W1RRD de KE5EXX/R
I started out with a borrowed 706 and borrowed antennas. I fell in love and
grew. My son KE5GAQ and I now run on 8 bands and love it.
I may get flamed but I'll give you my idea on how to get started...
Probably the #1 investment you should make would be good antennas. You can
use some pretty inexpensive antennas such as the SQ-50 from
http://www.ku4ab.com/ and the dual band efactor antenna from
http://efactorantennas.com/index.html
These will get you started with minimal investment. As you fall in love with
rovering you will want to upgrade to mono band antennas for 144 and 432. You
can choose to stick with loops so that you can talk while mobile or use
directional antennas such as the Cheap Yagi that you can build from PVC and
welding rods ( http://www.fredspinner.com/W0FMS/CheapYagi/vjbcy.html ).
The next thing you will want is something like the Garmin eTrex that will
keep you informed as to your exact location.
If you'd like to see what else we did to "ramp up" go to www.ke5exx.com
Please don't be discouraged by all the other hoopla on this list. There is
still plenty of good info to be gleaned from all the wisdom here.
73's
Andy Delgado, KE5EXX/R
-----Original Message-----
From: vhfcontesting-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
w1rrd@columbus.rr.com
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 9:13 AM
To: Steve Clifford
Cc: VHFcontesting@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] VHF contesting newbie
Steve, thanks for taking the time to provide some information on this. I
appreciate it.
I'm sure others will chime in as I've always found the ham community helpful
to new folks.
Thanks again,
Dick, W1RRD
---- Steve Clifford <k4gun.r@gmail.com> wrote:
> You chose a bad time to ask this question. We're in the middle of a very
> heated debate and a lot of guys are deleting a lot of messages from this
> reflector. Your question however, is a good one. With your 706, you've
got
> a lot of possibilities. The first thing you need are antennas that are
> horizontally polarized. Without that, you're not going to hear much.
>
> There could be a book written about how to get started, but I'll just give
> you one or two tips to get you pointed in the right direction. On contest
> day, you don't have to bother with the whole 6, 2 and .7 meter bands. Use
> SSB and scan around 50.125 to 50.225, 144.150 to 155.300 and 432.070 to
> about 432.170. Most activity on 144 and 432 will be centered close to the
> calling frequencies (144.200 and 432.100). On 6 meters, things can get
> interesting if there is any E skip.
>
> Like I said... there is a LOT to learn but this should get you started.
>
> 73
> Steve
> K4GUN/R
>
> On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 9:38 AM, <w1rrd@columbus.rr.com> wrote:
>
> > I'm a newbie to VHF contesting and was wondering where I could read up
on
> > participating in these events. I've got a base 706, so i think I could
> > operate with that. I'm located in Central Ohio so I'm not sure if there
is
> > much activitity in this area. Thanks for any help you can provide.
> >
> > Dick, W1RRD
> > _______________________________________________
> > VHFcontesting mailing list
> > VHFcontesting@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
> >
_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.43/2138 - Release Date: 05/28/09
08:10:00
_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
|