KC9BQA.com Guestbook Thread. Please Say Hello.
Oct. 15th, 2012
EDIT — Nov. 10th, 2016
I’m sorry that I’ve had this dormant link up for 4 years now. I should maintain things better.
Bottom line — there’s no guestbook here at kc9bqa.com. And I disabled the “comment” feature at least 3 years ago.
When I created this guestbook idea in Oct. 2012, I thought I’d get dozens and dozens of visitors who wanted to sign the guestbook. I was amazed that only 10 ever said “hello”. Then something changed with this website of mine in 2013 and I started getting dozens of spam “comments” per day. I’d be on the computer literally deleting crap every 5-10 minutes. I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I disabled the “comment” feature at kc9bqa.com and that stopped the avalanche of spam.
End of Nov. 10, 2016 edit.
What follows is the rest of my original post from 10/15/12. And again, there’s no guestbook, nor does the comment feature at kc9bqa.com work anymore. My apologies.
Hopefully this thread will keep growing for many weeks to come.
I want visitors to kc9bqa.com to take a minute to say hello, via the “comment” feature at the bottom of this post. Type in your callsign and grid square, at a minimum. Other possible content would include the bands you are on, your rigs and antennas, that sort of thing. I’d like to start some kind of thread/discussion about how we can get more V/U contesters on the air, but honestly, I think I need to make that a separate thread, so let’s wait for me to create that — again in a separate thread.
Since this is the first time I’ve done something like a Guestbook on kc9bqa.com, there’s bound to be a learning curve, but hopefully nothing too serious.
When you submit a comment to kc9bqa.com, an email is automatically sent to me. I then read that email, which contains your comment. As long as you aren’t annoying or profane, or a spammer, I will approve your comment when I can, and it will appear at the bottom of this post. If you have personal comments for me, it’s best to send those directly to my email, and not via the “comment” feature. My email’s good on www.qrz.com.
I know kc9bqa.com gets a few hundred unique visitors each day, and around 2200-2800 each month. So yes, I expect this thread will get very long. That’s fine with me. I hope it will entertain us all, and make us feel more connected. I realize some of you visit from other parts of the USA and/or Canada or overseas countries. Welcome. I’m curious how you heard about the website. If you don’t have a ham license, but have an interest in V/UHF (perhaps a TV/FM/Scanner DX’er or monitor?) that’s fine, too. Go ahead and say hello. EDIT, EDIT, Nov. 10th, 2016. AGAIN, sorry, but the guestbook and comment feature here at kc9bqa.com was disabled in 2013 due to an avalanche of spammers.
October 15th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
CQ 6M 2M 223.5FM 70cm de Vince N9NFB EN53ua “point ur antenna at waukesha county airport”. All M2 antennas, FT-817 feeding a stack of Mirage amps.
I also always enter the ARRL 10M contest as an “honorary almost VHF band”
On very rare occasion I’ll do some HF digital too. I’ve had excellent results doing VHF digital non-meteor/EME modes, that needs more ops pse sked a contact. Family time limits my radio time lately but you’ll occasionally hear me on the air…
October 15th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
EN35ld Just north of St Paul MN. fT 857, TS 700. Not much for antennas on V/UHF but hopefully get something horizontally polarized for 2 and 432 before winter. PropNet on 10 meters is up all the time.
October 15th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
EN62xt (East side of Lake Michigan, and the grid)
I’m trying to be active on 6m and 2m right now. I have the potential to run 70cm with my main rig – TS-B2000 – but I don’t have an antenna for that band yet.
The other rig is an ancient IC-290A which puts out 10W and has a broken encoder or logic board so it will only change the tuned frequency lower – if I overshoot, I have to roll it down to the bottom and through the top of the band to get back down. This is the rig I took the 2011 VHF contest with 2 contacts (single operator portable) and a cheap yagi sitting on top of a 5 foot stepladder in my driveway.
Antennas are an MFJ 3-element beam for 6 meters and I used to have the aforementioned cheap yagi. That antenna recently met it’s demise due to a fall it, and I, took in the front yard. My knee and foot lost some skin, and the cheap yagi now looks like modern art. I was already in process to replace that antenna with a 5 element quad, which I am still working on. I hope to have it done by this Wednesday’s nets.
All of my antennas need to be easily swapped into place due to landlord restrictions. To that end, I attach them to the top of a 16 foot painter’s pole which just barely takes it high enough above the ground to be able to check into the nets. So quick to raise and lower is a priority.
I will be attempting some roving in January; it may be just down the street to EN72at for a few hours, but 2 grids are better than 1, right?
October 16th, 2012 at 11:58 am
I check your site about once a week to see what’s happening. I am active on 2M SSB. I am located about 35 miles West of Kansas City in em28ix.
73, Ted
October 17th, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Hi guys,
First off, thank you everyone for being there. Nothing like an open band and no one around, as 1/2 of the battle is participation.
If you’re new to VHF, Welcome! and please check out the Grid Bandit’s website, as it has a resource page that will save you hundreds of dollars by buying the wrong equipment for weak signal work.
Don’t forget the ON4KST (IARU 144/432 Region 2) chat room that is busy from 2200 utc to 0400 utc daily. Everyone in there is very capable of answering your questions about planning your station out, what amplifier to buy, what antennas really work, or what transceiver has good RX, and about feedline (coax). Sometimes the BS can go rampant, but just because the band is down or not many on. It can get entertaining in there to say the least. You can even just log in to say hello. We use the room for prop checks. That is how I learned I can work EN33 and EM29 so easily, both at over 400 miles on a flat band.
Last, but not least, KC9BQA is like a beacon and a damn good cheerleader on promoting VHF/UHF. I have had the pleasure of working Todd lots, and checking into his net still is a thrill. He has assembled a first class station in a short time and is a very knowledgeable operator. Not to mention the vehicle in which you are reading this, he spends a fair amount of time behind a keyboard making things interesting for us all. My hat is off to you, Todd. Thank you for all you do for the hobby.
As a whole, the entire VHF community is about helping the fellow Ham out. VHF, either you get it or you don’t. It is not everyone’s cup of tea, but the first time you work 500+ miles on tropo, or over 1000 miles on E skip or MS, you’ll be hooked like we all are. I live for long range enhancement of any kind on two meters, and with the minimal station I have, I think I have done pretty well only being on the band a little over a decade. See my QRZ for station details.
Build an antenna or tower. Get some aluminum in the air. Enjoy radio as we have. 73 all. W9WZJ Darin EM69tr
October 18th, 2012 at 2:23 am
How do ? WX3K – FN20HW
Stumbled across this site via the posting on the DXworld 222 propagation logger. I am a newcomer to the 222 weak signal world. I have been a licensed ham for many years but never had the opportunity to do any VHF weak signal work. I bought an old Rochester VHF 222 transverter at a hamfest a couple of years ago and just recently hooked it up. I listened in on the 222 Sprint a number of weeks ago. Heard lots of signal all over the NE here. I have a couple more parts to finish the interface project into my IC756ProIII. I also have a MIRAGE 60 watt linear that I plan to use with the transverter. Looking forward to working some VHF DX to the west of my QTH here. Ohio work be a great thrill to work on 222. CU soon on 222.100 : )
October 18th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Hello to all from EN62BN.
October 19th, 2012 at 2:50 am
I am going to come back and add to this as I have time. Let me just say hello and WELCOME to anyone even considering the VHF & up side of the hobby. I have connected with a great bunch who are always willing to help and share ideas. I echo Darin’s pitch for ON4KST’s valuable chat, and thank Todd for being a great resource and promoter. Have fun….get on with what you have….experiment….build (if your into that)…..ask questions….that’s what it’s all about. Don’t worry if you get a goofy blank stare next time you tell a fellow ham you just worked 400 miles on 2 meters in the middle of February……it’s still fun and a thrill!
73, Terry
December 31st, 2012 at 7:56 pm
KC9UUK EN51lv, about 20 miles south of Rockford, IL. I have an IC-251A at 10 watts. I’m setting up an Arrow 4 element yagi today, so hope to be around for Wed net.
January 9th, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Stop in today like your site hope some day to work you 6 or 2 meter here from south texas 73 de Joe n5sth