[NLRS] K0PG & K9ILT half rove (long)

[ADUHAWK@aol.com]

We were very disappointed to have had our plans changed because of a sudden 
work commitment that cut into our prep and pre-contest travel time. Then, when 
Saturday morning dawned and the Weather Channel predicted awful wx for where 
we wanted to be Sunday we had to change plans again.  Hats off the portable ops 
who put up with howling winds and snow to tough it out.  

We were pleased to find WB9Z right on our run frequency at the open, ready to 
go through the bands.  Our initial stop, atop Nickoll Knoll in EN62 brought 
us 60Qs in short order.  The most interesting part of that stop was that 50% of 
the Qs were from EN52.  It's got to be the most active VHF+ grid within 
hundreds of miles.  It was good to have lots of SMCers on hand right away.  It was 
also cool to see the other local rovers out and about.  Lots of Qs from K9JK/R 
and WB8BZK/R. As others have observed, it seems that there's been an 
explosion in the number of bands available.  So many more stations have ABCD; it's 
really nice!

We left Nickoll Knoll and headed off to Milwaukee.  We ran into a heavy lake 
effect snow in Buffalo Grove, but found ourselves in the sun just a few miles 
to the north.  We rode on up to Milwaukee putting out EN62 and 63 as we went.  
Ken, W9GA was a constant companion along with several other stations who kept 
close tabs on us.  It feels like we have guardian angels on hand.  Along the 
way, we worked K2YAZ in EN74.  It's always nice to get that grid in the log on 
several bands.

We parked right at Lake Michigan on Milwaukee's beautiful front yard.  We 
weren't planning on staying long, but we aimed the car at Michigan, and picked up 
EN70 and EN72 for new ones.  We hopped on the expressway on headed west to 
EN53 for the long trans-grid crossing.  It was getting late, and our hoped for 
ETA of midnight for arriving at home seemed less and less likely.  There was a 
nice rate as we crossed EN53.  We were excited to work KF0Q/P0 in EN44.  The 
signals were not strong so I told Matt that we should wait until we were 
further west to try the other bands.  Famous last words.  We missed Matt on the 
other bands.

We were also excited to hear W0AMT/R in EN24.  His signal strength was good 
but we couldn't hook up. Rats.  Others have said the same thing about us, so I 
feel your pain.

We have a nifty spot north of Dodgeville in EN43 to operate from.  We were 
happy to work K0AWU in EN37 and W9FZ/R on 5 bands from EN33.  As usual, N2BJ, 
WB9Z, W9GA and K2DRH were all there waiting with their big signals.  The 
ever-present N9DG with his high tech setup was with us as soon as we would show up at 
a new spot.

>From there we dropped down into EN42 and made some more Qs as we headed for 
home.  It was really getting late and the Qs started to slow down.  We had nice 
chats as we drove along, and it seemed that every fifth or sixth time we 
punched the CQ button a new station would come along.  We really felt sorry for a 
?B9?B? who called us several times as we were heading south along Interstate 
39.  He kept calling and we would almost get it.  Thanks for trying so hard.  
We think that you were off the back, calling from Wisconsin.

At Interstate 88 we headed east on bored on home through EN51.  We crossed 
into EN61 and made 13 final Qs.  We had just about had it for the day and we 
drove the final mile home.  We have to remove the antennas in order to get into 
the garage and it was sure cold out there taking the tripod off the roof rack.  
We crossed the threshold just before 4:00 AM Sunday and crashed.

Oh, with the bitter wx, we didn't have any gas pump conversations about that 
"contraption" on top of the car.  The only wisecrack we got this time was from 
one of our neighbors.  He saw me putting the final touches on the stack in 
the garage.  He came over and asked if NASA was sending us out to look for the 
Mars Rover!

Our one day outing got us each about 315 Qs with about 60 mults and I would 
guess about 550 points.  Working the whole contest last year brought us 360ish 
QSOs, so had we been able to go out on Sunday, who knows what might have 
happened?


All in all, a mixed bag.  We were delighted with the QSO rate and the 
impression that more stations have more bands.  This can only be good.  The 
shortcomings of our rover are more obvious.  We need to improve the 900 and 1.2G 
antennas.  They will be upgraded for June.  We would like some more suds up there as 
well.  That would make it easier for everybody!  We were disappointed that 
our planned outing had to be cut short.

We want to humbly thank everyone for the support we feel when we are out 
there.  We enjoy the relationships that seem to keep on building with each outing. 
  

See you next time with a brand new show!

73,  Tim and Pat

     


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