KC9BQA

    Been slacking off on doing this post.   I’m an obsessive, and sometimes I get tied up in trying to figure out the perfect words that will motivate everyone with 2 or 6 meters to get on and contest.   I’m a piece of work, I tell ya…  Anyway,  the contest is less than 9 days away and it’s time to make your plans.    
    The ARRL September VHF QSO Party is next weekend — Sept. 11-12th.   All bands from 50 MHz  up thru the microwaves are in play.   Operate as much or as little as you like.    It starts at 1800Z on Sat., Sept. 11th and runs until 0300Z on Mon., Sept 13th (10pm central Sunday night).   Here’s the official rules link from ARRL:  http://www.arrl.org/september-vhf-qso-party  
     The September contest is a busy one.   If you like active VHF/UHF bands, you’ll like contests.   You do not have to be a big gun or expert to do some contesting.   If only the big guns got on, they’d work each other in a few hours and be bored silly the rest of the time.   V/UHF contesting is way more casual than HF, and more relaxed.   

     I’ve written a series of articles called VHF Contesting School.   They are designed to get you comfortable with calling ”CQ Contest”.   Those articles are at this link:    http://kc9bqa.com/?p=2851    You are free to share those with anyone — the whole idea is to get hundreds of new contesters across the USA and VE-land.

    A good friend and elmer of mine is W9FZ Bruce.    Here’s his well-equpped rover vehicle http://w9fz.com/images/uhfcontestx.jpg   Or look at a different one  http://www.nlrs.org/RoverPlans/2004-08/RoverMania.htm
     W9FZ helped promote activity in and near the Great Plains last September.   He has a website where stations from Manitoba, south thru the Dakotas and clear down to Oklahoma should post their contests plans.   Also talking about as far west as the Front Range of the Rockies and as far East as MN, IA, MO.   Talking both fixed stations and rovers.   Please visit http://www.w9fz.com/midwestmania10/ and take 5 minutes to get acquainted with the website.   Then spread the word to everyone in and near the Plains.   And post your contest plans to the MidwestMania! website.   W9FZ will be out roving, so help him motivate the entire region.
     EDIT:   It now appears very likely that K0HL and WB0OAJ (with others, representing the N0UD club station) will be activating various DN grids in W ND and perhaps W SD.   This is great news for the Sept. contest.   Stay tuned there, and for goodness sake, if there’s any VHF’ers I don’t know of from E MT, E WY or W SD, get involved with MidwestMania! and learn more about how we look your way with our weekly Wed. night nets on 144.230 @0100Z.   We’ll be happy to help you guys connect.

     Another tough grid that will be active is EM87, Eastern KY.   WA9KRT, N0IRS and K9LQZ (I hope my memory is good here) will be putting a very good signal out on multiple bands from a high spot in EM87.   We had good tropo in the Sept. contest last year and they were easily workable.

     EN86, or the farthest eastern part of the U.P. of MI will be active on 6m, 2m and 432 MHz.   KA9RSL from IN and a few friends will be operating from Drummond Island.   They have secured a high spot, and will have a mostly over-water path.   With any luck, they’ll get out 200-400 miles.   Their best band will be 2m, which is good.   It could be some years before anyone other hams put out a V/UHF signal from this grid, so make sure to give the Drummond Island multi-op lots of business.

    Received this email from WB0OAJ yesterday.   Please spread the word — these ND guys are getting on more and more.    The call he’s going to be using will be N0UD/P. 

    “I will be portable in DN85 this weekend I will work 144.200-144.230 at the schedule below unless 6M is open or called off to 70cm.  6M 100w Moxon, 2M 150W short yagi, 70cm 20w short yagi.
    Sat & Sun Sept 4-5  1200z-1400z  0100z-0300z
    Mon Sept 6 1200z-1400z
    May be on at other times, too.  Also work HF.”
  
    N0UD/P   (WB0OAJ)

    We have a 70% chance of storms this afternoon and evening.   So I’m basically calling the net off.   However, if others are not being impacted by lightning around 7:30-8pm central, then by all means get on 146.430 and make a few calls.  

     I realize it’s been 3 weeks in a row now without me on 146.430.   Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.   I enjoy the FM net and it’s been very worthwhile for stirring up activity, as well as attracting more guys to the weak-signal side of VHF/UHF.   I plan on doing the FM net for some time to come.   Wish I could find more DX-type check-ins from Central and Northern WI with my 10 element beam up 75′, but oh well.  
     Remember that WV9E Dave has been doing his net for months now.    His net goes at 8:30pm every Thursday on 146.460 from Onalaska, just north of La Crosse.  He’s been having fun with that.   So almost all of S WI is covered.    Now we also have rumblings that W MI is going to try and start something on Thur. night.   This could get really good.     If there are other general FM simplex activity nets I’m not aware of, let me know.

    Full net details are just below.   I’m typing this at 2315Z and the APRS real-time propagation map is showing promise for tonight.    So let’s get on the bands tonight and enjoy activity and hopefully some DX.   I’ll be in the ON4KST.com chat after about 0030, and we’ll get things cooking.   Remember to use the IARU Region 2 room for 144/432 MHz.

     Both WB9LYH and KA0KYZ are on tomorrow night for the long-range 2m nets.   If either has thunderstorm problems, we’ll advise here, shortly before the nets start.  
    WB9LYH is on 144.240, and starts out looking NE toward the U.P. of MI, then goes slowly clockwise, or to his E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and N.   He typically doesn’t look SW or W until at least 0130-0140.  
    KA0KYZ has been involved for over a month now, and he gives reach to areas that might be beyond WB9LYH’s.   At 0100Z, KA0KYZ looks S, SW, W, NW and N from his good EN33 QTH.   So he’s covering IA, MO, KS, NE, MN and the Dakotas.   Again, KA0KYZ is on 144.230. 

    WB9LYH and KA0KYZ don’t step on each other because 1) they’re 10 kc apart and 2) they aren’t looking toward the same places at the same time.

   Remember the best way to keep track of what all is going on is via the on4kst.com chat.   It’s free, no BS and most folks are registered in less than 10 minutes.   Choose the IARU Region 2 room for 144-432 MHz and visit anytime, but especially on Wed. nights.

    222 Tuesday is ON every Tuesday.   General USA/VE Activity Night for the 222/223 MHz band.   No single focus of activity, and no net control.   222 Tuesdays are as good as you make it.   Most guys have been getting on toward dark.   Swing your beams, call CQ, see who’s out there.  

    If you want more info about 222 Tuesday, visit http://kc9bqa.com/?p=3339   Some helpful hints there.

   Time to get the ball rolling with the next big contest.   The two biggest ones are the June ARRL and the Sept.   There’s already some exciting things going on and we’ll talk about those tomorrow, hopefully.   I’ll shoot a quick link that may motivate some to get on and do more.   
   http://w9fz.com/midwestmania10/  
   And if you want to see how MidwestMania! was done in 2009, visit http://www.w9fz.com/midwestmania09/ 

   Last year, W9FZ (a valued VHF/UHF elmer, great rover and the founder of Badger Contesters) decided he wanted to rove some unusual grids in Sept. to go for his reverse VUCC as a rover.   So since he was going to be in the Great Plains, he created a website and emailed a bunch of guys in his log to stir up more activity.   It worked and states like SD, NE, KS, IA, OK had above average participation.  
   Bruce is doing it again this year, so you Plains guys need to spread the word as widely as possible.   There’s still two weeks to improve antennas, replace bad coax, fix amps, pre-amps, whatever needs doing.    There’s also time to find a few guys who might do a bit of roving.   Doesn’t have to be a full-blown effort.   Even a 2 or 3-band rover can put a few local grids on and perk things up.   Then they just might be hooked for 2011 and beyond.  
   If you’re in the Dakotas south to Oklahoma and west to CO and east to MN, IA and MO, you want to be on board for MidwestMania! 2010.   Spend some time at that link above and then post your plans.

    Check back here tomorrow for expanded info about the contest, plus a link to my series of articles called VHF Contesting School.   A guy takes an hour to read those carefully and they’ll feel confident enough to pick up the mic and call “CQ Contest”.