[NLRS] Sept VHF

[Bill Davis]

  I'm having trouble getting excited about our VHF contests any longer, but LOVE to hear guys actually on the bands!! So with considerable foot dragging I operated the Sept VHF "event".
  Very pleasant surprise!  I actually enjoyed the weekend very much up until the football games.  I had few hour blocks that there wasn't at least a few stations to work. That all changed at noon Sunday, dead dead, dead.
  I had 119 QSOs and 53 +/- were rovers (44%)! AC0RA/R, KC0SKM/R, KC0P/R, N0HZO/R, KA0RYT/R, NI0W/R (I think that's complete) are in the log. None were "chip shoots" from EN37ed. Wyatt alone was 32 of the rover QSOs. The headphones were in constant use on 6m and 432 with the rovers, some very weak signals. 

  Conditions were at times pretty darn good, especially Saturday, but very much up and down. Only 1 Es 6m QSO out of the 16 - 6m FT8 contacts. I heard several "locals" working a few 8s , 2s etc but only a couple random Es decodes were observed here. Great fun to see the "local" 6m activity again mostly MN that were seen only on 6m FT8.

  I continue to use my SoftRock based panadapters on the K3 and K3s. Always watching 144.170-144.250, +/- 20khz of 222.100 and 50.313 or 50.125 +/- 20Khz. Can't possibly imagine operating without the panadapters.  

  Best DX was Greg W0LGQ EN21 at 415miles, just nosing out Ron W9ZIH (411miles) on 2m. No LONG haul QSOs on the higher bands since Bob K2DRH has a failed ring rotator that keeps his antennas at 120degrees.
  NOTHING like the "old days", but the best activity / score since 2012 here. It is getting hard to find stations within workable distance above 432 any longer. Sad ....
119 Qs, 59 grid multipliers, claimed score 10,325pts. 

  Thanks to all for the fun!
Bill  K0AWU