[NLRS] K0MHC/R UHF Contest Preliminary Results

[jim.k0mhc]

2005 ARRL August UHF Contest            K0MHC

    ROVER                            MN Section

Grids Activated: 12 (EN25,26,16,15,14,13,12,23,22,11,02,01)

    Operators: K0MHC

    Band   QSOs    QSO pts.    Mults.   Equipment
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    222        42            126           12     150W into 10 element (8')
yagi @ 21'
    432        53            168           17     150W into 15 element (8')
yagi @ 23'
    903        25            150           8         40W into 6' looper @
13'
    1296       23            138           5       30W into 6' looper @ 13'
    2304       13            156           2      15 W into 6' looper @ 13'
    3456       18            216           6     40W into 5' looper @ 13'
    5760       11            132           3     150 MW into 2' dish on
tripod
    10368      11            132           3     150MW into 2' dish on
tripod
    --------------------------------------------
    TOTALS     196           1218         56 + 12 = 68

                          Claimed score = 82,824

The short story is that things went fine until I fell behind my published
schedule due to a l..o..n..g detour on HWY 75.

My original plan to depart on Friday to scout the route and then start in
Nebraska was blown away when I had to spend an extra day fixing my 432
amplifier pre-amp problem. Yes, I could have just turned it Off but then the
receive path losses would have been approx 3 dB (due to internal amplifier
relays, etc.). So, after dissembling my amplifier stack to get at the 432
and 222 amps I added the connections to turn them Off. Then I dusted off my
external pre-amps, build a controller for them and mounted them on the mast
next to the antennas. I don't like the idea of having external pre-amps
while roving but for now it works.
During the process of dissembling/reassembling I found a few other bugs that
needed attention. A power cable pulled out of the fuse block necessitating
partial disassembly again. Everything else seemed to be functioning OK so at
10:30 AM Saturday morning we headed out and started at the North end of the
route near Elbow Lake, MN.

EN25ax - Thanks to W0JT's research we found his location as documented in
the regional rover sites web page
http://reality.sgiweb.org/overby/ham/Rover-Sites/ . Note that we arrived
AHEAD OF TIME and were all set up and ready to roll by 1800 GMT!
Gary, W0GHZ was right there looking for us and along with Bob, W0AUS; Dave,
N0KP and Clair, K0CJ. Glen, KC0IYT/R popped in for the first of many Qs and
we ran the bands with NT0V and KM0T.  I should add that this spot is
immediately at the NW end of the Elbow Lake, MN airport. It turns out that
there was a fly-in that started Saturday noon and the prevailing winds meant
that the landings were all just a few feet over my head. This accounted for
the extremely high audio noise level! Note that a good site for EN15xx is
just South of here.

EN26aa and EN16xa - These sites were chosen as they're just down the road
from each other so that I could leave my 23' mast elevated and just drive
over to the next grid thereby saving considerable take-down and set-up time.

EN15xd - Good site discovery on a "travel at your own risk" road just South
of Appleton, MN. Highest point around but blocked on the North with trees.
Still on time.

EN14ug - Acceptable site North of Lake Benton, MN. Still on time. At about
this time the 222 amplifier started to trip it's over temperature automatic
cutoff whenever I tried to send CW. Turns out that the relatively high
cockpit temperature upper 80's without the air conditioner running caused
the amp to over heat. Resetting the thermal cut out allowed SSB operation
but not CW. As soon as I switched to the external AC generator and AC-DC
power supply for 14 VDC the higher cooling fan speed kept the amp cool
enough.

EN13xa, 12xx, 23aa & 22ax - Average sites around Alton, IA. Fell behind time
due to a long detour on Hwy 75 at Luverne, MN. Too tired to fully elevate
the push-up mast during the night time hours. Thanks to Andy, K0SM/R and
Mike, KM0T for keeping me awake.

EN11ax - Great site except for the high voltage power lines that wiped out
222. Also, my traveling antenna height of 10' 11" was too high while
traveling through the small towns with lots of tree limbs just waiting to
grab at a nearby yagi antennas. Upon arrival at this site I needed to
straighten several elements and re align both the 222 and 432 booms. It was
great to run into both Matt, KA0PQW and Glen, KC0IYT/R again from the
boondocks.

EN02wa - Good site for propagation to the NE. Now with the cockpit
temperature climbing into the 90's the 222 amp was again having thermal cut
out problems on CW so I continued with SSB only. Side of the road operation
sometimes results in the beams pointing upward above the horizon.

EN01wx - Another good site for propagation to the NE as long as you can see
over the corn stocks. Here again my 222 amp was limited to SSB operation.


Upon arrival back home (EN26) at 8:30 PM I noticed that the yagi grabbing
tree limbs had struck again. At least none of the bent elements were broken
off. I don't know how the professional truck drivers do it. I could handly
sit down after 34 hours of sitting in the drivers seat while
driving/operating! During the night I got sick from heat exhaustion.  I
should have brought along some Gatorade, drank more water and tried to avoid
some of the hot temperatures.

HIGHLIGHTS:
- On time start!
- Working many more rovers this time.
- Excellent performance from the 222 and 432  8' yagis when elevated to ~23'
(not as good at ~12')
- Steady 14 VDC bus voltage when operating from the external, portable AC
power generator and AC-DC power supplies.
- Better looper band performance with the DSP added to the IF transceiver.
- Many more 5.7/10 GHz contacts then I thought possible from my QRP (150MW)
transverters.

LOWLIGHTS:
- Having to reverse my planned route at the last minute to fix a amplifier
pre-amp problem.
- Thermal cut outs in my 222 amplifier on CW due to relatively high cockpit
temperatures.
- Getting off schedule half way through the rove.
- Relatively poor propagation from the Nebraska grids.
- Heat exhaustion and sore butt.

CHALLENGES:
- Still have several loose connections to deal with.
- 3456 antenna and transmission line losses.
- Dish band camera tripod doesn't cut it.
- Fuse block access
- Weight reduction program for the 70# push-up mast.


Thanks again to Jon, W0ZQ for all the time and effort towards the promotion,
planning and participation in Rovermania II !

I'll be at the Saturday morning NLRS breakfast if anyone needs QSO
confirmation.

73, Jim
K0MHC/R

"ROVING; SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED!"