[NLRS] KF0Q rover report long

[Matt Burt]

Well I promised I would try to get the rover out again and I finally did.  Has
been 5 years since I hit the June test seriously in the rover class.  Have to
admit I was a little rusty with some of the details but it was a great weekend.
 
Had some small problems after I got all the gear in the truck and decided that
it was better to get most of them handled before getting on the road.  (The
golf tournament Friday afternoon really messed up my last minute preparation
but it was fun).  One thing I decided to do prior to this contest was to have
my gear as well as the rover better organized and tested than I did in
Rovermania.  The effort was well worth it but required a bit more prep time
than I had, so I ended up leaving the driveway close to the time I had hoped to
arrive in EN42.

The contest started when I was on the road; ran into Gary, W0GHZ and Glen,
KC0IYT/R right away and decided to test my gear a bit more and hand out some
q’s from EN33 on my way to Iowa.  1296 didn’t seem quite right and 2304 seemed
to have troubles too.  I wiggled a few things around made some contacts and
moved on.  Good news was 10 Gig seemed to work great! Finally got to EN42 about
4:30 and decided to get a great spot to park (was so late already what the
heck....) instead on my usual spot on Neon Rd off HWY 18.  My new spot was east
of HWY 150 and  just N of West Union, IA turned out fine with low amount of
traffic great views in most directions, NO overhead power lines, and a tractor
path running N/S!  Worked quite a few stations even after being late. 
Highlight was probably working Bob, K2YAZ on 3456!

Next spot in EN32 was equally good in fact better than I have used previously. 

Had fun working everyone but man was I tired!  Decided that EN22,23 had to be
omitted from the schedule and headed for home just before 9:00.  Day two went
pretty well.  Good amount of q’s in EN33, a bit less in 34,43,44.  Even with
stopping for lunch at my house  I was right on schedule until late in the
afternoon.  Had to fix the 50Mhz moxon in EN44 otherwise all the gear was fine.
For some reason 1296 seemed fine; not quite as good as in microwave sprint but
functional.  Throughout the whole weekend 902 was incredible!

Band condx were mixed for me.  Didn’t work too much AU as I was /M most of the
time that mode cranked up.  Doesn't necessarily help a rover in between grids
... wish I was home!  Was fun working Jon, W0ZQ from Wi in EN34 on CW at 60 MPH
via AU.  Actually made several contacts while /M on FM, 144, and 222.  Seemed
to take forever to get in EN45, but it was well worth it.  Hearing the band go
completely nuts with AU while driving was bit frustrating!  Finally heard Mike,
KM0T about .5 mi from the EN45 border. 

Once I got into EN45 there were many stations calling but I had to keep moving. 
I was a bit picky about the operating site as I wanted to have successful
contacts on the high bands and attempt a 10Gig sched with Charlie in EN44.  I
am more familiar with EN45  to the east ... the area within the 10 miles of the
45/35 border has eluded me.  Obviously, John, KB9TLV had some great ideas about
what works in EN45; not only did he follow me around all weekend (contacts in
all 8 grids...tnx John!) but suggested a couple of killer spots a bit further
up in the grid.  As time was beginning to run out I noticed (actually drove
past it first) a remote dirt road to the east of HWY 25 just south of Barron. 
This spot had an incredible view of the whole south horizon including the metro
to the SW.  Was able to work Charlie, N0AKC on 902 SSB!  K9MU was loud,
stations to the NW, W and the metro were great! 
 
Really would have liked to stay longer in EN45 but had just enough time to hit
EN35 before the end.  Entered EN35 at 0122Z and found an OK place to stop. 
There was township road with a  tractor path that allowed me to park just N of
HWY 8 a bit east of Turtle Lake. Quite a few stations were around and the time
went by fast.  Didn’t have much luck on the high bands however; would have
really enjoyed getting Bill, K0AWU in the log on 1296 but it was not going to
happen (next time for sure Bill!).  Also attempted Clare, K0CJ on 1296 from HWY
63 on way the home but nothing.  Last minute qso’s at 0230Z with some of the
EN44 bunch from EN35 just south of Turtle Lake including a sweep with Justin,
K9MU really helped the q count!	

Arrived home at 12:00AM (not quite as tired as the night before but close!) just
over 700 miles again.  Tnx to everyone for the qso’s, and patience.  We truly
have a fine bunch of operators in our ranks!

Good stuff:
New 165A battery isolator and dual rover batteries were awesome!
All nine bands worked
Portable 10G setup worked, only 45 seconds to set up 
‘746 pro for IF with beacon keyer was flawless
even mounted low above the roof 144 (4 ele) and 222 (8 ele) were fantastic
902 ....what a killer band!
Nice sweep with N0URW parked along HWY 63 in EN35
WX was great (Sunday weather was unbelievable!)

Not so good:
me, late again at the start
only 8 grids
found the power connector on the 2304 brick loose later Saturday
missed some sweeps with some really patient stations 
missed W9FZ/R completely (where were you Bruce?  Bet you were busy too)

Callsign: KF0Q/R  Club: Northern Lights Radio Society

Band  Q's Mults
 50   29   12
 144  102  20
 222  51   12
 432  63   12
 902  15   4
1296  16   5
2304  1    1
3456  3    2
10368 1    1

281 qso's 471pts X 77m

36,344 score 

Hope to see you on the bands again next month for CQWW VHF test

73,
Matt
KF0Q