[AK-VHF] January VHF Contest

[Brandon Clark]

Hi Ed,

I saw your other email - it looks like the tower repairs and
reconfiguration are going well.

Jason (N4IJB) and I talked over RF a bit today. We are thinking about
doing some Parks on the Air activity during the contest. He is thinking
about running 2 M and 70 cm FM, possibly from a high location to get an
elevation advantage.

I'm still not sure of my plans. I'll definitely have my IC-9700 with a
full suite of antennas. Most likely I'll activate at Indian and one or
two sites in Anchorage. I might start out at Indian for a little bit,
then head to Glen Alps for a second grid square, and then go to Point
Woronzof for a bit. That would be an easy, fun day of operating.

Brandon

Brandon Clark, KL7BSC
https://brandonclarklabs.com/

Sent from Proton Mail mobile

-------- Original Message --------
On Jan 6, 2023, 20:49, Ed Cole wrote:

> Brandon, Good suggestions: On 1/6/2023 4:04 PM, Brandon Clark via ak-vhf wrote: > Hello group, > > I'm thinking forward a few weeks to the January VHF, and I was wondering if anyone had ideas about how to change things up a bit? I had a few ideas: > > - Use digital modes like FT8 and try to do some long distance contacts January is not known for 6m openings via sporadic-E or F2, but I know that FT8 on 50.313 has taken precedence over SSB on 6m contesting in lower-48. There are several AK stations that do 6m FT8, so calling on 50.313 could net some contacts that are hard to make on SSB. I worked NL7B in Fairbanks on 6m meteor scatter with only 80w and a yagi; we tried FT8 but noise was too high over the AK Range. That will also could work for 2m FT8 (144.174 recommended). Note that one should operate in "Contest Mode": In WSJT click on File, then Settings chose General tab and enter your grid in "My Grid" window click on Advanced tab, and check "Special operating activity" then select NA VHF. This will send grid squares vs signal reports. Also, many have acquired the IC-9700 radio that has D-star mode. Turn "MULT" knob until 145.670 and DV is displayed. My tests on D-star with KL7H has shown one or two s-unit improvement over SSB or FM. Most ARRL VHF Contests have used 146.52 for coordinating contacts on 2m and other bands and modes. Probably 80m (3920?) would have good prop for coordination though 80m antennas might be problematic for rovers and portable stations. If cellular is available, making our own "hot spot" to connect to Internet prop loggers is an option (ON4KST Logger is favored by VHFers in lower-48 for skeds). Or even plain old e-mail? Roving can be challenging in winter, but makes for new grids and locations to work. Time is getting short to have things ready for Jan 21/22 (10am - 6:59pm). Details: http://www.arrl.org/january-vhf I am hoping to have new antennas installed by then(?). Modification of my tower boxes coming along: http://www.kl7uw.com/RF_Equipment.htm 73, Ed - KL7UW > - Multiple parks on the air activations, rover-style (POTA RaDAR awards?) > - Other ideas? > > Would anyone else be interested in changing things up a bit this contest? Spotting is allowed, so technically HF could even be used for coordinating contacts at distance. > > Brandon Clark, KL7BSC > https://brandonclarklabs.com/ > > Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/) secure email. > ______________________________________________________________ > ak-vhf mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/ak-vhf > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:ak-vhf at mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >