[NLRS] W0IS and KC0OIA Rover Plans

[Richard Clem]

Here are the rover plans for W0IS and KC0OIA in the June VHF contest.  Si=
nce
we will be operating as a family station, you can work either or both of =
us
for contest credit.  =


As you can see below, we will be starting the contest near St. Cloud, MN.=
  We
will be in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area on Saturday afternoon, and in Ma=
dison
and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Saturday evening.  =


Sunday, we will start in the Chicago area, and will make our main effort =
to
work across Lake Michigan into Michigan and Indiana on Sunday morning.  S=
unday
afternoon and evening, we'll be heading through the Quad Cities and Des
Moines, Iowa, and then back north into Southern Minnesota.  Here's the fu=
ll
schedule (subject to delays, of course):

		Saturday

1:00 Begin contest in EN25 near St. Cloud, MN

1:30 Enter EN35, eastbound on I-94 and I-694

2:45 Enter EN34, then continue eastbound on I-94 toward Wisconsin.  Most =
of
our EN34 activity will be along 694 and 94.

4:15 Enter EN44, continue eastbound through Eau Claire

4:45 Spur North into EN45, then return to freeway and continue East

6:00 Enter EN43.  Continue eastbound on I-90/94

6:30 Enter EN53.  Continue eastbound on I-90/94

7:30 Madison, WI, area.  If activity warrants, we'll possibly continue to=

south of Madison in EN52.  If there is little activity around Madison, we=
'll
wait to activate EN52 until we get to Milwaukee and Chicago.

8:00 re-enter EN53, then eastbound on I-94 toward Milwaukee

9:00 Enter Milwaukee area.  Head for four corners of EN52, EN53, EN62, EN=
63

10:30  In EN62, start south on I-94 to Chicago.  Overnight between Milwau=
kee
and Chicago

		Sunday =


9:00 AM  Willow Hill Golf Course in EN62.  Best opportunity to work acros=
s
Lake Michigan

10:30  Thru Chicago area.  First spur West into EN52.  Then briefly back =
into
EN62 en route to EN61 and EN51.

12:15  In EN51.  Head out of Chicago area, westbound on I-88 toward Quad
Cities.

3:00 Enter EN41, pass through Quad Cities, join westbound I-80

4:15 Enter EN 31, continue westbound on I-80

5:00 Enter Des Moines area.  Continue westbound on I-80 into EN21

6:00  Backtrack to Des Moines, re-enter EN31.  Then northbound on I-35.

7:00  Enter EN32, continue northbound on I-35 through Ames

8:00  Enter EN33, continue northbound on I-35 through Mason City

9:00  Re-enter EN34, continue northbound on I-35 through Owatonna.  Possi=
bly
enter Twin Cities area before end of contest.

10:00 Contest ends.


CW/SSB:  We will be up 30 kHz from the calling frequencies:  144.230, 50.=
155,
432.130.  We will concentrate on calling CQ on these frequencies at :00, =
:15,
:30, and :45 past the hour (starting on 2 meters, then 6, then 432).  =


Away from populated areas, most of our CQ's will probably be using CW.  I=
f you
hear CW on those frequencies, it will probably be us calling CQ DE W0IS/R=
 ENxx
K.  Even if your CW is a bit rusty, feel free to call us back.  We will b=
e QRP
with fixed antennas, so chances are we will be able to hear you better th=
an
you can hear us, and we can probably copy you just fine on SSB.  If you r=
epeat
our exchange (and give yours, of course) correctly, we will reply back wi=
th an
enthusiastic string of RRRRRRR.  Then, KC0OIA will call you and repeat th=
e
process.  The RIT on our rig is a bit of a hassle to use, so don't be
surprised if we QSY slightly when we come back to you.  We should, howeve=
r, be
well within your passband.  Of course, also feel free to call us with CW,=
 at
whatever speed is comfortable for you.

We will be running 5 watts from an FT-817 into dipoles fixed about 10 fee=
t
above ground level.  We made a number of 100+ mile QSO's on 2 meters in
January, and expect to make many more this time on both six and two.  Our=

signal on 432 is more problematic, but we should be able to easily work y=
ou
within 25 miles.  =


We will also monitor the calling frequencies, as well as FM on 52.525 (wi=
th
horizontal antenna) 446.0 (horizontal antenna), and 146.55 (high power,
vertical antenna).  Thanks to the generous loan of a 220 FM handheld from=

Brent, KD5EMB, we will also be looking for nearby QSO's on 223.5.  On 220=
, we
will be running about 1.5 watts into a quarter-wave mag mount, so our mai=
n
goal is simply to activate as many grids as possible on that band.

We'll be posting any last-minute updates to the NLRS reflector.  Also, if=

possible, we'll try out the station this Sunday evening on the NLRS nets.=


73,
Rick W0IS
Yippy KC0OIA