KC9BQA

   8am Thur – 
   Conditions last night were below normal, to put it kindly.  Plenty of overall noise, and poor propagation.  QSB fades were something else.  Several guys were S5-S7, and would then all but drop out within 10-20 seconds.  Really appreciate those who came out to play radio, and I apologize to anyone I might have missed. 
   K8TQK’s list with his 144.252 net:  N8WNA EN82;  KD8FHY, KF8O and K8GDT EN91;  WB8AUK EN80;  VE3VII FN03;  W2UAD FN13;  KD8DJE and W8WG EM89;  KB9RDS EM79;  KY4MRG EM77;  N4PPG EM76;  KI4ROF EM55 and W8BYA EN70. 
  
   I had the 144.240 net last night, and will also take it for May 23 and May 30th.  Expect WB9LYH to be back in June. 
   My list was:  N9OLT EN64;  K9JCZ EN53;  K8GDT EN91;  N8WNA EN82;  W8BYA EN70;  N9NDP EN62;  WB9WOZ and K9CCL EN61;  KB9PSE EN52;  N9NYA EN43;  KA0KYZ EN33;  KG0SJ EN22 and N9KOR EN44. 

   Expect both K8TQK and myself to take the nets again next week.   As usual, we’ll put out another announcement about Tuesday.

   6am Tues –
   Just got email from K8TQK.  Bob says his rotor is fixed so his 144.252 net will be ON Wed. night, from EM89je.  The K8TQK net start time is 0030Z/8:30pm eastern.   Bob’s pattern is to start N, then go clockwise a full 360 over the next hour or so, depending on how much activity there is. 
   I will be taking the 144.240 net for the remainder of May.  WB9LYH expects to be back in June. 
   I am located in EN63ao, 40 miles north of Milwaukee.  The .240 net starts at 0100Z/8pm central.  I do the same pattern as K8TQK — start N, then head clockwise a full 360 over the next 60-90 minutes.  
   Our nets are informal.  Purpose is to help create more activity on less-used portions of 2m.  We always urge all VHF’ers to call their own CQ’s.  Make Wednesdays –heck – make every night more active.  Yes, we enjoy and appreciate you checking in.  But also consider spreading down the band and calling CQ in multiple directions.   What’s better for the health of 144 MHz?  30-40 hams saying hello to a net control for a few minutes or 30-40 hams in different states and grids calling their own CQ’s, ensuring widespread activity?  
   Please change the habit of “just listening”.   If 50 guys all have their rigs tuned to 144.200, “just listening” and nobody calls CQ, how many contacts do you think will get made?   On dead bands, you need more CQ’ing. 

   
    Switching gears… I don’t have a 6m sprint report from Sat. night.  It turned out to be a fun family weekend, what with nice weather and Mother’s Day, plus a lot of May birthdays.   The few reports I saw didn’t mention any openings.  Don’t worry, that 50 MHz E skip will turn on any day now, and be common by June into July.

4pm Thursday –

WB9LYH reports that propagation last night was mostly tough.  Despite this, Mark had a wide variety of DX, including several new all-time checkins.   Some of you must be spreading the word, and we really appreciate that — thank you.
With the flagship 144.240 net coming up on its 4th anniversary, I’m continually amazed at just how many SSB-capable stations are out there on VHF.   If there were a way to get all these stations to call CQ for 15-30 minutes, once or twice a month, the bands would be jumping.   We wouldn’t need nets like ours to increase activity, because hundreds of weak-signal stations would be doing it for themselves.

WB9LYH’s 15 check-ins last night were:  N9OLT EN64;  K8MM EN83;  KC9AZ and K9CCL EN61;  WB8AUK EN80;  KC9CLM EN52;  K9EJ EM59;  N0PB EM39;  W9BBP and WA9BNZ EN40;  KC0WQK EN21;  KA0KYZ EN33 and W0WOI, KG0SJ and WB0YNA all EN22.
I think K9EJ, KC0WQK and W0WOI are all new to this net.  It’s great to get well down into Central IL, get out to the Omaha area, and EN22 has been one of our net hotspots the last 4 years, courtesy of WB0YWW and KG0SJ.  Nice to hear others on from EN22, as well.

I now know the 144.240 net schedule for the rest of May.  You’ll have to put up with me.    WB9LYH will be unavailable, so I pinch-hit when Mark can’t go.   Mark looks forward to getting back behind the mic in June.
I will be taking the 144.240 net on May 16, 23 and 30th.  Same start time of 0100Z/8pm central.   I am 40 miles north of Milwaukee, grid square EN63ao.  I don’t get out quite as far as WB9LYH — on 144 I have a 16-element KLM yagi up 70′, with about 200w out.   I start out looking N, then swing clockwise a full 360, going NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW over the next 60-90 minutes.  If I’m on the air, then I’m also monitoring the ON4KST.com chat.  We use the IARU Region 2 Chat for 144-432 MHz.  By now, nearly 3000 VHF’ers all across the USA and Canada are registered for this free, no BS chat.  It’s available anytime day or night, and is busiest in the mornings, evenings and on weekends.  If you need the 7 simple steps to get registered, visit this post:   http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1072

  Noon Wed. 
  Just got email from K8TQK.  Bob’s rotor has failed and he can’t effectively do the 144.252 net tonight.  So that net is OFF.  Bob says he expects to have a spare installed soon, so plan on his net as usual next Wed. 
  Look for WB9LYH in EN54cl on 144.240 tonight.  Mark starts at 0100Z/8pm central.  Starts NE, then goes E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and N over the next 60-75 minutes. 

   **REMEMBER 6M SPRINT IS THIS SATURDAY EVENING**  More details in the post below.

   The 6m (50 MHz)  Spring Sprint is Sat. night, May 12th.   Tell your ham buddies and let’s have a great turnout.  So many rigs have 50 MHz included nowadays, plus 6 meters is the one VHF band that does offer true DX potential.   Sporadic E skip is the most common way that 6 opens up, and the peak season for sporadic Es starts in May, peaks in June and July and tapers off in August.  (There’s a lot more to it than that, use Google if you want to dig deeper.) 
   The main message is that late spring and summer is the best time of year to be on 6m, and sometimes even stations with modest antennas will work DX all across the USA/Canada/Mexico and into the Caribbean, if the sporadic Es is strong enough.  
  
   The 6m sprint Sat. night runs from 2300Z until 0300Z.  That’s 6-10pm central and 7-11pm eastern.   There should be widespread activity in this sprint, even if the bands don’t open up with DX.   If you have at least a 3 or 5-element beam for 6m, up in the clear, with at least 50-100w out, you should be able to make contacts up to 100-200, maybe 250 miles, just with normal “groundwave” conditions.    Some guys use horizontally-polarized halos, squalos or loops, for omni-directional coverage (with reduced overall range).  Best solution is probably to have a few different antennas for 6 meters. 

    I sure hope to be on Sat. night and I’ll be calling CQ in all directions, just like you should, if you want to make the most contacts.  
    EDIT, EDIT — 4pm Tuesday — Neglected to post the link to the Spring Sprint sponsor’s website.  Everything is here:  http://sites.google.com/site/springvhfupsprints/2012-announcement-rules

    If operating on the SSB portion of 6m is new to you, here’s some good reading.  http://www.smirk.org/opaids.html  Take 5-10 minutes to absorb what is being said there.  6m has long been called The Gentleman’s Band (Ladies are welcome, too.  We lost an outstanding 6m op from California not too long ago.  Anyone who ever worked KB6NAN Dianna in CM87 knows who I’m talking about) 
    My point is that we want newer 6m ops to get the most out of their experience.  Part of that means knowing the rules of the road.  That whole SMIRK website is great.  Enjoy. 
    Another useful aid is a good list of 6m beacons.  Because Six can go from dead to wide open just like that, listening for beacons can give you a heads-up.   http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/50.htm  is a very thorough listing of 6m beacons.  A good list of domestic beacons on 144 MHz and higher bands is http://www.newsvhf.com/beacons2.html   Don’t be surprised if you hear some beacons that aren’t listed, and also if you can’t hear some that you should.  Beacons tend to come and go, and there’s no easy way to update a master database.

   6:30am Tuesday –
   As mentioned at the bottom of the last post, the long-range 2m SSB nets are ON tomorrow night. 
   K8TQK kicks it off with his 144.252 (yes, .252, Bob needs a little room from a local noise source right on .250) net at 0030Z, or 8:30pm eastern.  Location is EM89je, far south-central OH.  K8TQK starts out calling CQ to his north, then steadily moves clockwise (or NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW) over the next hour or so, give or take how many check-ins there are. 
   WB9LYH is on 144.240, starting at 0100Z, or 8pm central.  Location is EN54cl, right in the middle of WI.  WB9LYH starts out looking NE, then steadily moves clockwise over the next hour or so.  
    The purpose of these nets is to stir up more activity on less-used portions of 2m.  The nets are informal, and all licensed amateurs are welcome.  Both our net controls enjoy and encourage DX check-ins.  Draw a 300-500 mile circle around their QTH’s.  That’s their range to stations with decent horizontal yagis up in the clear, with good power – with average conditions.  Warmer weather has been improving band conditions — there was a great opening in the Plains this past weekend.  
    Please help us spread the word in a wide area surround WI and OH about the Wed. nets.  We can’t wait for those nights where 400, 500, 800-mile check-ins become possible.

7:30 pm Thursday

Thunderstorms held off for nearly the entire Midwest until after 9-10pm last night.  Good news for the nets, and for more activity on the bands.
WB9LYH reported that conditions with the 144.240 net were very up and down to the east.   Mark’s 12 check-ins were:  WB0YWW and KG0SJ EN22;  N9OLT EN64;  K8MM EN83;  WA8YUZ EN82;  KD8PA EN72;  KC9CLM EN52;  KY9E and WB9TFH EN53;  KC9VFO EN43;  K0SIX EN35 and W0ANH EN47.

K8TQK’s 144.252 net had 18 check-ins, and lots of different grids were on board.  Nice turnout on a warm spring night.
N8WNA EN82;  NF8O and K8GDT EN91;  W2UAD FN13;  WT8E, W8WG and KC8YJB EM89;  W3BFC FM18;  K4XXX EM97;  W4TMW EM84; N4PPG EM76;  KY4MRG EM77;  WA4ZKO EM78;  W4BAZ EM75;  WA4REE EM65;  KI4ROF EM55;  K4QH EM67 (sounds like K4QH was camping and checked in as a /P) and K8MM EN83.

Next Wed., you can expect K8TQK on 144.252 at 0030/8:30pm eastern, from EM89je and WB9LYH on 144.240 at 0100Z/8pm central, from EN54cl.

    4am Wed. — thunder has awakened me.

    I’ve been hearing about band enhancement for the past few days.   Warmer and more humid air is replacing colder air  and this can be a big help.   Signals in the 200-500 mile range have been strong.   Yesterday morning, a variety of Midwest VHF’ers were reporting that the 144.298 beacon (WD9BGA/B in EN53ba, far SW part of the grid) was way above normal.   Television and FM broadcast band DX’ers have been receiving signals from Indiana to Minnesota and Iowa, for instance.  
    Here’s hoping that the conditions tonight will make for lots of net check-ins across a very wide area.  Remember that both our net controls enjoy DX check-ins and have the stations to take advantage of it.  Help us spread the word in a multi-state area surrounding WI and OH.   Draw a 300-500 mile circle surrounding EN54 and EM89.  That’s your normal range.  With enhancement, that range can double. 

    As mentioned in an April 26th post, we have our rotation set for May.  
   144.252 — K8TQK at 0030Z, or 8:30pm eastern, from EM89je, far south-central OH.   Bob starts out looking N, then goes NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW over the next hour or so, depending on how busy it is.  
    Looking ahead, here’s the 144.240 net control schedule:
    Tonight and May 9th — WB9LYH expects to be available.  Mark starts at 0100Z/8pm central from EN54cl, right in the middle of WI.  His antenna pattern is also NE to start, then clockwise, or E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and N over the next hour or so. 
    May 16th, 23rd and 30th — I will probably need to pinch hit. 
    June — WB9LYH hopes that his work schedule will ease up and he will have lots of time to play radio in June. 

    As always, we update the net control schedules right here on the website.  Pays to check on things every Tuesday or  Wed.

    Weather may be a factor for tonight, mostly for WB9LYH.  There should be plenty of t-storms around WI/IA/MN.   Where the storms aren’t a problem, band conditions may be quite enhanced.  If you can safely get on the air, do it.  Make some CQ’s in various directions; see what’s out there.   Don’t fall into the pattern of using your station once a week just to listen for net control.  Don’t get me wrong –we appreciate and want your check-ins.   But what’s better for the overall health of the bands?  30-40 hams saying hello to one station for a few minutes or 30-40 hams eventually spreading up and down the band, calling their own CQ’s in all directions?

Our ARRL VUAC Central Division Rep. is W9GKA Kevin.  This morning, Kevin sent out email to various reflectors concerning brand-new rule changes for ARRL V/UHF Contests.  What follows is W9GKA’s words.
“  The VUAC has been considering several ideas which flowed from comments received by contesters.  VUAC made various recommendations in January, 2012, which can be found at:
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%2520ARRL/Committee%2520Reports/2012/January/Doc_31.pdf

The ARRL Programs and Services Committee has now approved rule changes for ARRL VHF+ contests effective beginning in January, 2013 for the following:

– to create a Single-Op FM-only category (100 W max, 50/144/222/440 MHz).
– a three-band Single-Op category (100 W PEP on 50 and 144 MHz, 50 W PEP on 432 MHz).

These changes will apply to the January, June and September contests, beginning with the 2013 January VHF Sweepstakes.  A short summary of the rules changes can be found in the ARRL contest update:  http://www.arrl.org/contest-update-issues%3Fissue%3D2012-04-25

Please feel free to provide any feedback you may have on these rules changes and any other items that you feel would contribute to VHF contesting.”  (W9GKA’s email is kkaufhold (at) yahoo (dot) com)

Kevin
W9GKA
VUAC Central Division Representative

A few thoughts from KC9BQA follow…
You will notice that I rarely pass along traffic like this at kc9bqa.com.   After having visited reflectors and ham websites that have plenty of bitching and moaning, I wanted this space to be an irritation-free zone.  Seems that just about any time rules changes get discussed in ham radio contesting, it’s a big headache filled with all sorts of melodrama.  (Which I am perfectly capable of contributing to, if I let myself, LOL)
All I’m saying is that if you have comments, share them with W9GKA.  He’s asked for the feedback.  I have not.

As always, what I ask for is increased participation in any aspect of VHF/UHF ham operation.  Whether it’s a contest, general ragchewing, DX’ing, you name it.   Getting more signals on the air has always been the focus at kc9bqa.com.
Do I think these rule changes will help V/U contesting?  Yes, I think so, and more importantly I hope they do.  For years and years now, we’ve had these HF + V/UHF all-bands-in-one-box rigs that are dying to be used on 6m, 2m, 70cm.  Many who enjoy VHF contesting have been eagerly waiting for an influx of new operators who will try something different.  The SO3B category seems tailor-made for the thousands of hams who have HF + V/UHF rigs.
As for the Single-Op FM-only category, that’s something I’ve tried to promote for years now.  Long-time readers of my emails know I didn’t start this blog until April, 2009.  Prior to that, I worked hard to encourage FM’ers to try a V/UHF contest.  In 2009, we had great success in the southern WI area.  In 2010 and beyond, these FM’ers largely disappeared.  Some of them migrated over to the SSB side, which is what I was hoping would happen anyway.  Either way, I couldn’t keep spending dozens of hours before contests, trying to motivate casual, FM-only contesters.  I can honestly say I’m glad so many gave it a try.
I just hope the shack-on-a-belt hams will realize that to get the most out of a VHF contest experience, you need to move beyond the HT and rubber duck.  Do you need stacked horizontal beams up 100′?  Lord no.  I’d say less than 10% of V/UHF contesters have that type of station.  But to make enough contacts to keep your interest alive, strive for at least 25-100w out, into a good external antenna, fed with lower-loss coax, up as high as you can safely install it.  And yes, we certainly hope you will move forward, improve your station and use horizontally-polarized yagis on SSB/CW.  This way, you will become capable of working DX, even on flat bands, and surely in the occasional band openings.

I would like to thank the VUAC for working toward these new rules.   I know it can be a thankless job.

   8am Thur.
   No time to do a proper job of it right now, but here’s a reminder to myself to promote the busy summer VHF/UHF contest calendar.  Also put up the links to the VHF Contesting School articles.   Plus that’s right, ARRL has just announced two new categories for V/U contesters, starting with the January 2013 contest.  That’s a lot to cover, whew. 

   2012 ARRL Multi-Band Contests (All bands from 50 MHz on up thru 2m, 222, 432, and into the microwaves) are on the weekends of:
   June 8-9
   Sept 8-9
   ARRL UHF Contest (All bands from 222 and 432 MHz on up thru the microwaves)
  Aug. 4-5
   CQ WW VHF  (Fun contest with the bread-and-butter VHF bands of 6m and 2m only)
   July 21-22.   

   Want to know a lot more about V/UHF contesting?   I did, too, when I first got on in the summer of 2003.  It was hard to find this info, so I wrote these articles sharing my experience.  I am constantly amazed that there aren’t hundreds more VHF contesters.  For me, it’s still the single-most exciting time to be on the V/U bands.  
    As I said above, I’ve written a series of articles called VHF Contesting School.  They are thorough.  It may be more than a total newbie will want to read thru.  That’s fine, skim thru the articles, and take what you need.   Don’t worry about every last detail.  You can be a casual contester, and have fun on your terms.   VHF Contesting is much more laid back than on HF.  At least in the Midwest, there’s plenty of room to operate, plus it’s not so much about competition, but more about having fun and enjoying lots of activity.   If you want more contesters on the bands, do what you can to spread the word.   Plus tell those hams with lousy QTH’s to consider becoming rovers or hilltoppers.  
    I firmly believe that if the 700,000 + hams in USA and Canada knew more about what they can *really* do on VHF and UHF, we’d have several thousand new enthusiasts within a year or two.  The key is in spreading the word.   Please remember you are always welcome to share the VHF Contesting School articles with hams everywhere. 

    These links are in order from a basic introduction, to antennas, to what bands and frequencies to use, and so on.  
   http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1677   VHF Contesting School — Introduction.
   http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1689    Antennas – The Most Important Part of Your V/UHF Station.
  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1700    What Bands and Frequencies to Use.
  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1717     How to Log a V/UHF Contest.
  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1727    Helpful Hints — Being a Smarter Operator.
  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1737    Go Roving!   Put the Antennas and Rigs in the Mobile.
  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1740    More Detailed Rover Info.
  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1750    Rules and Scoring. 

    I hope to reorganize this post over the weekend.  For now, it will have to do.