[NLRS] W0IS/KC0OIA Rover results

[Richard Clem]

As many of you heard, we suffered an antenna failure early in the contest=

between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities, which really cut down on the numbe=
r of
contacts we made locally.  In fact, we missed a few easy multipliers, suc=
h as
EN35 on 220 and 432.  In any event, we did make repairs and made a fairly=

respectable showing.

Our antenna consisted of PVC pipe as a mast for dipoles.  Unfortunately, =
the
PVC broke at one of the joints, and we had to do emergency repairs.  I'll=
 post
photos this weekend, but we stopped at Home Depot to look for inspiration=
 for
the repairs, and left the store with a toilet plunger and a large roll of=
 duct
tape.  I cut the PVC mast down to about two feet to lessen the wind load =
and
firmly taped it to the plunger.  I plunged this onto the car, and firmly =
duct
taped it to the car top carrier.  =


Although the toilet plunger held quite well, we will probably come up wit=
h a
permanent solution for the next contest (and keep the plunger in the trun=
k,
just in case).  I think I'll stick with the PVC idea, but this time make =
a
pyramid, or at least something to brace up the mast.  This arrangement wi=
ll
also allow a yagi for at least one band to be mounted in the pyramid, whi=
ch
should help us pick up Twin City stations from neighboring grids.

Since most of our QSO's were from Wisconsin and Illinois, we'll probably =
wind
up competing in the Central Division.  Here are the preliminary results,
although I'm sure there are some errors.  I'll sort out our logs this
weekend:

11 Grids activated =


6 meters:  60 QSOs in 14 grids.  The Saturday opening helped out our grid=

count, as we picked up DM67, EM00, EL29, DM37, and DM54.

2 meters:  78 QSOs in 11 grids

220 FM (Thanks to KD5EMB for the loan of the rig!):  15 QSOs (30 points) =
in 6
grids.  Due to the antenna problem, we didn't concentrate enough on the l=
ocal
area.  Unfortunately, we let a few easy multipliers get away, such as EN3=
5 on
220 and 432.

432:  34 QSOs (68 points) in 7 grids.

Law Enforcement Inquiries:  Zero.  We'll try harder next time.

According to my precise calculations, that gives a final score of 236 x 4=
9,
for a grand total of 11,564.  Since some contacts (especially the Eskip o=
n 6)
QSB'ed before 'OIA worked them, her score will be slightly lower.

Since there did appear to be some interest in the toilet plunger mount, I=
 will
post some pics this weekend.

73,
W0IS & KC0OIA