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Re: [VHFcontesting] 222 Activity Night

To: "'David Olean'" <k1whs@metrocast.net>, <222Activity@groups.io>, <NEWSVHF@mailman.qth.net>, <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] 222 Activity Night
From: <k3sk@buckwalter.co>
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2021 17:46:46 -0500
List-post: <mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Sorry to hear winter hit at your location.   I'm still hoping it will bypass us 
again here in south central Virginia.     Way back in the last century I was a 
semi-regular subscriber to the 220 Newsletter.    I just trashed a stack of 
them a few months ago.   The ones I received were almost always printed on 
yellow paper.

As far as a "new" newsletter, something online is the best bet.   The 
"@Groups.io" idea is ok but has limitations and would rarely capture new 
operators unless someone passed the info on to them.   I would think a more 
successful track would be a Facebook group/community page.   The admins could 
limit how others participate and contribute and the graphics problem then goes 
away.   There are currently two 220 MHz Facebook groups I follow but most of 
the activity is related to FM and local nets.   Occasionally I catch "real 
time" propagation reporting and band openings from a couple weak signal VHF/UHF 
Facebook pages I follow. 

If you do go forward with the "newsletter" idea, whatever route you decide, I 
would be interested in subscribing.

de K3SK
FM07th 


-----Original Message-----
From: David Olean <k1whs@metrocast.net> 
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2021 9:52 AM
To: 222 >> 222Activity@groups.io <222Activity@groups.io>; 
NEWSVHF@mailman.qth.net; vhfcontesting@contesting.com
Subject: [VHFcontesting] 222 Activity Night


Hello 222 folks,

Well, I picked the right time to bow out of the Tuesday evening activity 
periods. The weather has turned much in favor of winter here,  and there have 
been three ice storms and enough snow to make me realize that winter has 
arrived for good.  Everything is now ice encased and covered in white stuff.  
Temps have plummeted.  To make the trip to  my shack, I need to strap on the 
snow shoes and trudge uphill about 1/2 mile then shovel out the doors to the 
shack, then nurse the diesel generator on and start the heating units to warm 
up the room.  The problem is that when the temps drop to single digits, heating 
up such cold metal items as HV supplies, and transformers will cause water to 
condense on the cold metal. HV arc overs and all sorts of failures can occur. 
It is not smart to try and operate with such conditions.

Just before all the bad weather hit, I climbed the tower to lower the entire H 
frame so that the main mast does not have to support a 300 lb antenna system 
perched 4 ft above the tower top. Now the center of gravity is only about 18" 
up. I think a 2"  high strength steel mast with 1/4" wall will support that! In 
the Spring I can raise it back up with a come along.

What I did not get done was to haul the K3, the transverter, and other 
"delicate" electronics out of the shack.  I really need the vehicle up there to 
haul it all, and I missed that window! Unless we get some significant melting, 
the truck cannot get up there. I might have to rescue them with a sled and 
plastic bags!

It sounds like last Tuesday was a good evening, activity wise, and I hope it 
continues thru the winter months and that I can join in again in the early 
Spring when the temps moderate. In the meantime, I am researching how I can 
keep a 222 station up there with heat.  No heat is very bad as condensation 
will ruin anything in short order. Big tube amps seem to take it if you don't 
turn them on, but delicate circuit boards and teeny weeny coils tend to fare 
much worse.  (Been there...Done that!) I am looking into another propane vented 
heater. The only problem is there is very little room for one in the cramped 
shack!

I have been toying around with a few ideas for 222. One idea involves a new 
meteor scatter antenna. I am hoping to stack a pair of 16 element yagis  one 
over the other on a side arm, to be partially rotatable from SW to NW. I tried 
running two skeds with ND0B in N Dakota during the Geminids, but we did not 
complete. The distance is a bit over 1400 miles. We heard each other but did 
not have enough meteors to complete a contact. The signals were strong but very 
scarce. I suspect my 4 yagi EME array is too sharp. The pair of 16's will be 
over twice as wide in beamwidth, and probably have enough gain to make the 
trip.  I have been re furbing the yagis in my shop, and they are ready to go as 
soon as I can get some decent weather.

I was also thinking about resurrecting the K5FF 220 Activity Newsletter. 
She had a mimeographed newsletter that was mailed out to interested operators.  
It had all the news of what the 220 MHz ops were doing back in the 1980's.  The 
time factor was better than seeing results in the QST VHF column. Today, one of 
the good methods would be to have a website with chronological entries 
maintained so they could be accessed at any time.  I think Stan KA1ZE had a 
similar page for promoting 144 MHz morning activity back a few years ago.  
Another method might be a
222 Activity @Groups.io  type e mail, but graphics would be a bit more 
difficult.   I don't have a website that I can use, but I have a feeling that a 
222 Newsletter in some form would be a good activity builder. It might draw in 
new 222 operators when they see what people are accomplishing on the band. What 
do you think? Is this a good idea, or as K1OR tells me..... "You are NUTS!"

So plan to get on 222 this coming Tuesday evening. All you need is a 222 rig 
and an antenna! I wish I could join you there.

73

Dave K1WHS



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