Hello All,
Well this years 432Mhz Sprint was attempted from a different location in
FM08 specifically Reddish Knob near the West Virginia Line in FM08jl.
My thoughts were to gain some Northerly and Westerly contacts on top of the
standard fair in the NE. Well upon setup it appears I cooked the power
divider so one antenna instead of two, that I knew would cost me.
No matter as the contest started it appeared the band was quieter than I
suspected it would be and after finding a few stations it seemed that this
location on UHF was expensive to the North East due to additional mountains
to cross. It seemed I lost about 15 to 20db compared to my normal location
in FM08tn.
After working K3TUF and K1TEO I knew that FN4x was not going to happen from
there with one antenna. So we stuck to the plan and looked South, North and
West very often. It was not until 9:30 or so did I pick up anyone other than
W4DEX in that direction. Great to catch WW8M in Michigan toward the end of
the contest in EN72. That's a new state for me on 432.
39 Q's
19 Grids :(
In conclusion the location is great, I think better for 2 Meter and 6 meter
activity. I think it just a bit too far from the activity center of the
NorthEast to be a productive site for 432 and above. Yes you can cover the
South with ease from that location but unfortunately there are very few
operators down there looking in this direction if at all.
There will be signifigant antenna and feedline changes for the Fall as I am
going to find 5 or 6db on 432 anyway. We will see you all in the Fall Sprint
and of course the June and Sept QSO Parties from FM18. Also I will be
attempting another Microwave Sprint I think from FM08. Should have decent
power on 903 thru 5.7G. Hopefully 10G in the Fall.
Steve - W4SHG
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