[AK-VHF] June VHF Rover Route

[Edward R Cole]

Shannon,

Thanks for sharing your experience as rover.

At 03:07 AM 3/11/2018, Shannon Methe wrote:
>For BP 50, 51, and 41, you’ll do fine with a mag mount.

That is working from within greater 
Anchorage/Valley area.  You are surrounded by the 
majority of hams in Alaska (30%  pop of  AK 
implies 30% of the hams  in AK; a radius of about 
60-miles most of which is in BP51.  Definitely 
where you score the most contacts.  I would say 
75% of the hams on VHF in this area do not have 
capability of working anyone outside that area 
(based on many years of operating on the Kenai 
Peninsula approx 60-75 MI south of them).  I 
generally hear them better than they hear me (I 
run four yagis with preamps on 2m and 150w, while 
so many in Anchorage only have a vertical and 
10-25w FM rig.  The BIG SECRET is using low-noise 
preamps (it will be like adding 10-dB gain to 
your antenna in receive).  This usually means 
getting a switchable preamp that bypasses RF in 
transmit; otherwise you will need coax relays to 
do that.  A big plus is either radios with 
separate RX ant or transverters with sep Rx 
ant.  Eventually something you will need to 
consider if adding ext high power Tx amps.  I 
just installed a 100w 432 amp which had internal 
bypass relays.  I removed the bypass coax jumper 
and inserted my preamp there.  Something you can 
consider if getting ext. power amps that allow 
receiving thru the amp.  But one caution is that 
you need to key the amp from the radio and not 
rely on RF sensed switching. Momentary RF into a 
preamp will kill it - every time!

Outside this circle the VHF ham pop drops 
precipitously.  4-5 hams on 2m SSB on western 
Peninsula.  Working Seward will require a 
home-based big station and lots of patience or a 
super high location (best is Chugach SP parking 
lot (trail access to flat top) at 2200-feet and a 
good look south).  I can visually see that area 
from top of my 50-foot towers. 60 miles to the 
south.  Diamond Ridge Road (1100 foot elevation) 
had good views to north about 150 miles to 
Anch.  There probably are looks to south if 
trying to work Kodiak Island.  But there is a 
visitor overlook pull-out near top of hwy going 
into Homer with super view south and SW.  Also 
easy to work Homer hams from about 10-miles away.

>  Up on flat top, you’ll hit the peninsula 
> with a mag mount on 2, 70, and 1.25. with 25 w and up.

Serious climb carrying your gear; no road access.

>  However, you’ll get a better signal using yagis on a portable mast.

Much easier to accomplish parked with vehicle in 
the parking lot.  Road access is up "Toilsome 
Road" - about 11% grade on gravel; very hazardous 
in winter.  My former employer had a repeater in 
the Glenn Alps subdivision that is half-mile 
beyond Chugach SP parking lot, so I am personally 
acquainted with that road.  Definitely lower gears coming down hill at 10mph.

>  On 6m, a yagi is pretty much a requirement to 
> hit the peninsula from flat top with less than 
> 100 w. From BP42 (Talkeetna) and points north, 
> you can get to Anchorage on 2m w 50 w from a 
> lot of places, but you’re going to need a 
> yogi for everything else. In the past, on rover 
> trips like this, I’ve used a bud dipole mast 
> with a tripod that gets my home made, 2 el 6m 
> yagi up about 10 ft. then I attach smaller 
> yagis all the way down the mast. Run your 6m 
> horiz polarized and everything else vertical. 
> While there are a few folks, ED KL7UW being one 
> of them, who run horiz polarized 2 m antenna, 
> the vast majority of folks up here run their 
> vhf antenna vertical, whether at home or mobile.

I only have Hpol/Vpol switchable array on 
2m.  Everything else is Vpol except my 6m 
antennas which are Hpol and only used in SSB part 
of the band.  Best to just have your rover 
antennas set up for vertical.  Easiest is a 
vertical mast with cross booms to mount antenna 
on - very different than how its done in lower-48 
using Hpol antenna stacks.  I've used a small 
three foot TV tripod and mast.  If you mount the 
tripod to a plywood base make one side extend 
enough that you can put one wheel of your vehicle 
onto the plywood to hold everything 
upright.  Prepare for significant windy conditions at high altitudes.

Definitely need a lot of promotion before making 
a roving trip to get home stations excited to 
make contacts; this is needed before contests as 
well. I have been promoting VHF+ operating for 
over 40-years here in AK; still hard to stir up 
activity.  A rover DOES do that. if the ham pop is aware in advance.

Things I will be doing this spring and fall (gone 
on extended trip July/August):
dual-6 element 6m yagi array at 35-foot with 1000w amp (ETA June); 600w SSB
new solid state 1200w linear for 2m which will 
permit running SSB at 600w (eta fall)
10-GHz 1w CW beacon (Hpol) with selectable 7-dB 
omni or 17-dB horn (45w EIRP) pointed toward Anch 
(eta fall) at 48-foot level of one of my towers.
http://www.kl7uw.com/Beacon.htm

I currently have:
*6m: 80w to 3-element yagi fixed pointed SE to 
work lower-48; no 6m antennas for working north (at present)
*2m: 150w to four 10-element H/V yagiis with 
21-dB gain at 52-feet, or 25w to 10-dB vertical omni
223.50 FM: 30w/130w to two 11-element yagis at 60-foot
*432 100w to 18-element yagi (16-dB gain) at 54-feet
*927.50 FM: 50w to 33-element loop-yagi (18-dB gain) at 50-foot
*1296 50w to 45-element loop-yagi (20-dB gain) at 50-foot
*have low-noise preamps

Best chances are 2m-222-70cm for rovers; 6m & 900+ get much harder

73, Ed
Sorry this kind of turned into a tutorial thesis


73, Ed - KL7UW
   http://www.kl7uw.com
Dubus-NA Business mail:
   dubususa at gmail.com