KC9BQA

   4:50pm Thur.

   While I’ve got you here, let’s post info about the Fall VHF Sprints.   
   I almost forgot about them, but saw some chit-chat at the ON4KST.com VHF chat room.  (Talking the IARU Region 2 chat for 144-432 MHz, see this post http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1072 for details on how to register for this free service) 

    The 2014 VHF Fall Sprint schedule:  
  

    This info is at the sponsor’s webpage:  http://svhfs.org/wp/rules-for-2014-vhf-fall-sprints/  

    Please help support the VHF Sprints.  Spread the word to your VHF friends, get on the air, go out roving, let others know about your plans.

   4:30pm Thur.

*WB9LYH will be away next Wed. so the 144.240 net from WI is OFF for Sept. 24*  
    Expect Mark back at 8pm central on Wed., Oct. 1st.    Look toward EN54cl, Central WI. 

   Last night, WB9LYH reported he had a good net with some propagation to the south.  His 15 check-ins included:  W8IO EN63;  N9YK and W8SOL EN71;  K0TPP EM48;  WA9BNZ, WB0SWQ and W9BBP EN40;  N9DG EN53;  K9CCL EN61;  KC9CLM/M EN52,  N0IRS EM29;  WB0YWW and KG0SJ EN22;  W7XU EN13 AND N9CIQ EN44. 
   Nice coverage to the west and southwest.  Always good to see KS, IA and SD on board. 

 
   K8TQK also had a good net this week.  Bob calls the 144.252 net every Monday at 8:30pm eastern from EM89je, south-central OH.  Bob’s antenna pattern is N, then NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW over the next 45-60 minutes.  All licensed hams are welcome.  The net is informal and the goal is to promote more activity on 2m SSB. 
   This week’s list of 20 check-ins — N8WNA EN82;  KC8RRT EN81;  K8KGM and KB8GUE EM89;  W2UAD FN13;  W3IP FM19;  KJ4ZYB FM07;  N1GC EM95;  N4TLL EM87;  W4LES, WA4NJP, W4VAS, W4IMD and N4TWX EM84;  WD4NMV EM85;  WB8IXU EM86;  KA2KQM EM74;  KI4ROF EM55;  and N8XA and WB8ART EM79

6:45pm Thur.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR INFO ABOUT THIS WEEKEND’S VHF CONTEST, LOOK DOWN TO POSTS DATED SEPT 3rd and AUG 27th.   Everything you need is there.

On to this week’s net reports…

WB9LYH said the 144.240 net last night had tough conditions, with wind, noise and storms to the east.  Still, Mark had 9 check-ins:   N8WNA EN82;  KC9CLM EN52;  K9GY EN61;  KA9DVX EN51;  WA9BNZ, W9BBP and WB0WSQ EN40;  AC0RA EN41 and W0ANH EN47.
The 144.240 net is every Wed. at 8pm central/9pm eastern.  WB9LYH’s QTH is EN54cl, Central WI, near WI Rapids.  All licensed hams are welcome.   WB9LYH’s antenna pattern from Central WI is NE, then E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and N over the next 45-60 minutes.  He has 500 watts and stacked 17B2’s from a ridgetop location and loves pushing the propagation limits.  We love our local and semi-local check-ins, but WB9LYH is always ready to push the propagation limits with stations beyond that typical 200-400 mile range.  Please help us spread the word in a very wide area.
** WB9LYH says his schedule looks good for the rest of Sept. **   If something changes, I’ll post it here, but expect the net to be ON for Sept. 17th and 24th and Oct. 1st.
   EDIT, EDIT  4:30 Sept. 18th — Got word from WB9LYH that he will be unable to call the 144.240 net on Sept. 24th.  No net on Sept. 24th. 

K8TQK had 21 check-ins to his 144.252 net back on Monday night:  W8SOL EN71;  KC8RRT EN81;  KC8YJB AND KD8JQ EN91;  VA3HD FN14;  W2UAD FN13;  KB3TNZ FN11;  W3IP FM19;  WB4IXU EM86;  W4LES, W4IMD AND WA4NJP EM84;  N4TLL AND WZ8D EM87;  N8XA AND WB8ART EM79;  KI4ROF EM55;  W9SR EN70;  KB8GUE EM89;  W9CWG EN61 and W8IO EN73
The 144.252 net is every Mon. at 8:30pm central.  K8TQK’s QTH is EM89je, or far south-central OH.   K8TQK also has a very big signal and can easily work stations hundreds of miles away.  His antenna pattern is N, then NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW over the next 45-60 minutes.

There are MANY other fine nets and activity periods all 7 nights of the week, if one knows where and when to look.  Most are on the 144 MHz band (talking SSB, with horizontally polarized antennas), but there are also options for 50, 222 and 432 MHz.
To learn all about your options (with the emphasis on the Great Lakes, Plains and Ohio Valley) visit posts dated Oct 13th, 15th and 17th, 2013 at kc9bqa.com.  It’s all there.  If you notice something is missing or incorrect, please let me know via regular email  (my address is good at qrz.com).  I’ve had to disable the “comment” feature here because of excessive spam.

   4:10pm Tues.

   Beautiful summer day here.  A big low pressure system will be moving in tonight and tomorrow, with plenty of rain, wind and an abrupt change to much colder weather.  Better get outside and enjoy this afternoon.  

   BUT FIRST TWO RADIO TOPICS…
  1)  It’s Tuesday and that means it’s 222 Tuesday.  This is the general USA/Canada activity night on the 1.25m band.  It is not a directed net.  Instead, everyone with 222.100 SSB or 223.500 FM Simplex is encouraged to get on, call CQ, swing the beam in different directions and see who’s out there.  
   There’s no set start time, but most of the activity seems to be centered on the 6-8pm central time frame.  I’d look toward OH and/or MI because there’s usually some 222 activity out that way.  K8TQK in EM89je gets on near 222.100 (SSB)  with a big, big signal.  You can also log into the www.on4kst.com ham chat room (use the IARU Region 2 chat for 144-432 MHz) and monitor things that way. 
   Main thing is to remember to get on for 222 Tuesdays and make some noise.    Plus tell others; spread the word. 

   2)  Just got email from WB9LYH.  Mark is confirming that he will be around tomorrow night at 8pm central to call the 144.240 Wed. net from EN54cl, central WI.   His weather will be a lot colder and blustery, but the thunderstorms should be long gone by tomorrow night.  Please get on if you can, and say hello. 
   WB9LYH also plans to be on for Sept. 16th, 23rd and 30th. 
   More info about the Wed. 144.240 net from WI is right below this post.

   5:30pm Sunday

   Meant to get these reports up a few days earlier — been too nice to be inside.  

   Last Wed. WB9LYH had a very active net, one of the better ones this summer.  Talking about the 144.240 long-range net from Wisconsin, every Wed. at 8pm central/9pm eastern.  
   From EN54cl, Central WI, WB9LYH can get out 300-500 miles to stations with decent (horizontal) yagis up in the clear.  Mark’s antenna pattern is NE to start, then E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and N over the next 45-60 minutes.  All licensed hams are welcome and the net is informal.  Purpose is to increase activity on 2m SSB. 
   Always remember that WB9LYH enjoys pushing the propagation limits so DX is encouraged to listen along and give it a try.  Please help us spread the word in a multi-state region. 

   WB9LYH’s 18 check-ins to the 144.240 Wed. net were:  N8WNA EN82;  KG9QT, KC9WSS, KC9RIO and K9CCL EN61;  W8IO EN63;  W9EWZ EN52;  W8SOL and KC8ZJL EN71;  K9UHF EN53;  K0TPP EM48;  KC9OVD EN41;  W9BBP, WB0SWQ and WA9BNZ EN40;  N0IRS EM29; WB0YWW EN22 and KA8FFM EN56. 

   K8TQK’s net is called at 8:30pm eastern every Monday night, from EM89je, south-central OH.  Bob has a mammoth signal that literally gets out to 20 states and Ontario.  He regularly gets check-ins from as far as 300-500 miles away.  You are always welcome to say hello to K8TQK’s Monday net on 144.252MHz.   His antenna pattern from south-central OH is to first look N, then NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW, over the next 45-60 minutes or so. 

    The 20 check-ins last Monday were:  N8WNA EN82;  VE3CRU FN03;  WB8AUK EN80;  W2UAD FN13;  VA3HD FN14;  KB3TNZ FN11;  WA3EOQ FM09;  W3IP FM19;  WB4IXU EM86;  N4TLL EM87;  WA4NJP EM84;  AC3L/M FN00;  KI4ROF EM55;  KB8GUE EM89;  WB9LYH EN54;  W9CWG, KG9QT and KC9WSS EN61;  K9MRI EN70 and W8SOL EN71. 

    Our Wed. night net history is available here  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=5363  We go back to June 2008 and this post describes how things have unfolded thru the years.

   9:15am Wed. 

   See the post below for WB9LYH’s 144.240 net plans tonight.  

   This post pertains to the ARRL Sept. VHF Contest, which is Sept 13-14.   http://www.arrl.org/september-vhf 

   A full post about the Sept. VHF is dated Aug. 27, 3 posts below this one.  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=7947 
That link also includes my series of articles called VHF Contesting School.  Get this info to hams everywhere.  You have my permission to rebroadcast. 

   ON TO THE TOPIC AT HAND:
   Like he has for years now, W0UC Paul in EN44 has created a Google spreadsheet where those of us in the Midwest/Great Lakes can post our VHF contest plans.  Before I pass the link along (with W0UC’s permission) a few guidelines.  Please read these.  
    1)  I know nothing about a Google spreadsheet.  I’m just the messenger.
   2)  Notice on the lower left that there are tabs for both fixed stations and rovers.  
   3)  We kindly ask that with this sheet, the emphasis remains on WI and nearby states.  We’re NOT trying to create a nationwide sheet.  If you are more than say 300-400 miles from WI, considering doing something similar for your own area.  It would be a big boost to V/UHF contesting if there were similar listings for other parts of the USA and Canada.  
   4)  Please spread the word among your V/UHF buddies in WI and nearby states to list your ARRL August UHF Contest plans here:   http://www.tinyurl.com/SeptVHF2014

   10:30am Tuesday

   Want to confirm what I posted in the Aug. 27th net reports — that WB9LYH EN54cl, Central WI, will call the 144.240 net tomorrow night.  Start time is 8pm central/9pm eastern.  Antenna pattern from EN54cl is first NE, then E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and N over the next 45-60 minutes. 
   All licensed hams are welcome, the net is informal and the purpose is to increase activity on 2m SSB. 

   WB9LYH has a big signal and enjoys pushing the propagation limits.  Mark’s typical range with flat band conditions is east to beyond the Cleveland area, south to southern and central IL, southwest to KS, west to the Dakotas and north to Ontario.  Please help us spread the word to all 2m SSB operators in a multi-state (and Canadian province) area.