Hello VHFers
I have been very busy dealing with the aftermath of an auto wreck. I was
rear ended by a distracted driver. My car was totaled, but only because
the insurance company applied a very low value to my vehicle. They
value the car at about 8X what I paid for new tires on it last month.
They will not budge in their valuation. So I have been new car shopping
and insurance claiming. Not a very "fun" week. On the other hand, this
Tuesday promises to be quite an interesting evening. Not only is it 222
activity night, but the Moon is also very close to Earth and in a quiet
part of the sky. The Moon will rise in the evening during 222 Activity
Night. I am going to try to work WA3EOQ on his Moonrise on Tuesday
night. (It is actually Wednesday GMT time.) My Moonrise is at 00:30 UT
or 8:30 PM and Howard, WA3EOQ should start to see the Moon at around
01:00 so I will start calling him then. Mode will be Q65B-60 seconds.
Frequency will be near 222.080 plus or minus any birdies. We will use
the HB9Q Chat page. I will also be on ON4KST (144/432 Region 2) as
well. Another interesting thing is that after trying with WA3EOQ, I
will be running with W0VB in Wyoming. He has a single long yagi and one
of the Larcan 1500 watt amps running. His Moonrise is at about 02:50 UT.
I will be running with W0VB this evening ( Monday night) as well. The
sked time is 02:25 UT this evening on 222,080 +/- birdies. In honor of
the skeds, I climbed the 222 tower and installed my FB cavity preamp
from Tommy WD5AGO. It is working just fine and the 5 dB of noise I had
to the SW is now gone. Yay!!! I was also having aproblem with the
temporary preamp I had installed, as it would quit occasionally as I
turned the rotator. Whern I got up on the yower and was standing on the
top plate next to the preamp box, I saw that the amphenol MS plug that
powered the preamp box was loose and not tightened at all. I had
forgotten that step when I swapped things out over a month ago. No
wonder the preamp was dropping out.
I have been contacted by the 222 MHz Activity Committee and they have
expressed displeasure with our illustrious VHF friend and accomplice,
WZ1V. It seems that Ron called me shortly before 01:00 UT and told me
that I would be his last contact of the night. I felt honored, but then
WA1T showed up and GB Ron WZ1V dropped me like left over Spam and worked
WA1T for his revised last QSO. Then Ron tried to work K2AEP a few
minutes later at 01:02 UT. Then followed with VE3KG a few minutes after
that. He managed to work K2AEP for another "Last Contact". and finally
left the building just before 01:30 UT. There seemed to be a whole
bunch of "last QSOs." For this lapse in protocol on GB Ron's part, the
222 Activity Committee is deciding on an appropriate penalty for Good
Buddy Ron. I have been advised that they may require WZ1V to remove
October Mountain in Western Massachusetts as it is an impediment for
working W1AUV and WA1RKS. I am sure that those two hams would be in
favor of the removal of October Mountain. I am not sure how Ron feels.
We will have to wait for a final decision.
So remember to get on 222 MHz on Tuesday night. The weather promises to
be rather calm and the following days after Tuesday night promise to be
rather spectacular. Not sure about any tropo, but we will all find out!
73
Dave K1WHS
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