Over the last few years, it had been rumored that this contest was going to be cut from the list of ARRL sponsored events.  The ARRL had a committee review the submitted log numbers and made it a line item for discussion.  I was a member of this committee and heard both sides of the arguments.  Did I want the contest to go?  My opinion was “No Way!” - but if it was going to go, then why not replace it with some other contest of interest?  This is not an article on the subject, but needs to be mentioned.

The Internet had been flooded with all kinds of talk, opinion, speculation and conspiracy theory on the subject.  But really nothing was ever mentioned on how to make it better or how to save it, thus “Rover Mania” concept was thought up to try and help out!

Would “Rover Mania” do it?  Could it be the ticket to saving the UHF Contest?  We may never know, but let me tell you, it was a heck of a good time!

Now, having a bunch of rovers is really not a new concept, but in the Midwest it sure makes a stir for us local contesters!  When Jon – WØZQ and Rich – NØHJZ started publicizing “Rover Mania” in the NLRS area, my ears sure perked up!

The first goal was to just generate activity, which seemed to be the biggest issue with the contest.  The second was to be sure that contest logs got sent in, to prove that activity and generate some big scores.

But how would we generate activity?  Really around here, the number of UHF and microwave stations are not like in other parts of the country.  So the natural answer would be to have a bunch of rovers running around giving out QSOs.  Sure, there were some rovers already in the area, but could we get folks fired up and get some more?

Good publicizing and promotion seem to be the key here and the NLRS folks caught on.  The building and preparation had begun….

The KMØT Plan…..

Well, I was not going to rove, but I was going to do what I could to get ready for “Rover Mania” and help get some other rovers going if I could.  I had a list of items ready to loan, and some other items not even close to make ready for loan.  So, I had to make an assessment of what I had and what needed to be built.  Then I had to figure out who wanted it and who would use the equipment effectively.  Gene – NØDQS/R was already loaded for bear through 24 GHz, and since I had not added any bands recently, there was nothing to work out there.

I first started to think about who would use the dual band 5.7/10 GHz dish I built a few years ago.  The dish had worked flawlessly numerous times while being borrowed out and it would be a shame if it never got used for this event.  I spent some time chatting with Jon, WØAMT/R about him taking it along.  Jon and his co-pilot John NGØR had been doing a bang up job recently thru 3456 MHz and seemed like the natural choice for the dish.

However, after some discussion on the setup and the physical layout of his pickup truck rover, there was no way to transport the dish.  It just would not fit through the back topper door or in the back of the extended cab.  Also, the way the mast was located off the hitch, the tailgate was basically blocked.  Jon thanked me for the offer and I went looking elsewhere.

I also had a spare DB6NT 5.7 and 10 GHz transverter.  Both of these were repaired after I blew them up during the June 2002 contest.  With no time to spare before that contest, I had to get replacements and use those, with the blown ones set aside.  Well, since they were now fixed, I had been using them for testing and loaning out.  Here they were again, ready to go for “Rover Mania”.

Jon, WØZQ was one of the planners for "Rover Mania" and was also building up a good rover from scratch.  Jon was short a band so I offered the 5.7 GHz to him.  Sure, it was only 250 mW, but that’s better than nothing.  Jon liked the idea of having 5.7 and we kicked around a few ideas on how it he was going to integrate it into his plan.

Matt, KFØQ was also building up a new rover.  Matt was a veteran from past contests in the rover category and was excited to build his station on his new truck.  Matt had still not completed his 5 and 10 GHz systems, but had the dishes and wanted to add those bands.  I offered to loan the 10 GHz transverter to him and he was going to get his DEMI 5.7 GHz unit going.

Matt also indicated that Clair – KØNY and his son Jim – KBØTHN might go out as a Father/Son team for the “double wammy”  My gears started turning and I could think of nothing better than them to have the dual band 5.7/10 GHz dish.  Matt posed the question to them and it seemed they were up for the challenge of the high bands.  With that, plans on how to get that setup to them were kicked around.

Getting some gear out….

With that plan, I fit in some spare time to setup and test the 5.7 and 10 GHz transverters.  With simple mounting of SMA relays with SMA Male to Male connectors, the setup was simple.  Tested at 3 watts 144 MHz drive, the 10 GHz unit output was at 300 mW and the 5.7 GHz was putting out 250 mW.  I also made a ¼” Heliax cable for Matt’s 10 GHz transverter so he could mount it just on the backside of the dish.  We thought of ways to mount the thing close to the dish in some type of enclosure.  Well, for 99 cents I got a plastic water pitcher from Wal-Mart and that turned out to be a perfect enclosure to do a temporary installation behind the dish!

I got the 5.7 GHz unit boxed up and UPSed that to WØZQ.  The 10 GHz one for Matt would have to wait for a bit.  It turned out that while I was going up on vacation with my family in the Brainerd Minnesota area, Clair – KØNY was going to be in the area doing some work as a software programmer.  Well, we set it up that I brought the dual band dish for him and his son and the 10 GHz transverter for Matt (along with the water pitcher).  Matt and Clair both live near one another, so this would work out great.  Clair and I met up in the Best Buy parking lot one morning there in Brainerd and made the exchange!

More Ideas Brewing…..

For the last year, I had a DEMI 902 transverter kit sitting in the closet; I just had never got around to building it.  I had all intentions to build it for the experience and to learn a few things in the process.  However, having the 3^rd Harmonic kind of got in the way of hammin – as it should, and the thing was just collecting dust.

Well, Matt – KFØQ knew that I had this thing hanging around and gave me some crap about never building it.  He figured that KBØTHN and KØNY could use it for the contest.  This was a good idea and the little push I needed to get that project going.

On top of that, I had parts for a 24 GHz system lying around.  I had been gathering parts for my tower mounted system, but had not taken them out of the box.  With the two 24 GHz portable systems I had built, I had not needed to get the third going right away.  But now with the contest coming up in a few months, it seemed like time to get that project going.  Sure, it was for my tower eventually, but why not make a quick and dirty “rover” setup with a 17 dB horn for easy pointing?

Well, it seemed there was lots on my plate and none of this got going until well after the June contest, so the scramble began……

Beginning the DEMI 902 Transverter

I looked over all the parts, my god they were all so small!  This is when I realized that turning 40 had really started taking it’s toll.  I could not see the numbers on the parts!  Good thing that DEMI put the chip capacitors and resistors in little vials with the values marked!

I started looking over things carefully and decided to break out the soldering iron.  I took my Weller out and realized that the tip was a bit big, so I got a nice pointed one out.  Well, the big one was stuck in the iron, so I took some pliers and try to turn it.  Well that did not go over well at all, as I heard my nice soldering iron suddenly let loose on the inside as it destroyed itself.  I took it apart and realized that it was toast.  This was also verified by plugging it back in, where it heated for a bit and then just quit.  Down to “Rat-Shack” I went for a soldering iron, boy what a piece of junk, but its all I had.

For about two weeks, I began putting the unit together, posing a few questions to others who had built one before.  I also called Steve at DEMI for some first class advice, which was very helpful.  By the time Central States VHF Society Conference came around in late July, I was about 80% done.

24 GHz Gets a Start….

Since I had built a few units already, I decided to do this one the same way, but mount it all on a flat board with the horn.  That way it could get thrown up on a hood of a car or something.  Most of the time was spent trying to remember how I had built the control board, but after a few nights I had that part up and running.  I did not take as much time as the last few I had built, so the board looked a bit sloppy, but it worked fine.  I then wired up the components with power pole connectors and set it all aside as it was time to go on vacation with the family and also head to the CSVHF Conference in Toronto!

There was a number of late nights spent up to this point, so going to the Central States VHF Society Conference was going to be a bit of a rest….NOT!

The family and I were in central Minnesota visiting my folks for vacation, and we were hitting the cities on the way back, just in time for my wife to drop me at the airport.  Matt – KFØQ met me there and we flew to Toronto together.  The flight went well and gave us ample time to discuss the upcoming UHF plans.  Matt was building a new rover station on his Dodge pickup, and we kicked around various ideas, routes he was thinking of and what the other rovers were thinking of doing.

The conference was a huge success.  Peter – VE3AX and his crew put on a great conference.   The antenna range was great and gave lots to see.  The technical program was very good as well and a lot was learned.  However, my favorite part of the conference was meeting everyone.  Lots of folks I had talked too in the past from the northeast were there, and we got to have some eyeball QSOs.  Here is a picture of Matt – KFØQ, Andy – KØSM, Mark – K2AXX and yours truly on the right.  Oh, Peters wife is in the background too!  As you can see, we were having a good time!

For those of you not familiar with Central State VHF Society, check out the website.  It is a fine organization and does lots to promote the type of operating that we do.  Get involved and join CSVHFS.  You will be glad you did!  Next year the conference (2005) is in Colorado Springs and in 2006, it will be in Minneapolis.

Back to Work!

There was not a lot of time left.  I had to get the 902 transverter going and sent out.  I soldered in the last few components and final wiring.  Then the testing began.  RX voltages looked good and so did the TX side voltages.  I began to measure the LO output and it was pretty low.  A quick call to Steve at DEMI gave me a few clues and with the tweak of a few filters, I managed to get the output right were it needed to be.

Trying to net the LO frequency was a bit more of a trick.  I had the thing on frequency and burnt it in for a few days, all was well with that and power output was 10 watts!  However, after cycling the power on a off a few times, the output dropped down to 5 or 6 watts.  A bit of head scratching led to sending an email off to the reflectors.  Lots of folks came back with good suggestions and it appeared that I had the LO tuned well, but not at max smoke, thus it dropped the final output power down.  A bit a tweaking of the LO frequency got the power back up to spec. and was only off a few KHz from 758 MHz.  This was good enough and I gave it another night of burn in, with lots of power on-off cycles, cool downs and heat-ups.  This got me to a point where I was satisfied with the consistency of the LO and power output.

I had built my first transverter and it worked!  Boy did I learn a lot.  Thanks to everyone for all their input and help.  Steve at DEMI makes a great product and it sure is a learning experience.  For those of you who have not built one, take it upon yourself to give it a try.  If I can do it, anyone can!  The transverter got sent to KØNY and KBØTHN for integration into their rover.  It arrived just a few days before the contest, boy it was close!

Finishing 24 GHz

In between chasing the kids and finishing the 902 transverter, I began wiring up the components for the 24 GHz rover system.  I decided to mount all the components on a flat board to make it go quick.  I got this idea from Walt - WA1HHN as he had sent me a picture of one of his 24 GHz rover systems back when I built the original dish systems.  (See the 24 GHz write-up for details)

This worked out very well and tested good.  2.5 watts output and good receiver noise indicated that it was probably working correctly.  I fired up one of the dish systems and sure enough, they were hearing each other, so all was well!  Now to figure out who would get to use it!

KØSM Visits the Homeland!

Andy, KØSM needed to come home to Lincoln, Nebraska for a short visit.  Andy was supposed to go to a wedding up at his undergrad school, Carelton – in Northfield Minnesota.  It just so happens that it was going to take place during the UHF contest weekend and it just so happened that he was going to be driving right by my place!

Well, we got together over email a few times and started brewing up another plan.  It looked like he would come up Thursday; work on his rover for a few days at my place, then drive up Saturday to the wedding, handing out QSOs on the way.  After the reception, he was going to jump back in the rover and head back, activating a few grids in the middle of the night.

Well, this was a good idea, he just had to get some stuff home through airport security.  He was bringing his 10 GHz parts, amp and IF rig.  The dish was a question.  A few calls were made and Dave, NØKP UPSed a dish to my QTH and it was here when Andy arrived.

Ohhh NO!  What Happened?

I think those were the words I spoke into the phone.  Matt, KFØQ had just called and said that Jim – KBØTHN indicated that the 10 GHz feed on the dual band dish had broke off.  It appeared that the SMA barrel had cracked right at the base where it was soldered to the copper pipe.  The probe was intact and it fit back in nicely, but would need to be somehow fixed.

We discussed the problem for a bit and Matt said he was going to solder it back on, then epoxy the hell out of it.  Really, we had no other choice as the contest was just a few days away.  It appeared that the ¼” Heliax I had connected to it may have strained it a bit and it finally gave away.

A day or so later, Matt – KFØQ and Jim – KBØTHN and Clair – KØNY went out to do a bit of testing.  They gave me a ring and we set up to meet on 432.  We went back and forth for a number of sequences but they never heard me on either band.  I however heard them on 5.7 GHz three different times.  It may have been airplane scatter as the band was in tough shape and it was a long haul to Winona.

With lots of time spent, we decided to call it quits.  We still did not know if the 10 GHz feed was working or not, but I decided to put that out of my mind for now!

Thursday Night…..

Andy – KØSM arrived and we began work right away.  First off he needed to build his 10 GHz system.  We got the dish out from NØKP and started looking over the hardware and mechanical part of it all.  Andy had his tripod and feed, we just needed to start messing around with the ergonomics of the setup.

Once most of the main mechanical portions were built, a call to NØKP verified the focal point of the dish and answered a few other questions.  I had never worked with an offset dish before, so this was all new to me.  Andy kept plugging away as I got other items readied.

I dug my old FT-100D out of my truck and set that up as an IF for 3456 MHz.  I had a transverter and 15 watt amplifier combination all ready to go.  Testing went well and all I had to do was put the looper back together.

In the mean time, I had to tell Andy the bad news.  I had a spare DB6NT 222 MHz transverter and was thinking of putting that on my station, then give him the DEMI that I was using. It had been sitting in the closet for about 6 months, but I had never gotten time to get it setup.  So I figured this was a good time to do it.  However, after hooking it up, it somehow went haywire and would not put out any power.  It was working fine for about a minute, then gave up the ghost.  I had no idea what I had just done, except that I had just broke it!  It had all the same connections as the DEMI as well as drive levels, etc.  So I was quite surprised when everything went south.  So, “No 222 for you!” was the statement of the day to Andy.

Friday – Were Getting Close!

I headed off for work in the morning, all groggy and tired.  It was another late one Thursday night as it had been for many nights before.  Andy showed up for coffee at my office (2 blocks away) and we discussed the day’s plan of attack.  With that, he was off to the hardware store for misc. parts and pieces.  I brought the HT to work and Andy and I were able to sort things out while he was in the store and while I was at work, such a deal!

I got home for lunch and decided to bag the rest of the day.  I began working on his rover rack while he continued the work on the 10 GHz system.  This went well as we were out of each others hair, left to think and contemplate hard decisions, as both of us were working without plans or directions.  This is pretty hard for a guy like me as that is how I'm used to doing it!

Andy came up from the basement a few times and we discussed the layout and progress on both sides.  Things were going well until I ran out of elbows and tees, so off to the store we went!

The chop saw made short work of the PVC pipe and everything glued together nicely.  The new neighbors next door were extremely curious as to what was going on.  Why was I home from work early and disrupting the calm surrounding peace and tranquility?  Well, I had to break em in sometime I guess.  They are good folks as their daughter is just a bit younger than Patricia, so they are running back and forth all the time.

The “Rack” got completed about 3:00 PM and then I needed to start on the 432 antenna.  A quick “Google” search resulted in WA5VJB - Kent Britain’s “Cheap Yagi” design.  (If you’re looking, just type in “Cheap Yagi” and a number of pages will come up with the dimensions and other information.)

I located a suitable piece of wood for the boom (old weather station anemometer support) and got that cut to the correct length.  I Then quickly cut the elements from brass 1/8” welding rod, marked the boom where the holes should be drilled, and within an hour and half I had an 11 element 432 yagi that resonated somewhat where it should!  The VSWR was about 1.7 with some trimming, but we let it go at that and it seemed to be working well!

The rack got installed with a bunch of bungee cords and the antennas installed in the same way.  It was getting late and the neighbors were nice enough to leave on their porch lights for us!  Once the antennas were installed and feedlines run, Andy got the IF rigs and transverters, cables, etc installed.  About 1:00AM we decided that he should run down the road and test the 3456 MHz stuff.  I got down in the shack and he was of course coming in like gangbusters.  All appeared to be working great including the 432 setup.  It was right then that the local law enforcement pulled him over and gave Andy the once over.  This was not a problem however when he told them he was testing some radio stuff with the guy down the street.  The locals pretty much know about the nearby “radio nut” and let Andy go on his way!

Back in the shack, the 10 GHz testing began.  Andy had everything wired with the exception of some SMA jumpers.  I dug through a box of cables and quickly got that portion done.  Power testing resulted in some issues but with some checking of the power supply for his amp and a bit a fixing we were getting 600 mw and all was good.  A quick test and it was time for bed!!

CONTEST DAY – EARLY AM

Well, sleep came and went very quickly.  Hard to sleep when there was a bit more to do.  I turned on my “Ham-IM” system and picked up KFØQ – Matt as he was driving from Winona, Minnesota to start the contest here, then make his way home.  Matt was quickly contacted and indicated that he had a few odds and ends to take care of when he got here.

In addition, the wind picked up that morning and conditions looked like they were going to be downright bad.  I got hold of Gene, NØDQS as he was making his way to EN02/03 for the start of the contest.  The plan was to get the 24 GHz setup and pointed prior to the contest, so as not to waste time.  We planned on getting that lined up about an hour before the contest.  Once I got everything setup, I gave Gene a call to let him know it was going.  Gene indicated he would be there soon and would let me know when he was in position.

Andy rolled out of bed and began to pack up and get ready for the wedding he was going to attend.  The one thing he forgot was a tie, so we had to take time out from the radio readiness portion of the day to have him become visually acceptable, definitely to be the “best dressed rover” in his class!

Matt arrived in good form, but both he and Andy were in need of refueling.  So, kitchen duty took over.  To coin Jim’s Phrase – KØMHC – “Have You Fed a Rover Today!”

Breakfast was done and the phone rang.  Gene – NØDQS called with some bad news.  Apparently, a flock of crows sprang up out of the ditches as he was trucking along and one went through the antenna rack and hit the Yaesu AZ-El rotor dead center.  This broke the mast right below the rotor and the whole mess fell down.  The rotor held the 5.7 and 10 GHz dishes along with a 222 yagi that was mounted above the rotor.  The cables held the dishes off the ground, but the 222 yagi bounced up and down the road as it was basically sandpapered apart.  Gene indicated that he was headed home and would “seeya next contest”.  This was bad news for sure and depression sat in.  I considered jumping from my roof as I removed the 24 GHz dish and tripod, but I didn’t think the 12’ fall would do the job…..

Andy took off for the wedding and I gave Matt a hand at getting the final tweaks done on his rover.  We tested all bands and were good to go.  Matt took off and I got down in the shack for some final tweaks.  I Installed “RoverLog” and got that running with 15 minutes to spare!

UHF CONTEST 2004

The plans that had been submitted on the NLRS reflector for all the rovers showed that they were going to be pretty stacked up the first hour of the contest.  The idea was to get some of the farther away rovers in unique grids first, then get the guys that were going to be spending more time in other grids.  However, I was slated to work NØDQS/R in EN02 and EN03.  After that I was going to reach Rich – NØHJZ/R up in EN05 and EN06.  Since Gene had headed home, I swung the beam up there towards Rich a few minutes before the contest began.

I managed to get hold of Rich, albeit weak, but was able to convey that Gene was no longer on for the contest and that I would try to work him right away, so we stayed on frequency and I got the first grid of EN05, which is a good distance.

I then was able to link up with WØAMT/R – Jon and John (NGØR), in EN21 and Jon – WØZQ/R in EN33.  I also managed to get a few QSOs from Tim – KØPG/R and Pat – K9ILT/R while they were in EN30/EN40, another far out grid.  Matt – KFØQ/R turned up in EN22 for a run, then I got hold of Father-Son team – Clair – KØNY/R and Jim – KBØTHN/R in EN24.  I managed to work Clair and Jim all the way through 10 GHz, so the feed that got broke and repaired by KFØQ was working!  I ended the first couple of hours with finding Rich – NØHJZ/R in EN06.

Those first few hours were critical, and netted about 42 QSOs.  Things slowed down a bit and I was able to swing around and do some searching.  I still missed a few rovers, but I was doing the best I could.  Having these guys all stacked up and waiting was something I was not used to and was kind of nerve wracking!  I spoke of this later to Andy, KØSM and all he could say was “welcome to my world”.  As he has spent quite a bit of time multi-oping out east, and that is a common problem to have, too many rovers and not enough time!

Conditions were downright poor.  Catching Tim and Pat in EN30/EN40 was great, but condix were such that I was lucky to do so, as the copy was bad and we worked only on 222 and 432.   Things were just cool, dry and a bit a breeze.  Fantastic outdoor weather, but bad for UHF!

I then had a 3 grid run with WØAMT/R – EN32, EN31 and EN22.  These guys were doing well and the bands were working good for them up through 3.4 GHz.  EN32 took 3 minutes, EN31 took 3 minutes and EN22 took the same.  After the first grid with them, I was able to remember where their designated rover frequency was and could see them on the band scope of the IC-756 Pro-II IF on the high bands.  This helped immensely as I would have them call and I could tune right to them.

I had lots of rovers in close then, WØZQ/R in EN32 and KFØQ/R in EN12 and EN13, KBØTHN and KØNY in EN13.  This was a pretty crazy period too with lots of activity and also caught NØHJZ/R in EN15 and EN16, some more unique grids!

Right after that, it was time to catch the rovers in more grids as they were really moving along!  WØZQ/R in EN22 and EN23, KFØQ/R in EN23 and KØNY/R – KBØTHN/R in EN14.  This was the first 5 hours of the contest and then the rover activity was slowing up a bit.  I then was able to work my first fixed stations QSOs!  I began running with the guys in EN34 – NØKP- WØAUS - KØCJ – KAØPQW and WØGHZ.  I also caught Gary – WØLJC/R for one QSO on 432.

It was a short lived break, as KBØTHN/R – KØNY/R were ready to run in EN12 and EN22.  I caught Jon – WØZQ/R once again in EN23 to finish up 5.7 GHz, as he was too weak to work before from the farther distance.  He was just running the 250 mw to a horn antenna.  He heard my station from the previous farther distance, but power on his end would not do it.  From closer in, there were no problems.

Terry, NØVJN in EN23 – Sheldon Iowa got caught on 446 FM, so that was good to get some of the locals involved.  Terry also worked Jim and Clair while they were in the area too.

Around 0200 – Rich – NØHJZ/R was caught up in EN03-EN04 and EN13-EN14 and WØZQ/R was now in EN12, just an earshot away.  Jim and Clair were now in EN22 and they were giving the dual band dish a workout!

At 0300 I ran into Bob – K2DRH in EN41 and we worked up through 2.4 GHz with little effort.  Bob runs a top notch station there and with his tower, does a very good job in the SOLP category.  While pointed over that way, I heard Tim and Pat – KØPG/R – K9ILT/R calling from EN42.  We were able again only to work on 222 and 432.  We chatted for a minute about the next upcoming grids to find them in, unfortunately this was the last I was to hear from them.  That really was a bummer, work em in far out grids, but not in closer ones!

Jon – WØZQ/R was in EN13, he was pretty close to my home QTH, no problems there.  Jon asked about how to get to the house, so with a few directions he was on his way.  Colleen and the kids were gone for the weekend, so I told him to just come down into the shack to say Hi!  At 0330 I ran into Andy for the first time – KØSM/R in EN34.  Andy had just got done with the reception at the wedding and was beginning to make his way back.  A few minutes later, Andy got in position and we worked on 3.4 GHz with no problems, the 112 element looper was going great!  I then caught WØAMT/R in EN33, but this time it took 4 minutes!

It was then I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned around and there was Jon – WØZQ/R standing in the shack right behind me!  I nearly jumped out of my skin as I was “in the zone”!  Jon said that he watched me for a minute wondering how he should approach me so as to avoid me freaking out, but it was good for a laugh anyway.

Jon delivered my new NLRS jacket from the club order; it was very nice to have free delivery!  We chatted for a few minutes in the shack as I showed him the gear and the current score, it was looking good!

We then went outside so I could look over the rover setup.  It was done very nicely and compact, very slick setup as Jon had configured all his transverters for PTT via positive keying voltage up the IF cable.  So all he had to do was use a coax switch to change bands.  His 5.7 GHz setup was slick too.  He had a small mini-tripod that when he got to a grid, he would just set it up on the roof of the rover.  When done, it would just get it moved back in.  For 10 GHz, he had his dish and tripod inside the hatchback, but again it was a one minute deal to setup and takedown.  We took a few pictures, shook hands and Jon was on his way to the next grid!

I caught Andy – KØSM/R in EN24 on 432 and 3.4 GHz, along with WØAMT/R in EN23 and EN24.  Also got KØSM/R and WØAMT/R together so they could work, so that worked out well for them.  It was getting late, about 0500 and I picked up a few more in EN34.  Dave – NØKP and I were then able to work on 5.7 and 10 GHz, and Justin K9MU came out of the noise on 432 from EN44, so it appeared that the band was a bit better at this time.  About an hour later I then was able to work Gary – WØGHZ on 5.7 GHz, but nothing was heard on 10 GHz.

Jon – WØZQ/R had made it to EN14 and we ran on all the bands.  KØSM/R was now in EN23, so that went good too.  WØAMT/R had made it to EN34.  We then ran into Dan – NØURW in EN41 and worked on 222 and 432.  I got Andy and Dan together so they could get a few more QSOs. 

It was then I was getting a bit tired.  Andy was going to be here in a few hours, so I told him to wake me up when he got here.  I headed to bed for an hours nap at 0700!  The alarm went off and I was back at it around 0830 UTC.  Just managed to get Jon – WØZQ/R in EN15, it was a close one though as he was ready to leave the grid.

Andy – KØSM/R showed up and we got things rolling for him in the home grid.  He got his 10 GHz dish setup and tested out.  After we were finished, Gary – WØGHZ indicated that there was a good rain cell just west of a direct path for us.  We quickly found each other on 10 GHz rain scatter, which was a good thing since we had tried two other times earlier with no success.  Andy, was hearing Gary, but only about 5x1 signals.  I was receiving Gary about 5x5 to 5x7, so the power difference might have been the problem on Andy’s side, as he was not able to complete the QSO.  Andy got to see his “RainScatter” program in action as it was used to plot the path to the rain cell!

By then, WØZQ/R was in EN24 and EN25, Jon was really cruising along.  The sun was starting to come up and it was time for Andy to head to the grid corners with his equipment and the 24 GHz rover setup.  We worked quickly from the driveway to test the 24 GHz for its virgin QSO, all was well and he headed off.

For the next hour and a half, Andy went to EN12, EN22 and EN23.  I had no idea how the 24 GHz would work with the 17db horn on his end, but with even / odd minute sequencing started with liaison on 432 MHz, I would run up on the roof and start hunting.  After a few minutes, I managed to find him and he was 5x5 to 5x9 depending on the location.  Signals were not particularly good on 24 GHz that morning, but it did not matter, I was just glad that it was working well and the multipliers sure helped!  Andy showed up later after his grid corner expedition and decided to take a nap!

I then followed that up with KØNY/R and KBØTHN/R – Clair and Jim were in EN32 and EN33.  We made it on all the bands except 902 and 1296.  I was hearing them on those bands, but they must have had some equipment issues there.  As they were not hearing me and I was running much higher power than them.

The score at this time was looking very good.  I was at around 280K points, not far away from beating the 2003 Champion – Bill – AA2UK.  So I started calling CQ like a madman on 222 and 432.  I was getting no responses at all for an hour and a half.  Where was WØAMT/R?  I wondered.  I knew their schedule, but lots of calls for them ended up nil.  Also, I was not able to find Jim and Clair, as I knew they were on their way to the EN42/EN43 area.  I pointed in all directions and called, but nothing.

Finally, I got hold of Dave - NØKP.  I explained the situation to him and asked if he would look around up there for a few guys.  He also said that WØAMT/R had headed home, as they were ahead of schedule and had hit all the grids.  I guess taking that hour and half nap messed me up!  I was getting more nervous as the clock was ticking, with no stations to work!

Dave then found Jon, WØZQ/R up in EN35.  I knew Jon was up there, but I had feared the worst that maybe perhaps he had headed home or had equipment problems.  The fear was short lived as we ran the bands both from EN35 and EN34.  He heard me with his little horn on 5.7 GHz, but was too weak to pull out over here.  Dave also hooked me up with Chris, NØUK on 222, so that helped as well.  With those QSOs, I had gone over the top and became much more relaxed as the rest was going to be gravy.  I still had a few hours to go!

Then another surprise, I was calling CQ and heard a weak station calling back.  It was Mel KCØP/R and his wife NØHZO/R.  They were not very strong, but we worked on SSB on 432 and on CW on 1296.  New multipliers from EN45!

I heard Telmer, WØYPT calling from EN43 as well, I picked him up on 222 and 432, always nice to hear Telmer on the band.  Then a few stragglers came along too, KBØOZN, WØLMS, and WØJT.  John – WØJT had planned on roving, but equipment issues had kept him off the road.  However, we were able to make it on 432, 902 and 1296 from his driveway!

Things were getting close to ending and I finally came across Jim and Clair.  At this point, we were not even trying 902 and 1296, so with little time left we quickly got 222 and 432 out of the way in order to get 5.7 and 10 GHz.  We were not able to do 10 GHz from EN42, but I heard them flying all over the place and could never get the VFO on them.  I asked them if the transverter was in the sun and wind, and the response I got was Duh! We are outside….Andy was now up from his nap and in the shack watching the action.  He thought it was pretty neat seeing the guys on the bandscope!

 Without getting into it about what could be done about the drift, they quickly got up to EN43 and managed to get them both on 5.7 and 10 GHz.  The drifting was gone and the signals were pretty good.  Much better than 222 and 432!  The clock ticked off right as we got done and I took off the headphones.  Boy that was a quick 24 hours!

Contest Summary: KMØT SOHP

KMØT CLAIMED SCORE:   349,020 SOHP

Wow!  It turned out really good.  My best score yet.  Wonder what the score had been if Gene - NØDQS/R had not got banged up by the crows!!!

(Note that the score is a bit lower than showed on the NEWS VHF rumored scores site.  As I ran thru the log later on, I had an extra 902 MHz QSO that was not valid and I deleted it for this revised score.  This is the score sent to the ARRL.)

Notice the QSO Points!  10 GHz and 3456 MHz were really up there.  I guess this is a good case for getting those 3456 MHz systems and 40 watt Toshiba amps going!  Its a great band and signals were always strong on 3.4 from all stations who were running the band!!!!