SomeNetBlog

January-VHF-2008 in Madison

This was my first serious effort to participate in a VHF contest since moving to Alabama. I started a few weeks early, listening on 144.200 and 432.100 USB, hoping to catch at least one or two Ops on the air - and I did; K4XR and AK4FL. They encouraged me to make a run for it, even tho I didn’t have any real outside antennas up yet. I’m gonna come back and fill in some more details later, but I wanted to get this in as a placeholder before I add anything else. The bottom line is that over the Jan.19-20 weekend I made 32 qualified contacts on 3 frequency bands, and had a total multiplier of 10 grid squares. This is not an overwhelming result for even a typical VHF operator, but is not too shabby for using only indoor antennas. During the first two weeks of the year, I built a pair of KO5E’s Texas EggBeater II antennae, one for 144 MHz, and one for 432 MHz. Wow, super antennas - even inside the attic. They are designed for satellite operation, with a circular wavefront above the horizon - but at the horizon they present a horizontal pattern - and omni-directional too ! Best of both worlds I reckon… Anyway my score to be submitted was 470 points !!!