[AK-VHF] So close, yet so far

[Brandon Clark]

Hi Paul,

That scoreboard is pretty enlightening. A lot of hams out there simply 
don't know what is possible at VHF and above. When you see distance 
records like 600 km on microwave bands you realize just how much 
potential is out there.

I think you're on to something with meteor scatter or bouncing signals 
off of peaks. I'm finding that, as a rover, I can cover the Anchorage 
bowl grids pretty well in a day of operating. Next year the trick will 
be to see what I can do with the overnight and next afternoon hours.

One possibility is a second day of roving down into Homer. Continuing 
further north is also a possibility if I can figure out how to reach 
back to Anchorage for contacts. Maybe digital modes on 6 M? I've also 
been giving serious thought to something like portable moonbounce, 
meteor scatter, or something else that might allow reaching out of 
Alaska. In any case, it's still great to work all the guys who are out 
there for the event.

Brandon


On 11/27/18 9:49 AM, Paul Kiesel wrote:
> Way to go, Brandon!
>
> You will get it done... and more. Identify what you
> need to concentrate your attention on. Hint:
> In remote areas and valleys, use meteor scatter
> by reflecting your signal off distant peaks.
> MSK144 mode in WSJTx is very effective in doing
> this. Of course you would have to have a computer
> along with you to use that mode and also the
> the stations you want to contact need to have it, too.
> FT8 is effective if you have continuous propagation
> but weak signals. MSK144 needs only very short
> pieces of signal to get information across. That's
> why it is effective for meteor scatter. Just a
> suggestion.
>
> Keep working at it.
>
> I moderate a Distance Scoreboard for members of the
> Pacific Northwest VHF Society whose member
> area includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho and
> British Columbia. We keep track of distance records
> within our area. You can get an idea of what is possible
> by studying the scoreboard. Look here:
>
> https://www.qsl.net/k7cw/pnwvhfs/distancescoreboard.html .
>
> Meteor scatter contacts can be made at distances as
> short as 200 miles or even less. Maybe you have
> already tried it.
>
> All the best,
>
> Paul, K7CW
> AVG Contest Guy
> --------------------------------------------
> On Mon, 11/26/18, Brandon Clark <kl7bsc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>   Subject: [AK-VHF] So close, yet so far
>   To: "AK VHF+ Group" <ak-vhf at mailman.qth.net>
>   Date: Monday, November 26, 2018, 10:02 PM
>   
>   I finally got around to looking at my QST
>   magazine and saw that the June
>   VHF results are in. I looked up my call
>   and found I managed 550 points. Not
>   bad for my first time ever roving, and
>   especially in a place where "there's
>   no VHF activity up here".
>   
>   The butt kicker though . . . If I had
>   only another 11 points I would have
>   made it into QST for the West Coast
>   Region. (Done that twice before
>   operating SOP.)
>   
>   Eleven points! So close, and yet so
>   far, lol.
>   
>   Brandon
>   
>   Ps: Looking forward to the August
>   contest results. I was able to activate
>   another two grids in that contest, so I
>   think I did better than in June.
>   Fingers crossed.
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