August 2000 ARRL UHF

Bdale's Report

My big last-minute burst of energy was getting the system integration of the Down East 2304 transverter finished. I've had it put together for quite a while, but two items were pending. First, the 1W GaAsFET power amplifier wasn't working, leaving me with only 20 milliwatts or so. Second, the kit does not include T/R switching on the antenna side... that's left as an exercise for the builder. I had stalled on both issues.

Somewhere along the line I decided to punt worrying about the power amp, and just see what I could do with the low-level output. So, that left me with the T/R switching. I had acquired some Transco SMA relays, but they needed 28VDC. To make a very long story (that finally ended at 4:30am on the contest morning) much much shorter, I ended up designing and building a switcher to make 28V from nominal 12 using some Linear Technologies parts I had samples of in my pile of parts, and then swiped the relay from the unassembled 3456 transverter kit's IF switch board to switch it on PTT. It all works wonderfully.

Somewhere on the Down East Microwave web site, I read about a new board they've designed to replace the older PINK board, that provides the 28V power supply to switch relays like this. I'll probably invest in one for the 3456 kit, and see how it works out.

John was getting ready to head to Venezuela on business. Steve showed up at about 9am on Saturday morning, and we started putting things together. I was dragging from the lack of sleep, so we were running a bit late by the time we headed out. One change from previous roves is that I had the back seat out of the Trooper, and instead of putting it back in, we decided to just put the radios inside the rear door, and cross our fingers for good weather. The last time we ran that way was the first time we went out, in September of 1998. It turned out to be a good choice...

After a quick stop at the Safeway in Falcon to snag some lunch materials, we were in DM89 at our usual spot somewhere around 1pm local, an hour into the contest. From there, we dropped south into DM88, and then called it a day in time to get home for late dinner. Steve called Sunday morning early to report a death in the family, so I ran the rover solo for the first time ever in DM78 and DM79. Fortunately, with the radios inside the back door, it was possible for me to drive the radios with one hand and rotate the antennas with the other. It was hard to hold the antennas steady, but since there wasn't much wind, it worked out ok.

The highlight this time was, without doubt, my first four contacts on 2304. With the 20 milliwatts, about 20 feet of Andrews heliax in an assembly bought at Dayton this spring, and a 45-element loop yagi, I was able to work W6OAL from each of the four grids. What a kick in the head!

It's also really neat that, if my claimed score holds up, this year's effort resulted in more than twice the points of last year...

The biggest frustration, other than Steve having to stay home on Sunday, was an odd source of very strong noise on 222 somewhere in the Colorado Springs area. John WD0FHG talked about having serious trouble making any contacts at all from Palmer Park during the 222 Sprint this spring, but this was my first experience with it. Working N0KM from DM78, and K5RHR from DM79 were both extremely difficult because of this noise. By turning the antenna, I could watch the noise floor go from about S1 to S8+ on the meter in John's IC-735. Pretty amazing, whatever it is.

I really like this contest. As always, it's tempting to say that it'd be more fun if more folks were on... and since I worked everyone I heard and heard almost everyone that I heard about being on, there's some truth to it. However, one of the nice things about fewer people being on, most of whom have worked each other before, and in an environment where we're not all crazily busy every instant trying to snag one more contact, is that we actually take time to chat some. I'm not much of a rag-chewer, but it's good to communicate a little more than just callsigns and grid squares, and until I make some major changes at the QTH, these roving expeditions are the only real chances I have to talk with friends on the microwave bands.

Photos

• Operating position at the rear of the Trooper.
• In DM89 , with Steve admiring the antenna stack.
• Closeup of the antennas against the clouds.
• Front top view of the rigs.
• The mess of wires making it all work.
• Another view of the operating postion. Note the back seat not present in the Trooper.
• Another shot of the vehicle in operating stance in DM89.
• From the front , just another angle.
• Another similar view.
• Steve KC0FTQ , taking a break and beating the heat in style...
• Bdale KB0G , at the operating position in DM88.
• Steve "assuming the position", also in DM88.
• Another with Steve , who was intrigued at the mix of linear and loop yagis we were running.
• Another shot of the vehicle.
• Close up of the antennas.
• Rear view of the mess in the back of the Trooper. Note the 2304 transverter sitting loose, I had to swap it in for the 902 since the TIB only supports one transverter at a time.
• Looking back from the front seats.
• Sunday morning in DM78, with Pikes Peak in the background.
• A different angle.
• This time , with the antennas broadside. Note the callsign tags with the old callsign... I have the forms in hand to request new ones, but haven't sent them in yet... /o\
• Cables on the roof ready to move, I was more casual this time around, just looping them over the roof rack and taking off.
• The secret to how we have so much fun. The mast which is 15 feet of Radio Shack antenna mast gets preloaded and then just set on the roof and duct-taped to the 2x6. That allows us to set up or tear down in a minute or two. And yes, there is an inch or three of clearance between the ground and the bottom of the 432 and 1296 antennas! We have to be careful off-road, but on the highway it just works! Just before leaving DM78...
• Same shot but a slightly different angle.
• In DM79 , on a ridge just south of Franktown.
• Antennas in the sunlight. The stack from the bottom up is 11 elements on 432, 24 elements on 1296, 10 elements on 902, 8 elements on 222, and 45 elements on 2304 at the top. I'd center-mount them all if I were doing this from scratch, but we use what we have!
• Operating position on Sunday morning in DM79.
• Proof that we really don't quite scrape the ground while in transit...

Our Score

	       Valid          QSO           Claimed
	       QSOs           Pts    Mults   Score
----------------------------------------------------
| 222 MHz    |   17 | x   3 |   51 |    6 |    306 |
----------------------------------------------------
| 432 MHz    |   30 | x   3 |   90 |    7 |    630 |
----------------------------------------------------
| 902 MHz    |    8 | x   6 |   48 |    1 |     48 |
----------------------------------------------------
| 1296 MHz   |   17 | x   6 |  102 |    3 |    306 |
----------------------------------------------------
| 2304 MHz   |    4 | x  12 |   48 |    1 |     48 |
----------------------------------------------------
|Grids Activated--Rovers Only      |    4 |        |
----------------------------------------------------
|  TOTAL     |   76 |       |  339 |   22 |   7458 |
----------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       DATE       TIME   STATION        EXCHANGE    NEW
         FREQ    MODE       (UTC)        WORKED         SENT RCVD   MULTIS  PTS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1   446.       FM   20000805   1855   WD0HHQ         DM89 DM78   DM78-  1  3
   2   432.       SSB  20000805   1913   K0RZ           DM89 DM79   DM79-  2  3
   3   432.       SSB  20000805   1914   KC0COU         DM89 DN70   DN70-  3  3
   4   432.       SSB  20000805   1915   W6OAL          DM89 DM79             3
   5   432.       SSB  20000805   1916   WA7KYM         DM89 DN71   DN71-  4  3
   6   222.       SSB  20000805   1919   K0RZ           DM89 DM79   DM79-  1  3
   7   222.       SSB  20000805   1920   WA7KYM         DM89 DN71   DN71-  2  3
   8   222.       SSB  20000805   1923   W6OAL          DM89 DM79             3
   9  1296.       SSB  20000805   1927   K0RZ           DM89 DM79   DM79-  1  6
  10  1296.       SSB  20000805   1928   W6OAL          DM89 DM79             6
  11  1296.       SSB  20000805   1931   WA7KYM         DM89 DN71   DN71-  2  6
  12  1296.       SSB  20000805   1931   KC0COU         DM89 DN70   DN70-  3  6
  13   902.       SSB  20000805   1934   K0RZ           DM89 DM79   DM79-  1  6
  14   902.       SSB  20000805   1939   W6OAL          DM89 DM79             6
  15   222.       SSB  20000805   1942   K5RHR          DM89 DM65   DM65-  3  3
  16  2304.       SSB  20000805   1953   W6OAL          DM89 DM79   DM79-  1 12
  17   222.       SSB  20000805   2146   W6OAL          DM88 DM79             3
  18   222.       SSB  20000805   2150   K0RZ           DM88 DM79             3
  19   432.       SSB  20000805   2151   K0RZ           DM88 DM79             3
  20   432.       SSB  20000805   2152   W6OAL          DM88 DM79             3
  21   432.       SSB  20000805   2152   KC0COU         DM88 DN70             3
  22  1296.       SSB  20000805   2154   K0RZ           DM88 DM79             6
  23  1296.       SSB  20000805   2155   W6OAL          DM88 DM79             6
  24  1296.       SSB  20000805   2157   KC0COU         DM88 DN70             6
  25   902.       SSB  20000805   2201   W6OAL          DM88 DM79             6
  26   902.       SSB  20000805   2202   K0RZ           DM88 DM79             6
  27  2304.       SSB  20000805   2212   W6OAL          DM88 DM79            12
  28   432.       SSB  20000806   1430   W0AH           DM78 DM89   DM89-  5  3
  29   222.       SSB  20000806   1431   K0RZ           DM78 DM79             3
  30   432.       SSB  20000806   1430   K0RZ           DM78 DM79             3
  31   902.       SSB  20000806   1435   K0RZ           DM78 DM79             6
  32  1296.       SSB  20000806   1433   K0RZ           DM78 DM79             6
  33   222.       SSB  20000806   1444   W6OAL          DM78 DM79             3
  34   432.       SSB  20000806   1446   W6OAL          DM78 DM79             3
  35   902.       SSB  20000806   1505   W6OAL          DM78 DM79             6
  36  1296.       SSB  20000806   1454   W6OAL          DM78 DM79             6
  37  2304.       SSB  20000806   1502   W6OAL          DM78 DM79            12
  38  1296.       SSB  20000806   1454   KC0COU         DM78 DN70             6
  39   446.       FM   20000806   1516   K6LS           DM78 DM79             3
  40   446.       FM   20000806   1519   KB0CY          DM78 DM79             3
  41   446.       FM   20000806   1520   KC0AMO         DM78 DM79             3
  42   432.       SSB  20000806   1525   N0POH          DM78 DM79             3
  43   222.       SSB  20000806   1538   N0KM           DM78 DM67   DM67-  4  3
  44   432.       SSB  20000806   1529   N0KM           DM78 DM67   DM67-  6  3
  45   432.       SSB  20000806   1545   N0UGY          DM78 DM79             3
  46   222.       SSB  20000806   1558   W0KJY          DM78 DN70   DN70-  5  3
  47   432.       SSB  20000806   1548   W0KJY          DM78 DN70             3
  48  1296.       SSB  20000806   1550   W0KJY          DM78 DN70             6
  49   222.       SSB  20000806   1646   K0RZ           DM79 DM79             3
  50   432.       SSB  20000806   1642   K0RZ           DM79 DM79             3
  51   902.       SSB  20000806   1654   K0RZ           DM79 DM79             6
  52  1296.       SSB  20000806   1652   K0RZ           DM79 DM79             6
  53   222.       SSB  20000806   1645   W6OAL          DM79 DM79             3
  54   432.       SSB  20000806   1642   W6OAL          DM79 DM79             3
  55   902.       SSB  20000806   1655   W6OAL          DM79 DM79             6
  56  1296.       SSB  20000806   1650   W6OAL          DM79 DM79             6
  57  2304.       SSB  20000806   1658   W6OAL          DM79 DM79            12
  58   222.       SSB  20000806   1647   WA7KYM         DM79 DN71             3
  59   432.       SSB  20000806   1644   WA7KYM         DM79 DN71             3
  60  1296.       SSB  20000806   1652   WA7KYM         DM79 DN71             6
  61   222.       SSB  20000806   1646   W0KJY          DM79 DN70             3
  62   432.       SSB  20000806   1645   W0KJY          DM79 DN70             3
  63  1296.       SSB  20000806   1651   W0KJY          DM79 DN70             6
  64   222.       SSB  20000806   1647   N0POH          DM79 DM79             3
  65   432.       SSB  20000806   1702   N0POH          DM79 DM79             3
  66   432.       SSB  20000806   1719   KC0COU         DM79 DN70             3
  67  1296.       SSB  20000806   1720   KC0COU         DM79 DN70             6
  68   446.       FM   20000806   1705   KI0QM/R        DM79 DM78             3
  69   432.       SSB  20000806   1710   WD4MUO         DM79 DN70             3
  70   432.       SSB  20000806   1712   W1XE           DM79 DM79             3
  71  1296.       SSB  20000806   1716   W1XE           DM79 DM79             6
  72   222.       SSB  20000806   1730   K5RHR          DM79 DM65             3
  73   446.       FM   20000806   1743   KC7GOL         DM79 DM78             3
  74   446.       FM   20000806   1743   KI0QM/R        DM79 DM79             3
  75   222.       SSB  20000806   1752   N0KQY          DM79 DM98   DM98-  6  3
  76   432.       SSB  20000806   1752   N0KQY          DM79 DM98   DM98-  7  3

Equipment

For 70cm, we ran Bdale's Kenwood TS-790, a Mirage amp making about 100 watts, and a Landwehr preamp mounted near my Rutland Arrays K1FO yagi.

On 33cm, we ran the TS-790's 2m section through a DEM TIB to a DEMI transverter making about 10 watts into a homebrew Kent Britain-style yagi.

On 23cm, we ran the TS-790 making about 10 watts into a 24 element loop yagi.

On 13cm, we ran the TS-790's 2m section through a DEM TIB to a DEMI transverter making about 20 milliwatts, through Andrews half-inch heliax to a 45 element loop yagi.

Unless otherwise mentioned, cables were a mix of RG-8 sized cables with mostly N connectors. Power was from a 27DC-form-factor deep cycle battery for everything.

I logged on paper, and post-processed the logs using VHFTEST. The beta version of VHFTEST I tried had some problems, but I worked around them well enough for this time. The fundamental logging interface isn't bad, though, and since it runs on DOS and claims to do monochrome screens moderately well, I may have to try logging on computer next time using an Omnibook 425... they handle sunlight better than most of the newer color displays. We'll see. My paper logging system works well, but typing it all in afterwards is a pain.