Take Horizontal polarization with it’s reduced noise, good take off angle and Single Side Band with the ability to hear and pull intelligence out of a weaker signal and you get one of the reasons you can communicate at much greater ranges then possible with FM, and you will understand the fun and the thrill of what you can accomplish with VHF/UHF Weak Signal.
This past weekend was the ARRL VHF/UHF Contest, and I normally dive into this contest with maximum effort, but with long time friends in town that we have not seen in 6 or 7 years and spending time with them all day Saturday, that left only Sunday and I need to do a quick trip to pick up some Antennas just south of Houston. So Ruth and I thought it would be fun to operate Sunday as a Rover, so with her logging, and me operating we hopped into the truck and headed to Alvin Texas which is 186 miles away as the crow flies.
With the radio dialed in on 144.200 USB, we pulled out of the house….Announced we were in the contest and roving….We immediately worked KB2WDM in Schertz, followed by K5QE in Hemphill, TX……Marshal is 336 miles from our first contact location. With a single omni directional loop antenna built by Tom K5VH and 120 watts mobil we worked K5QE in EM31 and quickly knocked out additional contacts around the region.
On the Trip we made 17 contacts, working several stations in every grid on our drive {EL-09, EL-19, EL-29}.
But let’s back up a second, remember we are not going through repeaters, we are not going through the internet with Echo Link, All Star Network, we are not working remote station. These are antenna to antenna contacts.
Between San Antonio and Sequin, we worked the following stations.
KB2WDM Schertz 17 Miles
K5QE Hemphill 336 Miles
KE5YEU Alice 116 Miles
K5TR Austin 57 Miles
AC5KD Alvin 182 Miles
All of these contacts were made operating mobil while driving down the highway with an average of 100 to 120 watts of power into a single loop on 2 meters, with average band conditions.
We made a total of 17 contacts with our longest distance at 336 miles.
Imagine what you can do with a little more power, some high gain yagi antennas and high quality feed line?
COME JOIN US SATURDAY JULY 1ST 2017 AND LEARN WHAT IS POSSIBLE ON VHF/UHF BANDS
2ND ANNUAL HAMSTER LUNCH AND LEARN JULY 1ST 2017 AT THE AMERICAN RED CROSS IN SAN ANTONIO please use the Houston St side entrance to enter the building
Flex Radio will be on hand to demonstrate the new products and advantages for VHF/UHF Weak Signal/EME/Meteor Scatter
Raffle and Swap Meet
PLUS FREE LUNCH…..GRILLED DOGS, CHIPS AND DRINKS
PLEASE JOIN US.
Special HAMster Event
2017 HAMster Lunch and Learn
FREE EVENT
Join us for HOt Dogs, Chips, Soda and VE Session with VHF/UHF training classes. Special Weak Signal Training by FLEX Radio, and the HAMster Group.
RAFFLE TICKETS $5 EACH OR 5 FOR $20
1ST PLACE: YAESU FUSION RADIO
2ND PLACE: K5VH 2 METER SSB OMNI ANTENNA
TRAINING AND LUNCH IS FREE
Saturday July 1st 2017
8:am Kick-Off to 3:Pm
Event to be held at the American Red Cross
3642 E. Houston St, San Antonio, Tx
RSVP to: N5xo@144200.net
Welcome to the HAMster Weak Signal Group Lunch and Learn. The purpose of this event is to bring a large group of HAMs together for some education and fun. We want to introduce you not only to the HAMster Grup, but also to VHF/UHF Dxing. If you have never experienced the trhill of working stations on 2 metersa nd up 500, 1000 or even 1,500 miles, with daily contacts in the 100 to 150 mile range, then come join us.
8:am to 9:am: Registration and Raffle Ticket Purchase
9:am ------- RM #1: Who are the HAMsters & What is Weak Signal
9:30 -------- RM #1: Is your Feedline Taxing you?
9:30 -------- Rm #2: The Art of Soldiering, hands on training
9:30 -------- RM #3: Intro to Digital Modes {Medteor Scatter}
10:30 ------- RM #1: The FLEX Advantage on 6 meters to 23cm
Noon: LUNCH AND SWAP MEET
1:30 -------- RM #1: Understanding Transverter Basics
1:30 -------- RM #2: Introdution to WIN LINK/PACKET/PACTOR
1:30 -------- RM #3: Introduction to ARES
2:pm ------- RM #2: VE Testing Session
2:30 ------- RM #1: Raffle of Radio and Antenna
3:pm End of Event: Thank you for joinus on our 2nd annual lunch and learn.
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