We look forward to working you in the June 2020 VHF contest. This time, we’ll have four rovers in a pack moving from Falls City, TX in the south to Austin on Saturday, then Austin to Hico, TX on Sunday. We’ll cover two grid corners each day. This will be a truly target-rich contest environment for fixed stations. Here are the participants:
KA5D/R: Brothers Kyle (KA5D) and Kourt (KB5PRZ) will be operating limited rover (6m-70cm) in Kourt’s Westie Vanagon. We are motivated to defend our #1 title in the Limited Rover category, and have the greatest amount of fun doing it.
KD5IKG/R: Tim is operating Unlimited Rover (6m-23cm) and will be sporting not only an ambitious new technical architecture for his radio station, he will be joined by his lovely wife in her vehicle. Tim, Kyle, and Kourt have been roving together for years.
W5TN/R: David is making his debut as a Limited Rover and has kitted out his pickup with a sweet set of loops for all bands 6m-70cm, as well as a brand new FT-991. He has put a lot of effort and motivation into making an effective rover, and we look forward to the addition.
K2EZ/R: Andrea needs no introduction to the VHF contest world, having impressed many with her amazing bespoke rover setup, trip endurance, and the impressive scores that come with her effort and experience. She is operating Classic Rover and will be starting with us before eventually diverging on a separate path to the northeast. We’re glad to have her along.
We will be beaconing on APRS as KA5D-6, so look for us using this aprs.fi link. Connectivity permitting, we’re also on the K5RMG.slack.com and VHF-Chat.slack.com Slack channels using the handle “KA5D”. We’re going to do our best to ensure that fixed stations get an opportunity to work as many rover & grids combos as practical. We have some ideas that will make grid circling less like a mosh pit and more like a square dance. Below is the map of the route. See you on the air!
Post-contest update: The contest went well, with most of us posting new personal bests for June VHF. We’ll see how the scores shake out as time passes. Most importantly, we figured out how to grid circle gracefully and work fixed stations simultaneously, and we had a ton of fun. Thanks to everyone for getting on the air.
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