[AK-VHF] Another run in the books

[Brandon Clark]

Hello group,

That's another successful rover run in the books. This time the route 
went from Anchorage to Homer, covering five grids: BP51, BP41, BP50, 
BP40, and BO49. We were able to get all five grids activated, and came 
up with a new club best for activity: _61_ contacts. January 2020 was 
our previous best, with _41_ contacts.

Total points for the rover station were 1,232. January was 611 - we blew 
the previous best score out of the water!

As expected, BP51 was the busiest grid, with 18 contacts across all 
bands. BP41 (Point Woronzof) was also a good spot, with 16 contacts.  
The Turnagain location in BP50 is still a little bit of a stretch, but 
netted 11 contacts.

The Sterling Hwy location in BP40 is turning out to be the trouble spot: 
I was only able to snag one contact from there. Hills between the road 
and Anchorage block too many stations who would otherwise be in range. 
We need to find a better location to operate from in BP40, and then we 
can get a LOT more points for the club.

Diamond Ridge Road in BO49 turned out to be the surprise strong finish. 
A ton of Homer hams came out to make contacts, netting the club another 
15 contacts. Most of the hams I contacted were just over the hill on the 
bay side of Homer, so without a rover in the area, or going portable 
themselves, they can't join in. That was a great untapped reservoir of 
participation.

All in all a fun weekend was had by everyone. VHF is very much alive and 
well in Alaska! Some photos are up on the club Facebook page.

73,

Brandon Clark

KL7BSC