[InHam] K9ZF Rover After Action Report (very long!)

Tue Jun 22 17:08:30 EDT 2004

K9ZF/R Rover re-cap

The 2004 ARRL June VHF QSO Party

subtitled: 6 meters, what a rush!

After nearly a year of planning, two weeks before the contest it was clear
that most of my plans were going to have to be scrapped. Seemingly countless
60 to 70 hour weeks at work had left me almost no time to prepare for the
huge Rover trip I was planning. I had no time to:

Build a IF switch to select transverters.

Build a new equipment rack to ergonomically accommodate all the new
equipment.

Assemble and test my 222 yagi.

Configure the new laptop for HamIM.

Configure the new laptop for voice & cw keying.

Try out new logging software and configure the GPS interface.

Order signs to put on the Rover truck.

Make up a pamphlet about Roving for the curious.

Scout sites in new grids.

Test new push up mast and determine antenna placement.

Put everything together for a trial run.

With all of that unfinished work, plus the $2/gal gas prices, I decided to
give up the previously planned 12+ grid marathon route. Giving up on a
personal record setting run, I decided to put together what I could Saturday
morning and do a short, 4 grid "home" route. This would keep the mileage
down to around 200 to help the budget, and keep me close to home in case of
equipment failures.

Murphy strikes, repeatedly.

While putting together the equipment rack, I discovered that I had
overlooked the need for a DC power cord for my new ThinkPad laptop. DOHH! No
computer... Paper logging, no keyers, no score tracking... I wish now that I
had kept my old Dell 386 that I had used for a backup for so many years.
Lesson learned.

I also discovered that my recently acquired DEM 222 transverter now has no
power out. Aarrgghh! It worked the last time I checked it out, but not now.
I discovered that my Heathkit Cantenna is now showing 1.3K ohm instead of 50
ohms... So that's probably what happened to the transverter. Back on the
"needs repaired" shelf until I can get time to troubleshoot it. No 222 for
this contest. That shelf is getting crowded. The transverter, the dummy
load, an old Kenwood TR9130 that shuts down the power supply when connected,
and various other equipment waiting for that round tuit. Well, at least now
I don't have to worry about the 222 yagi or the IF switch box.

I finished putting together the equipment rack without incident and start
converting my Ford Ranger into a rolling radio platform. I had completed
wiring up the rigs, and was about to start on the antennas when a line of
thunderstorms rolled in. I was just beginning to think I would miss much of
the contest, when mother nature put me on a 2 hour delay! But in time the
storms passed, and I finished the antennas, and headed for my first stop in
EM68.

Photo link 1, ready to roll.

Http://www.qsl.net/n9rla/ready.jpg

Finally some good news.

I roll up to my favorite site in EM68wo, a city park at about 900' [for you
mountain folk, that's huge in Indiana]elevation and a good horizon.

Photo link 2, ready to QSO!

Http://www.qsl.net/n9rla/em68wo.jpg

I raise the antennas, turn on the rig, and BAM! 6 meters is hopping! So I
grabbed a notebook, pen, and the mic, and at 23:30z KC5SME is my first QSO.
Only 5.5 hours into the contest! I don't know when the opening started, but
it went on for several hours, and I racked up a long list of EM10's, EM20's,
EM30's, and a few DM xx's, DN xx's, and with a little happy dance, ZF1DC in
EK99!! It was a wild opening, I once worked DM93, then EL29, then FM19, and
within a couple of QSO's I was back to DM62. The new Par Moxon Rectangle
performed very well. I worked most stations on the first call, and received
quite a few "good signal" complements. Although calling CQ didn't seem to
work very well. Probably because my transmit power was dropping pretty fast.
I only brought along one deep cycle battery this time, and my Icom 746
starts cutting back power very fast with dropping supply voltage. After
about the first hour, I was down to around 60 watts out. The 746 really
wants 13.8vdc. By the time your battery is at 13.0vdc, the power has started
dropping. Solving this puzzle will be an issue for future trips. I decided
to stay in EM68 for several hours and put off going to EM78 until morning,
because I really hate to move while 6 meters is open. Understandably,
activity was slim on 2m and 432 as everyone was running 6.

Sunday, day 2.

No hurry here, this is a scaled back, mini-rove. I have no intention of
setting any records. So after a good nights sleep, I head to my favorite
site in EM78bp, a parking lot in national park at 1000' elevation. It's at
great elevation, but surrounded by trees. But with only 6, 2, and 432, this
is usually a great spot for me. So I raise the antennas and make my first
QSO at 12:58z. I run the bands with W8ULC, K4EFD/R, and K9NS, and then
BAMM!! 6 opens again! Not as wide this time, but I think I worked every 6
meter station in Florida! And the highlight of the contest, ZF1DC calls me!!
And soon there after, I pick up T49C as well! 6 meters rules!! All of you
big gun guys keep in mind this was with 2 elements at 20' overtop of my
pickup, and something less than 100 watts. I stayed in EM78 for a few hours.
Longer than I had planned, but hey, 6 was open! Plus I worked more on 2 and
432, so things were going good. After a few hours, it was becoming hard to
find new Florida stations to work, so e-skip or not, it's time to Rove.

It took a couple of hours to get to the next site in EM79bf. No elevation
here, just a shopping center parking lot with annoying rfi in a couple of
directions. And, as luck would have it, no more e-skip. 6 did pop open a few
times long enough for me to pick up K5TR, and W5KFT, but not much else. I
did hear K1TOL for just a moment, but he was gone before I could make the
QSO. On the bright side, with the e-skip gone the local activity had picked
up quite a bit. After about an hour and a half, it was time to move.

For my forth and last grid, I headed up to Brown County state park, and
EM69vd. Fire Tower hill is over 1000' and one of the highest points in the
state. Normally a very good site.

Photo link 3, QRZ DX DE K9ZF/R

http://www.qsl.net/n9rla/em69vd.jpg

There is a ton of other rf equipment up here, but I haven't had any
interference problems on my 3 bands. Unfortunately, still no more e-skip,
and by now it's getting late in the afternoon and QSO's are getting hard to
come by. I spent the next few hours scratching out as many contacts as
possible. Most of the stations ran all 3 of my bands with me. The new amp
and big yagi on 432 has made a huge difference. Although it's now painfully
obvious that my AR40 rotator has some problems. I can't get it to settle in
any given direction, it just rocks band and forth. Which really makes it
tough to find stations on 432. Other than replacing some bearings, I haven't
had much experience working on rotors, but I'm guessing the potentiometer is
bad. Another item for the repair shelf. I'm considering not only replacing
the potentiometer, but also rebuilding the control box to hopefully get
improved pointing accuracy. I hate to spend big bucks on a rotor, when the
AR40 is more than enough, if I can just get it to point where I want it to.
A power supply, a potentiometer, and a meter, hmmm... Anyway, after a few
hours here, another thunderstorm is heading my way. Not wanting to get
caught in a storm on top of the hill, I call it quits and head for home.

Well, here is the summary. This was to be a "scaled back" mini-rove, just
for fun. I didn't even try to set any personal bests, but darn near did
anyway thanks to 6 meters! I can only imagine how things would have gone
with all of the planned accessories, a forth band, and 8 more grids
activated, but hey there is always next year.

A couple more good photos:

http://www.qsl.net/n9rla/dan.jpg

http://www.qsl.net/n9rla/helper.jpg

RoverLog Score Summary, Using new rover rules:

Band QSOs Value QSOPts Mults

50 91 1 91 34

144 49 1 49 15

222 0 2 0 0

432 37 2 74 8

Grids activated: 4

Totals: 177 214 61

Claimed Score: 13054

I hope to be better prepared, and out again in the July CQWW-VHF, and the
September VHF! But now I'm still working on Field Day...

73

Dan

Dan Evans K9ZF
Scottsburg, IN 47170
{EM78}
K9ZF /R no budget Rover
ex-N9RLA
Check out the Rover Resource Page at:
http://www.qsl.net/n9rla
QRP-l #1269
Central States VHF Society
IN-Ham list administrator