ARRL June VHF QSO Party
Call: K4AQ
Operator(s): K4AQ
Station: K4AQ
Class: Single Op Port QRP
QTH: EM86qr/Wise Cty, VA
Operating Time (hrs): 2.1 (33 max)
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 5 3
2: 7 3
222:
432: 2 2
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
-------------------
Total: 14 8 Total Score = 128
Club:
Comments:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/june-vhf.html
My first ARRL VHF QSO Party:
MHz QSO Pts Grid
-----------------------------
50 5 5 3
144 7 7 3
432 2 4 2
-----------------------------
14 16 8
1. My first ever 50 MHz QSO, any mode. Did it on USB. (Thanks, AA4ZZ.)
2. My first ever 144 MHz SSB QSO. (Thanks, W4NH operated by W4ATL, an
SECC and SEDXC club member.)
3. My first ever 432 MHz SSB QSO. (Thanks, W4NH, unknown op.)
I operated from the High Knob Lookout parking lot (Wise County, VA),
about 4100 feet MSL.
(I was on a 10-day TDY business trip in Wise, [southwestern] VA, during
the ARRL VHF QSO Party. Home QTH is Atlanta, GA.)
Yaesu FT-817 all-mode QRP transceiver, 5 watts, MH-31 stock mobile
microphone, 1/4-wave verticals (Hustler mobile 54-inch mast for 50-MHz,
dual-band 144/440 magmount), paper logging during QSOs (then transcribed
the log into WriteLog for post-processing).
Saturday
========
Best DX 100-150 miles on 6m and 2m, near Charlotte, NC; for 432 MHz, 100
miles (near the Cherokee Reservation and Blue Ridge Parkway). This
VHF/UHF newbie was impressed!
I heard W5UWB in EL17 (Orange Grove, TX near Corpus Christi) on 50 Mhz
with a booming signal. He was busy working the Central States and did
not return my calls.
Had a very nice QRP-to-QRP/p ragchew with John WN4OAA near Tri-Cities
(about 40 miles south of High Knob). He tail-ended another QSO and asked
me to QSY up 5 KHz. He heard I was using an FT-817 which is the rig he
was also using BUT with an 8-el yagi. ;) During our QSO he QRPp'd to
500 milliwatts and was still solid copy!
Before driving up to High Knob, I was looking for Bear Creek Lake aka
Wise Lake (0.85 mi from our physician call center), to check on the
fishing, hi. I found the lake, checked it out, took photos and was
called back to the call center because of a technical problem.
Before finding Wise Lake, I tried operating from a mountain top (2700
ft MSL) on the Coeburn Mountain Rd. I heard AA4ZZ (near Charlotte, NC)
and called him but he could not hear me. (I worked AA4ZZ later from High
Knob on 6 and 2 meters.)
It is amazing how much difference 1400 ft could make. I could see
High Knob 7.5 mi SW across the Coeburn Valley from my 2700 ft spot. High
Knob did not look that much higher either.
Sunday
======
I returned to High Knob and found Paul Combs AK4U (from Kentucky) and
his young family beginning to breakdown his rover stn in a mini-van
after making 99 Q's. (They were on-site around 0130 ET that morning.)
Paul took the time to show me his stn setup with mostly homebrewed yagi
antennas, a foldover homebrew mast with rotor that was on a "converted"
boat trailer. Paul made his 100th contact (with me observing) and then a
few more "insurance" QSO's while his wife watched patiently. ;)
I could have continued in the contest after AK4U left the area and would
have if Darin NT4XT (Marietta, GA), who wanted an HF sked with me, did
not get on HF to work me.
NT4XT was able to get on the air so we tried 20ssb with "no joy" but
40ssb worked great in the late afternoon. I had to use 50 watts though
(QRP was difficult copy). I believe NT4XT was running 50-80 watts. I
used the Yaesu FT-897D transceiver with Heil Pro-Set Plus headset and
Hustler mobile antenna system with the SGC SG-211 MiniTuner. We had a
long ragchew until I had to QRT so I could drive the winding narrow
mountain road down the mountain while it was still daylight.
--
Matt Lee, K4AQ
Atlanta, GA USA
<K4AQ at arrl.net>
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