[Wswss] 222 MHz SSB activity in San Bernardino/Riverside, CA area

[n6ze at aol.com]

Hello Jim:

I'm part of the mostly silent 222 majority too.

I live in Thousand Oaks, Ventura Co.(DM04ne), CA?and need to mind my "Ps & Qs" with neighbors so only have a long 2m yagi up most of the time. For contests, I put up a modest M>2? 222 yagi some 15 or 20 ft above the ground or use it at a very local hilltop within the city. In all directions, Thousand Oaks is surrounded with mountains & hills. With an FT736 & TE Systems 2212 brick with preamp, I have worked & confirmed 13 grids on 222 MHz. Most grids have been worked from the little hill near me. Best DX is K6QXY (CM88 at 362.6 Mi). I have also worked?stations in CM94,95,97,98 as well as DM03 > DM06 & DM12 > 14. I have worked K6EU (CM86) at the university campus in Santa Cruz, CA?with just 5 watts. During the Sprints & Fall 222 Sprints there is activity and of course there is activity during?the 3 yearly ARRL VHF Contests.?I can usually stir up a bit of 222 FM activity during contests, especially the Sprints because my local RACES/ACS/ARES group has a meeting on 135 Cm FM? each Tuesday evening. A few locals sometimes ragchew on 223.5 FM Simplex, but little other activity is noticed except during VHF test periods. Other comments about good 222 tropo propagation hold true for me also. 222 is a good band, and yagis take up far less space than equivalent arrays on 144 MHz.?The dearth of gear for the 135Cm band is awful because none of the Asian 'rice boxes' have 222 SSB/CW installed, nor are they likely to do so because the 222 band is only available in the Americas. Hans Peters, VE3CRU, (SK) did mods of Microwave Modules MMT28-144 to be CRU28-222s and also made some from scratch as I remember.?During?the January VHF S/S I went solo roving with 6/2/70 but never had a change to stay in one place long enough to fire up on 222. From my home QTH,it quite difficult to work over to Riverside much of the time because of all the hills & mountain ranges.

bt73Pete, N6ZE (DM04ne & CN87tw)??


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