[NLRS] W0ZQ/R ARRL UHF Contest & Rovermania II

[jcplatt1 at mmm.com]

Band   Q's    Grids     Equipment
222       92        15      HR2600/Transverter/120watt brick, 4 ele yagi
432       92        15      FT897/100watt brick, 7 ele yagi
902       40          4      10 watt transverter, 5' loop yagi
1296     55          5      50 watt transverter, 5' loop yagi
2304     32          3      5 watt transverter, 5' loop yagi
3456     33          3      40 watt transverter, 5' loop yagi
5760     18          2      2 watt transveter, 17 dB horn
10g       27          3      6 watt transverer, 22" dish
24g         6          1      2 watt transverter, dish.
Tot      395       51 + 12 grids activated = 63   for  158,382 pts

     QSO Map
EN15 = 29     EN25 = 38    EN35 = 28
EN14 = 24     EN24 = 24    EN34 = 49
EN13 = 28     EN23 = 42    EN33 = 26
EN12 = 29     EN22 = 46    EN32 = 32

     Statistics
698 mile door-to-door
33 unique calls in the log
Only 9 of 395 total Q's were with other rovers, or 2.3%

    Best DX
222    EN15xb to EN74, 544 miles
432    EN12xx to EN41, 278 miles
902    EN12xx to EN41, 278 miles
1296  EN12xx to EN41, 278 miles
2304   EN12xx to EN34gt, 181 miles
3456   EN35aa to EN13vc, 174 miles
5760   EN35aa to EN13vc, 174 miles
10g     EN35aa to EN13vc, 174 miles
24g     EN32ax to EN13vc, 114 miles


First of all, a BIG BIG thanks to all those who followed me around and
worked me or tried to work me.    Its great to hear some friendly voices at
3:00am when you are out in the middle of a very dark soy bean field in
Somewhere, IA.

Last year, using the same route, I scored 168,504 points based on 374 QSOs
and 68 multiplies.    This year I had one new band (24g), made 21 more Q's,
but ended up with 5 less multipliers which resulted in a slightly smaller
score of 158,382.

I can report that the trip was largely uneventful.    No hassles from
anybody (just a couple of friendly stop-bys), all the equipment worked,
nothing broke, no rain, temperatures were very moderate for this time of
year (max temp 76 F), and even the bugs were down compared to last year
(although I learned to turn off the car's dome lights this time!).

The bad news was that conditions, on average, were punk.    Many, if not
nearly all, of my high band QSOs were on weak CW.   The bands that had the
best signal strength was 222, 432 and 10gigs while the middle bands were
tough.    2304, perhaps my weakest band, was a real struggle all contest.
However, there were times on Sat evening through early Sunday morning where
the bands would perk up for a while and that allowed for most of my longer
QSOs.      I had a real nice "rate" from the EN23/EN22 grid line on
Saturday evening from 6:12 to 7:16 pm where I worked 37 Q's from EN41 to
EN50 to EN74 that was a hoot.    My sense was that there was very good
activity from the Badger and Chippewa Valley clubs, thanks guys.

After working KM0T, W0GHZ, N0KP, K0CJ, N0HJZ, I would look for K9CVC and
others that I knew were going to be on, called CQ, and look around for
other rovers.    I welcomed all tail enders and tried hard to work everyone
who I could hear on whatever bands were requested.    My only regret was
not being able to work those who I know were on and who were trying hard to
activate the bands.    I think a part of the problem was that band
conditions were not very good, especially going north (a temperature of 76
degrees and low humidity in IA is a bad predictor for UHF propagation).
At the same time, I recognize that my aggressive schedule of 12 grids in 24
hrs was difficult to follow, but heck, its a contest.       I also regret
not working the other rovers as much as I wanted to ..... part of the issue
was I was zigging when they were zagging, the large distances we were
spread out (no grid circling here ! ), and my aggressive timeline that did
not allow me a lot of time to do more searching.

What did I learn ?    I learned not to store maps in front of the
transverters as when you put then back, you inadvertently hit the ON/OFF
toggle switch and the Q's become much tougher !     I learned to put the
car in PARK before getting out of it as in EN32 I almost put my rovermobile
into a ditch and would have most likely needed the rovermobile recover
vehicle (RRV) to get me out.   I also learned that despite your good
intentions that you can't talk with a flashlight in your mouth.   These are
the things that make us wiser.

So, Rovermania II comes to a close.    Again, thanks to all who showed up,
participated, made some Q's, had some fun, and activated the bands for a
while.    How successful it was will be 1) determined by each of us
individually and 2) by how many logs we can get into the League.    What we
have seen is activity breeds activity and rovers are a powerful tool in
generating activity.     Wasn't working those rovers on the high bands fun
..... those who had a chance to do some 10gig with a rover know what I'm
talking about ...... that would not have happened without the UHF contest
and Rovermania.

Rovermania III ..... its not too early to start to think about it.     I
think W0ZQ/R will be doing something different next year as I have followed
the same route twice.   Some wild ideas include heading up to NW MN, and
eastern ND to do a Rovermania up there .... how about three, four, five,
rovers cruising the Red River Valley ?    Perhaps a reduced route, say six
or eight grids, that allow for more time in each grid.    More power, more
bands, bigger antennas, the ability to rotate your antennas while on the
car, etc, etc, etc.     Set your sites on August 5, 6, 2006, for Rovermania
III.

Please don't forget to send your log in, big or small, one band of 12
bands.

73, Jon
W0ZQ/R