[NLRS] KC0P Jan VHF Contest Soapbox

[W0ZQ@aol.com]

Here is Mel's soapbox from the Jan. contest that I cut & pasted per his 
request:

January VHF Contest Comments:
   Equipment ICOM 706 MkIIG for 50, 144, 432 60inch Cushcraft duo beam & 
Dipole for 50.
                      ICOM 1271A for 1296 and 11 element WA5VJB design Yagi, 
10w
                      DEM 144/10368 transverter for 3cm, 10mw and 8dbhorn
                      Above equipment powered from auxillary car battery, not 
hooked to truck
                      charging system.
An hour into the contest, the aux battery would not work even at reduced 
power, I was
25 miles from home and no way to re-charge from truck system. I found Bruce, 
W9FZ/R
in Altura, MN and he loaned me a 27AH battery to power 1296 and 10368. I had 
a Yaesu FT 727R
dual band Handi-Talki / Rubber Duck antenna  that I could power from truck 
system. By selecting
hilltop locations I had a 10 mile range on 146 and 446. Best capability now 
was 40 miles
on 1296. I worked everyone I could hear.

Overnight I added an 12 to 120v inverter powered from the truck system and a 
10amp charger
to try to re-charge the failing car battery. This brought back the 40 mile 
plus range on 50, 144,
and 432MHz. After the contest I replaced the 4 year old battery with a new 
Deep Cycle and it
workes great. Best DX on 10368 was 9 miles to KT8O and W0GHZ. The 10 GHz rig 
was
on the top of a stack in the rider's seat, pointing out the side window. By 
driving the truck in
a circle I could peak the signal as a reflection from the tall buildings in 
downtown Minneapolis.

It seems like I had more fun than the score would indicate. Being a Minnesota 
Rover in January
is a lot of work and frought with danger ! The rover scoring rules should be 
changed to better
reward making DX contacts from remote grids. It is hard to attract some 
attention from 
100 miles away with the antennas only 12 feet off the ground. 


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