[NLRS] K0PG and K9ILT Rove next weekend (long)

[ADUHAWK@aol.com]

The family rover station is at it again. We will be at EN50/60/61/51 at the 
outset.  We have been successful reaching beyond 43 degrees from these spots, 
so please look for us right at the outset. We will be at 50.170, 144.170, and 
432.070 pointing north.  The question is in doubt about our 222 and 902 ops 
this time.  The 902 xvrtr wasn't working in the UHF contest, and with Steve's 
backlog at DEM it might not make it back to us in time.  Also, I should have 
picked up the 222 xvrtr at CS, 'cuz I sold the IC 375A.  There was a 
transverter available, but when I called back two days later, it had just 
left the building.  If Steve has enough time, it might make it to me, but I 
was told not to count on it.  So, that will leave ABDE.  We are up to 10 
watts on 1296, so you won't have to lean-in as close to the speaker as in the 
past.

After one hour at the four corners we will take off SW on I57 through EN50 on 
our way to EM69/59.  Look for us there around 3:30 CDT. At 4:15 we will head 
off on the long cross grid trek through EM59 to EM49. We swing into EN40 
around 7:00.  We're pointing north now, and we have had success getting into 
the North Country from here.  We will take a food and fuel break, and be in 
EN41 about 8:15.  We will be running north just west of 90 degrees in western 
Illinois.  Our spot on Terrapin Ridge between Elizabeth, IL and Galena, IL 
around 9:45.  This is a great spot for us.  We do very well northeast into 
MI, the UP and all points in between.  We haven't had as much luck into MN, 
but let's work on that.  Figure EN42 overnight and early in the AM on Sunday. 
 About 11:00 we'll stick our big toe into EN43 near Dodgeville, WI, and then 
head off east across WI.  The road bops in and out of EN52/53.  Next will be 
the EN63 stop in Milwaukee.

Figure about 2:30 CDT.  We then turn south and run through EN62.  Around 
4:00, we should be atop Mt. Trashmore, where we have a great 360 degree shot. 
We can be up there until the golf course people throw us out.  We've been 
hitting 400 mile Qs from there with well equipped stations pretty easily 
lately, so take a look our way.

We'll probably finish up from EN51.  The spot isn't the greatest, but it's 
near home, and we'll be ready!

Differences this time: We got a TS2000X.  I installed the voice keyer today.  
I was never able to get the MFJ to work in the high rf environment of the 
back seat.  RF feedback-a-rama.  Even with about as good a ground as you can 
get in a car!  Anyway, maybe the internal one will work!  If so, we'll be 
CQing all the time.  It gets tiring, so if that part of the fatigue factor is 
gone.  We'll be able to CQ on CW automatically as well.  It's sort of a 
challenge to send anything resembling decent CW at 70 mph in our car, so you 
might notice that improvement.  We'll be running 325 watts on 6 and 2 and 180 
on 432.  We'll have 225 on 222 if we get a transverter and 10 on 1296.  Short 
boom yagi on 2, a bit longer on 222, and pretty good sized on 432.  If we 
have the ten watts on 902, we'll have the M2 on top of the stack.  Six foot 
looper on 1296 and my 1964 6 meter Squalo.  

We really like this contest, and we hope to work lots of you next week.  
Please email if you'd like to sked from anywhere. 73, Tim K0PG/9 and K9ILT 
"Rovaires Extraordinaires"