Posted: 12/15/2008 10:46:11 AM EDT
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Anybody else here ever done any VHF+ contesting? If you haven't, you should give it a try. I wrote an article for QST magazing about how to get into "roving" which is operating from a mobile station. It appeared in the October 2008 edition.
Here's the general idea. You drive from grid square to grid square, making as many contacts as you can in each one. This is done on the VHF bands. Your Yaesu 857 or Icom 708 will work very well. The only trick is to get vertically polarized antennas. Those are fairly cheap and you can mount them on a push-up pole. With 3 or 4 bands, a good operating plan and 100 watts, you can actually be pretty competitive. Here's some pics of my rover rig. Its a good bit above the simple plan, but I enjoy this aspect of the hobby a lot. 
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HOLY GOD –– THERE IS A GUN IN THAT CENTER CONSOLE!!! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!!! 
nice contesting setup btw. on another note, i think i recall when you posted that pic on Eham or QRZ and there were some many with twisted panties. in fact, i recall thinking to myself, "self –– that right there is an outrage –– that man needs to be spoken to post haste and force fed some Glock Kool-Aide 'cause he is apparently a non-believer. how one could drive around with a nickel plated sissy pistol next to a fine ham setup like that is just astounding." 
ar-jedi |
Nice setup. I've done VHF/UHF contesting but I've been out of things for the last few years, and never done roving... I've thought about trying to set something up for next year. Using transverters? I don't see a 222/432 rig but you have antennas for them. I've wondered how helpful it would be to have separate radios for the different bands versus a single radio. Also wondering how many FM contacts you make on average if it's worth putting much effort into FM gear onboard. Don't let the Glockaholics get to you, nothing wrong with a nice 1911 to go with your license plate 
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The radio in the back seat is my IC746 that I use with the 222 transverter which is strapped to the top of it. Its a 10 watt unit and I didn't have an amp for it. My primary radio is the IC7000 in the console which has 432. I run an amp for 100 watts out on 432 and a 144 amp that does around 180. I have since purchased a 60 watt Demi transverter for 222 that will be hooked into the 7000 for January.
Don't waste your time with FM unless you already have the gear. I make a few contacts while on the move and they are nice to have, but were not a make or break deal. Now... there is one situation where FM is a real benefit. If you have an HT that does 222, you can make a small, hand held yagi antenna. Most stations are horizontally polarized and you could never hear them on your rubber duck. You can however, get them on FM if the other station has the capability. The way you do it is this. Once you make a contact on 2 meters, ask if they have FM capable 222. Most guys that have transverters can do it but many don't want to hassle with the settings. A few will. Aim your little yagi at them and get them to QSY to 223.500 FM. I did this in January and picked up 6 mults that I woudln't otherwise have had. |
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Holy cow Cliffy. That looks pretty sweet. Get any funny looks while driving around? Lots. I can't tell you how many people whip out a camera phone when passing me. When you run like this, you've got to be prepared to answer a LOT of questions politely and professionally. |
Does the bandscope on the IC-746 help? I've thought about that, mainly for 6m although 2m would occasionally get busy enough to move off the calling freq. I have an 847 but thought about getting something different, either a 746 for the bandscope or a TS-2000 for dual frequency operation. If I went with the Icom I'd lose 432 also. (I know, I should get both  ) TS-2000x would give me 1296 also, although I figure it would be worth maybe one or two contacts per contest.
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Normally another guy and I will team up to run. We run his call one time and my call the next. We run 6, 2, 222, 432, 902, 1296, 2304, and 3456. We won our division once using his call. Last contest we didn't win but blew the top off of our previous scores. Ideally I'd like to find someone to team up with. Used to be in a contest group that set up a temporary/portable station (mountaintopping) for the June and September contests but the group fell apart several years back. |
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Does the bandscope on the IC-746 help? I've thought about that, mainly for 6m although 2m would occasionally get busy enough to move off the calling freq. I have an 847 but thought about getting something different, either a 746 for the bandscope or a TS-2000 for dual frequency operation. If I went with the Icom I'd lose 432 also. (I know, I should get both )That rig was only along to run the 222 transverter so I didn't use the band scope. The scope on the IC7000 is just about useless, but everything else about the rig is just about perfect. I'm honestly not sure how useful that scope would even be for VHF contests. At least not for my operating methods. I will "run" a frequency for a while, then search and pounce. I'll call again for a while. When activity drops, I'll lower the antennas and move. |
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Normally another guy and I will team up to run. We run his call one time and my call the next. We run 6, 2, 222, 432, 902, 1296, 2304, and 3456. We won our division once using his call. Last contest we didn't win but blew the top off of our previous scores. Ideally I'd like to find someone to team up with. Used to be in a contest group that set up a temporary/portable station (mountaintopping) for the June and September contests but the group fell apart several years back. If you are anywhere near East Texas you would be welcome to run with me. I need someone for the next contest. At least that Saturday anyway. |
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I used to be pretty heavy into contesting... do you recognize my call? 
Another friend here in town (W4SHG) is my main competition.... Steve is pretty doggone good too! I know Steve very well. Just imagine what he would be able to do if he didn't live down in a hole in Stafford! I don't recognize yours but I've only been into this since last January. The contest next month will be my 4th rover adventure. My plans for January are a bit scaled back as compared to the last three times out. I have to work on Saturday, but I think I'll be able to spend an hour at the truck at the beginning of the contest. That evening, I'll drive down to the corner of FM17 18 07 08 down in Louisa county. Sunday, I'll be driving up to Winchester to pick up some better altitude in FM08 plus get 09 and perhaps 19 while I'm in the area. |
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I used to be pretty heavy into contesting... do you recognize my call?
Another friend here in town (W4SHG) is my main competition.... Steve is pretty doggone good too! I know Steve very well. Just imagine what he would be able to do if he didn't live down in a hole in Stafford! I don't recognize yours but I've only been into this since last January. The contest next month will be my 4th rover adventure. My plans for January are a bit scaled back as compared to the last three times out. I have to work on Saturday, but I think I'll be able to spend an hour at the truck at the beginning of the contest. That evening, I'll drive down to the corner of FM17 18 07 08 down in Louisa county. Sunday, I'll be driving up to Winchester to pick up some better altitude in FM08 plus get 09 and perhaps 19 while I'm in the area. I haven't done much since early '06... a death in the family has complicated things... still tied-up in court... Yeah Steve is a great guy... and my ears actually pop when I head down to his house.. lol 
Next time you talk to him tell him "mikey says hey"... Is the Jan contest the ARRL VHF thing? |
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wow, I got my ticket near the same time as you and am still a Tech stuck on 2m. I better get studying again. Yes, however, if you want to get into serious VHF contesting, you only need a Tech license. The bands are all where you have current use. Yep, the VHF/UHF contesting as described in this thread is all within the privileges of a Technician license. Just get out there and operate and learn. You can do a lot on 6m and 2m SSB, and even 432MHz with reasonable gear nowadays as there are many options in ready-to-run all mode equipment. When I was in the contest group years back, misconceptions ran rampant among a lot of technician licensees about operating restrictions. For example it was commonly believed that technicans were not allowed to use SSB or CW modes, and another good one (adopted from CB apparently) was that technicians weren't allowed to communicate via "skip", or talk long distances unless using a repeater. Nothing could be further from the truth as technicians have FULL privileges on 6m (50MHz) and higher frequency bands. |
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