Dan,
6M FM is on the list now. I am sold on using H pol to pull SSBoperators over
to FM. FM contacts arelike gold. Unless someone says the losses are much
morethan I calculate (3dB) I will probably set my antenna's to 45 degrees and
giveit a try. 900 & 1200 are notauthorized for ARRL FM Only category, just 6,
2, 1.25 & 0.70 meters. Bigger is easier now. I was manually raising (easy)
and lowering (frightening)the mast but last month I added a manual, brake
equipped winch which will allowme to put a lot more "iron in the air" safely,
especially in the rainat night. X2 on power for Tx amps. RXamp seems to make a
lot more sense since I have great LOS. I am limited to 100W for FM only so
adding aTX amp is worth only 3 to 5 dB depending on band, but a RX amp might
buy me alot more since I cant work them if I cant hear them. You are spot on
about power consumption. Its a big concern because of fuel needed torecharge.
I dont want to haul around agenerator and invertors. A go
od 100w TXpass through RX amp and more antenna gain is better WRT set up time,
reliability,complexity, weight, fuel etc. Yagi length is limited to about 15
feet ofboom simply because I need to be able toreach the cross arm when
lowered to make mechanical and cable connectionsduring assembly. Falling off a
ladder when alone at a remote location would beinfinitely bad and for single
operator FM only I need to do ALL the work myselfto stay within the rules. I
can make the70cm antenna A LOT bigger and will maximize boom length on the
1.25M Yagi thatI need to build. Agreed, site selectionis all about reaching
population centers. Planned location reaches a 150 mile arc. I managed one QSO
at 164 milesfrom my January location, getting beyond LOS with mountain top
diffraction. The 150 mile arc covers Pittsburg (with onemountain top
diffraction) , southern PA, all of Maryland, DC area, Richmond,most of VA and
into the very edge of North Carolina along with Central & EasternWVa.
Maryland appears to be the closest "contesterrich" area though I had Southern
VA and Northern NC contacts in January. This is definitely fun.
73, John KM4KMU
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Evans <dan.evans@insightbb.com>
To: 'Mike (KA5CVH) Urich' <mike@ka5cvh.com>; 'James Duffey'
<jamesduffey@comcast.net>
Cc: 'VHF Contesting Reflector' <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Sent: Fri, Apr 1, 2016 1:28 pm
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] New to VHF/UHF Contesting: Next Steps
It all depends on your goals for contesting.
Personally, I agree with Mike, Duffey, and the rest. At this point your
best investment would be to pick up an all mode rig and reposition those
yagis. This change alone would likely quadruple the amount of contacts you
will work, with a huge bump in score.
There's nothing wrong with FM only contesting. I generally pick up a dozen
or so contacts every contest on FM. But, even if you disregard the extended
range of SSB and CW, there are still very few FM stations active during
contests. So your return on investment is always going to be limited. I
think if you want to stick to FM only, your best bet would be more bands.
For the June contest, 6 meters is a NECESITY. It's often difficult to find
contacts on the higher bands in June due to everyone working sporadic E on
6. Being within range of large population centers would make bands like 900
Mhz and 1200, helpful as well. After adding more bands, then I would look
at maximizing the size of the yagis. Bigger is better, but in a Rover /
portable setup like yours, you will have to determine how much you can
safely handle. Adding amps would be a good next step, but it also adds a
lot of complexity, most notably a huge increase in the power that must be
supplied. Batteries / generator / and such.
Best of luck, and whatever you choose, have fun!!
73
Dan
--
K9ZF
Secretary, Clark County Amateur Radio Club,
Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Clark County Indiana.
EM78el
The once and future K9ZF /R no budget Rover
***QRP-l #1269
Check out the Rover Resource Page at:
<http://www.qsl.net/n9rla>
List Administrator for: InHam+grid-loc+ham-books
Ask me how to join the Indiana Ham Mailing list!
-----Original Message-----
From: VHFcontesting [mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf
Of Mike (KA5CVH) Urich
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 2:14 PM
To: James Duffey
Cc: VHF Contesting Reflector
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] New to VHF/UHF Contesting: Next Steps
On Thu, Mar 31, 2016 at 12:19 PM, James Duffey <jamesduffey@comcast.net>
wrote:
probably go a long ways towards getting a used DC to daylight rig like
an IC-706MKIIg.
Mike adds
That and used FT-100's, FT-857's & even the postage stamp display
FT-897. All which will get you on 50/144/430 all mode for not much
more than one amp and you have FM too.
--
Mike Urich KA5CVH
http://ka5cvh.com
100 watts and a wire.
_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
_______________________________________________
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
|