heh .. you impressed Jason the ranger at the north gate :) He was
describing your rig to me when we got there at about 6 last night, and
we were trying to figure out who you were ...
de w1rt/r John
On 6/12/06, Jim Erickson <k3lfo@arrl.net> wrote:
> It's sure good to see all of the activity on this weekend. I just wish
> we had been able to participate as well!
>
> It's a long and complicated story but we just couldn't get the new
> version of the rover ready in time for the beginning of the contest. It
> started with taking an extra 3 weekends to get the new fold over mast
> designed and built for the RV. We couldn't start any other preparations
> until that was done.
>
> After completing the Fold over mast we began to assemble antennas, test
> them and install on the mast. We decided to purchase the Directive
> systems Rover antennas and replace the old ants on the new rover. The
> new 222 antenna just won't tune. OK, so we put the 30 year old Cush
> Craft back into service. 2 meters tuned up nicely, 432 as well. After
> cutting cables and installing all on the mast, the 2m was running high
> SWR. We found out we had it in a bad position for reflections, moved it
> and corrected the problem. Next, the extension coax we had for the 432
> ant went bad.
>
> Finally we started wiring, plugging in, and testing the power system.
> 2- 35 amp power supplies,1- 70 amp power supply and 3 large marine
> batteries. By the time this was done it was almost 8 PM on Saturday.
>
> We made the decision to do a mini-rove despite the late start. The idea
> was to operate for a while in the driveway, get a good nights rest (we
> were warn out) and head for the mountains in the morning.
>
> Everything was working well Saturday night. We made 83 contacts and 32
> Grids during an hour Saturday and another hour Sunday before leaving.
>
> We made the 3 ½ hour drive to Skyline Drive's Hogs Back overlook.
> Started to raise the mast and the Jack Screw Drive Motor mount gave way
> letting everything settle down on the roof. Dave climbed up and
> re-attached the drive motor and we tried again. The mount was not going
> to hold anymore so we decided to give it up!
>
> I'm really sorry we weren't able to hand out more points to all of the
> gang out there competing. But, we'll be back in September!
>
> 73, Jim K3LFO, Dave W3DIO
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>
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