 grids activated (EM54, 55, 63, 64, 65, 73, 74).
This was not my best VHF contest ever.
I had a major non-ham commitment the morning of the contest which resulted in
getting very little sleep Friday night and caused me to have to start the
contest in motion from near Cullman, AL. Because I knew I would be starting
from somewhere near there, I decided to try something new and went east to
Gadsden to operate from the EM63/64/73/74 grid corner.
Immediately, I started having issues with my primary tablet and the USB isolator
I added to keep 6m RF out of my USB hub, permitting the use of the wireless
keyboard/trackpad I wanted to use. The hub kept coming physically disconnected
from the USB connector on the isolator, and no matter what I did to secure it,
it kept coming loose. I restarted N1MM & WSJT-X what seemed like once per
QSO on Saturday.
While I waited for K4CNY/R to come down from Huntsville to circle the corner
with me, I decided to try to find a high spot on one of the ridges surrounding
Gadsden to operate for awhile. Once I got stopped, I noticed that the tablet
computer I use to run 222 was having issues. I'd noticed keyboard and
touchscreen issues in the prior week, but once the Wi-Fi became flaky, I could
no longer control it remotely. In investigating the issues, it stopped booting.
This was, needless to say, distressing. My frustration level on Saturday
was... high.
When K4CNY/R arrived, we stopped in a parking lot on the EM64/74 line downtown
to regroup and figure out a solution to the 222 issue. Fortunately, I had the
old Lenovo Atom-based tablet that I used to rove with on hand and was able to
swap out the broken tablet, but this came at the expense of having to charge
with an inverter, knocking me off 6m due to the resulting interference.
Eventually we got going and made a full set of 64 QSOs around the grid corner,
although it took longer than planned due to the issues and me stopping to work
others. Strangely, the EM63 spot was a mall parking lot in unremarkable
terrain, yet it yielded several 300+ mile 222 QSOs.
By the time I finished in Gadsden, it was after 8 p.m. local and raining, and I
was feeling the effects of the lack of sleep and all of the computer frustration
and decided to head back home rather than setup or even stop on Lookout Mountain
as planned. A couple of final 6m QSOs from EM74, after which the USB hub came
loose again, and I went QRT for the night. The isolator and hub were removed
for Sunday.
Sunday morning, I did my more conventional stop 'n' shoot from Woodall Mountain
in EM54vs. The mountaintop was muddy, but other than that and the occasional
misty rain, weather was not a factor on Sunday. I used the same two-mast setup
I used in September with 6 & 2 on one mast and 222 & 432 on the other,
and this worked well. I also added the quick-release plates from Directive
Systems to make mounting and unmounting the 222 & 432 beams quicker; this
shaved a few minutes off setup and teardown time. There was a 6m Es opening to
the MN/WI area for awhile Sunday morning, but it was weak and short-lived. I
also saw the PJ4 that seemingly everyone saw, but I couldn't break the pileup.
Activity on the bands was a bit slow, but it continued throughout the entire
day. I had toyed with the idea of circling the grid corner in Memphis Sunday
afternoon, but instead, I stayed put and worked AG4V/R while he circled. This
probably netted me more multipliers in the long run as I continued to work
stations until I finally tore down and headed to EM55 around 6:00 p.m. local.
I then hit the two grids just over the line in TN, EM55 and EM65, making about a
dozen QSOs from each and picking up two more activation mults before heading
home, arriving with about 30 minutes left in the contest. I only made one more
QSO driving through EM64.
Fortunately, I was able to recover the 222 log from the M.2 SSD in the dead
tablet, so no QSOs were lost due to the computer problem.
Thanks to all for the QSOs, and hopefully June will go much better! I also hope
to see lots of you in the Spring Sprints.
Best DX:
6m K0AWU EM54vs<>EN37ed 900 mi
2m WQ0P EM54vs<>EM19wf 537 mi
222 & 432 N4SVC EM54vs<>EM80mi 434 mi
Band/mode breakdown:
Band Mode QSOs Pts Grd Pt/Q
50 FT8 75 75 29 1.0
50 USB 15 15 0 1.0
144 FM 18 18 1 1.0
144 FT8 57 56 22 1.0
222 FM 16 32 2 2.0
222 FT4 1 2 1 2.0
222 FT8 30 60 13 2.0
420 FM 16 32 2 2.0
420 FT8 27 54 13 2.0
420 USB 1 2 1 2.0
Total Both 256 347 84 1.4
Equipment:
6m: ICOM IC-7100 at 100W, MFJ 1762 3-element Yagi (stopped), MFJ 1728
quarterwave whip (in motion)
2m: ICOM IC-9700 at 100W, Diamond A144S10 10-element Yagi (stopped), Efactor
dual-band loop (in motion)
222: Yaesu FT-736R, Mirage C2512G amplifier configured for 100W max, Directive
Systems K1FO 10-element rover Yagi (stopped), M² HO loop (in motion)
432: ICOM IC-9700 at 75W, Directive Systems K1FO 15-element rover Yagi
(stopped), Efactor dual-band loop (in motion)
QSOs by state:
AL 118
MS 116
TN 22
Because the combined number of QSOs from MS and TN is greater than the number of
QSOs made from AL, I am entering in the Section (MS) in the ARRL Division
(Delta) in which I made the most QSOs.
QSOs by grid:
Grid 50 144 222 420 Tot
EM54 50 37 16 18 121
EM55 4 4 3 1 12
EM63 5 8 9 7 29
EM64 13 10 9 6 38
EM65 6 3 1 10
EM73 4 5 4 5 18
EM74 8 8 6 6 28
Tot 90 75 47 44 256
Most worked: K4CNY/R (69), AB4DX (17), AG4V/R (16), KU4WW (13), KY4G (13), and
WD9EXD (11).
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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