Megathanks to Dave, K1TTT, for the use of his First-Class station!

Check Log Only1-204674

June 2025 VHF Contest Summary- AA2SD/R Roves from the Poconos Mountains to Lancaster PA

AA2SD/R Rover -June 16 2025  - Thanks to all that worked me from the Poconos and the ride down into
Lancaster. The driving was white knuckled for two days, with constant rain, late evening fog and
limited visibility in the morning. Despite the setback with travel conditions I was able to make (5)
grids in total. I tested a new Grid in Lancaster, located at the Linville Hill elementary school set
in the  picturesque Lancaster County which proved to be a great spot at FM19XX with a 700 foot
elevation. The weather was a definite factor in travel time due to the constant rain and mist. I
logged a total of 474 miles over the weekend including the drive home.

Band Condition on 6 Meter with Enhanced Propagation. The band conditions on Saturday and Sunday were
excellent on 6 Meters, and I worked multiple stations from Florida with my Halo Antennas. I was able
to work a number of stations on the move from the Poconos to Lancaster while using my digital
recorder. The shingle Halo on the roof rack proved to be effective with this enhanced propagation,


1296 Mini Looper Test with My Roof Rack - My 1296 mini looper test proved to be a success with (4)
contacts, 3 with W3CCX and 1 with N3RG on 1296. This small looper sits on my roof rack and I watch
from my inside sunroof to align the antenna. I also deployed a small ELK beam 2M/440 on the rooftop,
which proved to be very effective and kept me dry in the cabin during the rain. The Elk is an
ultralight compact log periodic antenna with dual bands. You can learn more about Elk Antennas here
https://elkantennas.com/



New Dual Stack Antenna Set up with loopers and a small 2 /440 Elk Beam

Water Issues with Connectors Proved to be the Achilles Heel. - The constant downpours and misting
while driving created havoc with (2) antenna connectors. I had double taped these connections, but
can use some advice from fellow Pack Rats on how to waterproof a N connectors that will survive a
weekend of rain and driving in the wind at 60 MPH for hours.


Dual Stacked Halo Set Ups Proved Out - During this trip I tested (3) sets of Dual Stack Halos from a
company named Freqteser. The Dual stacked mini halos were used on 2, 440 and 222 Mhz.  The dual
stacked halos worked well for most contacts as long as I reached higher elevations. This saved me
significant time from setting up antennas at each location in the driving rain. I also worked a
number of roadside contacts, and on the move 
contacts with the halo set ups. You can view the Freq Tester sire here for halos.
https://www.freqtester.com/


A close call with a local bridge overhead, I had to Get Out and Check this, good thing I lowered my
mobile to 11 feet from Prior Rover due to this concern.
Grids and Rove Summary

474 Miles Logged in 2 Days (5 Grids Visited)
The Knob FN21 HC - (5) miles north of the Pack Rats Set Up (good overlook 1711 ft elevation)
Butler Mountain Senior Living Center FN10XX (good overlook 1677 Feet elevation)
Lookout Motor Lodge FN11WA 
Penns Peak Roadies FN20DV 1544 Feet
Linville Hill Elementary School  FM19XX
QSOs in Log : 163  (all phone with only 4 FT8) tota 179 includes testing before contest Submitted
Score 7,700
50 Mtrs - 74 Contacts, 144 - 36 contacts, 222 -21 contacts, 420 - 28 contacts - 1296 - 4     

   
As a  Rover it is a  challenge to time your overlook locations and get your antennas set up in time
for the contest and stay on schedule for contacts. This contest was a major challenge with weather
conditions, being especially cautious with driving in mountain fog in the morning and evenings. I
was pleased to still make (5) grids out of the planned (6) grids. A special thanks to the Pack Rats
on the mountain, and to Jim KC3BVL rover coordinator, the burner phone contact and coordination was
excellent with W3CCX.


I look forward to working with you during the upcoming August 222 and Up Contest this Summer with
KE5NJ from the 100 Mile Overlook in Jim Thorpe PA.

AA2SD/R Rover Pulled over and Taking a Break in Lancaster PA

My first VHF contest. Just did 6m FT8. Was getting the hand of it and then the solar flare came on
Sunday and it was tough after that.

Used old FT-847 with an old vertical

Glad 6 Meters opened up.  Microwave activity was low.  CU in September!

Probably the best local efforts we've seen since Covid in Southern California. Lots of activity and
the first 4-6 hours of the contest here in the Lower Left Corner were well attended by both locals
and regional stations. Good (not great) openings on 6 for most of Saturday and parts of Sunday.
Activity was much, much lighter on Sunday most likely Fathers Day. Much lower count of local and
regional rovers unfortunately and even POTA/SOTA expectations were much lighter than expected. Great
job WR7X/R! I have you at least four times in log for Idaho. Thanks to all of the other rovers
nationally and for all of the folks testing the waters for their first time. See you all in
September!

First June VHF contest with FT8. Great fun!

I made a number of improvements to my station for this contest.
The rotator for my short stack of VHF Yagis was made operational again
(critter had chewed through the control cable).  A revived 6m 4el LFA
got mounted on another push-up pole with its own rotator.
I made my first 1296 QSO using a new 36-element Yagi (Armstrong rotator),
and that gave the score a boost. A few additional triband verticals
helped with local FM contacts.  Three new mini-PCs on a UPS were
used for separate instances of WSJT-X and liaison work.
Unfortunately, once again I could not tame N1MM+ with WSJT-X,
and I was reduced to keeping a paper dupe sheet.  The various WSJT-X
ADIF files were imported into N1MM+ after the contest to compute my
score.  There was not time to complete several other station
upgrades, so there is plenty of work to do for the next contest.
Overall I had a blast operating in this June VHF contest,
even though the 6m sporadic-E was very spotty.
This is my favorite competition, right ahead of the 160m Stew
Perry Distance Challenge.

6m: K3s, KPA1500 (throttled to 200 watts), 4el LFA or 80m OCFD
2m: IC9700 (100w), 9el LFA at 25 feet
2m/70cm: TYT TH9800D (50w), triband vertical
1.25m: IC375A (30w), 15el M2 Yagi at 30 feet (preamp in shack)
1.25: TYT TH9000D (50w), triband vertical
70cm: IC9700 (75w), 21el M2 Yagi at 27 feet
23cm: IC9700 (10w), 36el I0JXX Yagi at 33 feet

200 watts or less

Indoor set up consisting of an IC-7300 and Buddipole Deluxe nudging my vaulted ceiling.

I have a lot of fun

FT-100D max 50W on a 7m vertical with elevated radials and automatic tuner

Long time not taking apart on a contest but good propagation on 6m kick the contester in me, I
worked just the Saturday because Sunday is Father's day in Cuba and the family has plans for me
[away of the radios of curse]

Very disappointed that I could not get any replies to my numerous CW CQs on 2M.

Here on the Maine coast, the expression "A rising tide lifts all boats" sure applied to the contest
this weekend thanks to the great conditions.  Thanks to all the rovers!  Special thanks to N7GP/R
for the long haul contact on 6 meter FT8.

This file generated by home brew
logging program written by K1PDY

01234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789

Used an indoor fan dipole and 90 Watts.

Rig : iC-7300, iC-9700

Antennas : All indoor:  6m MOXON, 2m 5-el Yagi, 70cm 11-el Yagi

Soapbox : A welcome change from the past 18 months. Extensive Es and multi-hop Es on 6m that ran
into the night that included Europe, California, and Caribbean.  A short 2m Es event to Kansas at
0100z Saturday night as 6m was going short was my highlight. Lots of grids and stations.  Changed my
70cm strategy and yielded better grid to QSO ratio.  Let's enjoy it while it's here.

Like they say LOCATION-LOCATION-LOCATION. If you want to place in the Top 10 nation-wide in a VHF
contest, you have to live in the NorthEast. Although this was a decent contest and I hit my all-time
highest score ever in 45 years of VHF contesting, I'm sure by the rummers I've heard, the multi-band
guys in New England cleaned up again.    Out here in the boonies of south-central Virginia working
close to 30 QSOs on 222 & 432 is monumental. However, it doesn't help much against stations that are
located within 100 miles or so of 3 or 4 times as many on those bands plus all the close-in 1296 and
up stations.  Even with my first ever 6-digit score, it would have been much better had there been
any enhanced propagation on the 2m and up bands.  Sporadic E propagation on 6 meters was great most
of the contest, with a European opening in the beginning hours.

IC-7610 and Par Omniangle @ 30'

Family obligations prevented me from operating more than a few hours.

6 Meters only!

Best QRB is 3020km for K7CW at CN87

Very active to both East and West Coast on Saturday. Good activity Sunday morning to both coasts.
Rain storm hit at noon, back on around 2 pm, but the conditions had deteriorated. So shut down for
the contest at 3 pm, packed up, and headed home. Thanks to everyone who dug out my 10 watt signal to
3-el 6 m, 5-el 2 m, and 8-el 70 cm Yagis on a 15 foot push-up mast. Blog post at
https://k5nd.net/2025/06/arrl-june-vhf-2025-edition-single-op-portable-fun-in-the-sun-not-in-the-rain/

With no 6 m. antenna, I used a Force 12 C3e at 90'.  Totaled 109
minutes of operation.

Second VHF rover contest.  Operated two days, 6 to 7 hours per
day.  Activated 6 grid squares DM65/64/75/74/55/54.  Good
conditions on Saturday with openings to CA and east coast.  Poor
conditions on Sunday, one opening to IL near the end of the
contest.  Rig was Icom IC-7100 operating 100W on 6m, 50W on 2m,
35W on 70cm.  VHF antenna was an M-squared 3-el 6m beam up 15
ft. on a trailer hitch.  2m and 70cm were on a Larsen dual-band
vertical.

K6USY/R & K6ZKA/R worked DM05, DM04, DM15 & DM14 out in the Mojave Desert on 9 bands.  We ended the
day up at the old N6NB beacon site south of Tehachapi and worked stations up into Central Valley.

Equipment:
IC-905
IC-705
Alinco DJ-G29T

home between roves

Tested new 705 based Xvtr systrem for all 6 VHF bands 6M to 1296 .

K7YO operating from fixed CN85.

Hope to work some SSB and CW this time, however just ended up on
FT8.  CQ contests is going to split the contest into two weekends
one digital and one CW/SSB.  Looking forward to that.

Had some technical difficulties between WSJTX and N1MM which resulted in some duplicates at the
start, but since I'm not sure what dupe the other station will remove (if any) I've left them in the
log.

6M was decently active propagation-wise, we just need more operators.  These days with so many rigs
including 6M, I would think there would be more contesters.

Thanks to all that participated!
Paul
Ka5pmv

I always look forward to this one, since it is the highlight of the VHF season, and there is much
more activity than usual.  There have been some years with very little propagation and then others,
like the last 3 years where we have had significant openings.  The band was open to the American
Southwest most of Saturday. AZ,  NM, TX, CO, UT, and an occasional midwest station.  I stayed on
late into Saturday evening waiting for a reopening of the band to AZ & NM, which has often happened,
but this year I had a surprise opening to the Pacific area instead.  First a couple of VK4’s then
FK, followed by a KH6 and then slew of JA’s. Looking at the pathways shown on DX Maps showed most
of the JA contacts going to CA.  I was right on the Northern edge of the opening and caught about
1/3 of the JA’s that I copied.  The band finally died about 2 AM

Sunday was slower, but opened to AZ again, gradually expanding farther east and South.  I worked
several  LA, MS & Fl stations and even a bunch of XE’s.  The farthest East I copied was PA & MD. 
Mid afternoon the band essentially died with an occasional w7 showing up.  QSB was bad with signals
here and gone before there was time to make a QSO.  A few times I ended up completing QSO’s 5 to
10 minutes later.  I knocked off at 6 PM and went out to dinner with my YL.  When we got back home I
found the band open again to the East , and worked about 10 new grid squares in the Mid Atlantic
states..  Looking back up the screen I found I had only missed a few minutes at the start of the
opening.

A week before the contest, I could not find my 220 radio I had  to look all over the house to find
it. I found it about a day or so before the contest.

then I had some problems getting my antenna on the mobile. the U-shape bracket was out of shape, and
the nuts were corroded. I got everything mounted and all worked was ok

Very difficult conditions at QTH - Had to preform a minor repair
to the 2m All-Mode, and deal with a 2m beam that partially tilted
over. Just encourages improvements for the future and was still
fun even wit the struggles. 73!

First time on the air with my big rotatable 18 element 2 meter
Yagi. Worked FB!

My first contest on my own outside of a club activity! Didn't get a ton of contacts but learned a
bit more about my setup and improvements I should make.

14JUN25 VHF CONTEST

Wow, what an opening on Saturday. Worked Europe like never before. Was able to get three new
countries, all with a homebrew Moxon antenna, 20 ft off the ground. Propagation gods were good.Had
an absolute blast working them.

QTH NEW SETUP

My station operation was limited to part-time ops for VHF contest
I operated in two grids:  DM12 and DM13 in San Diego Section
Convair/220 ARC members were on-the-air with D*Star simplex too.
Sunday, I was able to operate on 6m from DM12 and later relocate
my station to San Elijo State Beach in DM13 for POTA and VHF QSOs.
For the last hour of the contest, conditions along the coast were
nice with good propagation for 70cm band, including to DM02.

ARRL VHF June contest from SOTA W6/SC-445 DM13ki 
First VHF contest and what a blast. I'm looking forward to next VHF contest!

5 watts to wires. Enjoyed openings on Saturday, Sunday didn't hear a thing...  73, Dan  ke0tt

I enjoyed making contacts on FM during the contest.  It seems
that the contest should be split into analog modes like FM and
SSB, vs. digital as the CQ WW VHF contest is doing this year.

My days were short due to a major home foundation repair project. Still, it was good to get out and
operate with my new 222 MHz transverter and Green Heron DC rotator controller. I made my first 222
MHz contacts on SSB and FT8, as well as my first 432 MHz contact on FT8 (I've never done FT8 above
144 MHz before). Six meters SSB really came alive Saturday evening right when it was time for me to
RTB. I don't think I've been available to contest in June before; so, it was a great experience even
if I didn't get to maximize my time. I'll make it a point to contest with schedule conflicts next
June for sure!

Operated from FM29jw

CW Contacts: 8
Unique Grids: x 5 [EL87, EL96, EL98, EL99, FN20]

8 CW QSOs x 5 Unique Grids = 40 CW QSO Points

Thank you for the 2025 ARRL June VHF Contest.

Crazy 2M open into the East Coast !! Good times.

CW only Glad some non-dig activity.

I've seen worse!  Band was good... mostly.

Didn't plan to contest, but took advantage of the 6m activity.  Figured I'd submit a score.

Great 6 meter band opening to east coast and Texas/New Mexico. I even made phone contact with a
Mexico station. Not bad for a DIY 6 meter shunt fed delta loop at 30ft.

6 meters using Icom IC-7300 and a 134 ft OCF dipole wire hung in
trees. 2 meters using Icom IC-746 and a cubic quad 12 feet high
on a PVC mast. Max power 35 watts. Got started late Sunday
afternoon after returning from a camping trip.

Had fun

This log has a problem, there are QSOs entered as being from
EM42, but they were actually made from DM65

Operating in Boise, ID during contest which is Gird DN13un. This
is not my normal location.

Missed the first 5 hours.  Had a quick 2m Es opening into Canada on Saturday.  Band went dead for
awhile on Sunday plus a thunderstorm came thru.  Overall a pretty good contest.  I wish more digital
users would try FT4.

Portable operation rained out. Please use my log as a check log only and do not publish. Thanks!

FT991A 10W to 50W, MFJ-969 in bypass, Buddipole deployed for 6M
Bioenno BLF-1220A, FT8 via WSJTX on Debian GNU Linux, NanoVNA

Thank you to all that was patient and worked me this weekend. I had a grat time and could not do it
with the support of all the great operators.i got to use my 6M Yagi this time while at the beach and
I feel it made a big difference in the further stations.

Good conditions this year allowed much better distance.
Unfortunately only got to operate for one day.

KO6EFG/R contested as a rover from inside his car.

AHH, for the good old days when there used to be coast to coast prop
On 6M all day long in this contest and ssb and cw activity too. Non-
existant here this year. Endless solar storms I've never seen the
likes of since the summer of 2023. Even '73 and '74 weren't this bad!

Good tropo and 6M E skip. Very busy!

Casual operating just for fun :)

Wow, what a blast.  I got a slightly late start Saturday, but the
band was already swinging with an opening down to AZ and SOCAL
that lasted until dinner time.  Then after dinner it was back.
Things were worked out for me around 9pm or so, but I decided to
check back in before going to bed around 11, and I'm glad I did.
First what NH6D coming in.  I never got through to him, but then
VK4MA showed up, and I got him on the first call!  Then FK8HA
joined the party, and after a bit a couple more VK4's appeared.
I worked a bunch of new grids but I wasn't expecting them to be
in Australia!
openings into AZ, TX, and CO.  Things quieted down again in mid
afternoon, but just before the end, another opening into CO.  My
score isn't as great as it was back in 2023, but still pretty
good for 75W and a beam at 25 feet.
SSB when the going go hot on FT8, but I heard almost nothing on
50.125 whenever I checked.  I only managed one QSO on SSB, and
that was with a local.  So for me this was 99.5% FT8.
for all the QSOS!

6 meters was very active

I could not get my laptop to send /R in WSJT-X - so the 6M FT8 contacts from EM18 used N0JK. I did a
limited Rover late Saturday afternoon from EM18/19/28/29 to help the WQ0P multi-op. 50 MHz MFJ-9406,
144/222/432 with HT and 10 GHz with a nice portable SSB set up WQ0P let me use. I put the 10G
station in the rear hatch of my SUV. I would pull off the gravel road and aim towards the WQ0P
station. A large power plant is near Greg's QTH, so I aimed the 10G horn to it.  Had "Ham GPS" app
on cell phone to confirm I was in the correct grid square. It worked well. My original plan was a
single op portable from EM18 with the MFJ radio. As I ended up limited Rover, could have/should have
taken my 100-watt radio. 6 was wide open with 40 - 50 stations decoding per FT8 frame sequence! With
10 watts it daunting to get a reply. In hindsight should have gone to FT4. I made one 6M SSB QSO
with W3CCX. Not many people in the SSB area despite 50.313 sounding like CB channel 19! Didn't have
a 2M SSB radio for the 2M Es opening. An amazing Saturday evening sporadic-E opening.

Please note that I used "

Had fun with my son on Father's Day.

Having learned CW this past year I was able to squeeze in a couple more grids thanks to this mode.

IC7100, Very few analog stations.

Great fun at State Line Lookout at FN30bx.  This is a SOTA (W2/NJ-009) and POTA (US-8319) location,
and I will also be submitting those logs.  Ran QRP portable (no need for more power with my 10db
shirt on!) and bumped into KE2NJ who is a big POTA activator of this park. Weather was good and park
was not too crowded. I ran the IC-905 which surprisingly gave me a few RF problems with the laptop
(a first), and I also ran the Alinco DJ-G29 on 902.  Didn't have much time at all to contest, but
was excited to try out my new 10Ghz 4 watt amp from IZ1OTT which worked like a charm.

Yaesu FT DX-10, Par stressed Moxon @ 15 feet, N3FJP software.

I thought that I would dabble a little bit in this contest even
though I do not have any suitable VHF antennas other than for
local repeater use. I got a few contacts during the first hour on
Saturday and then the lightning started, and we went under a
flood watch! I was able to work a few loud stations before I shut
things down, but the weaker ones could not hear me. On Sunday
just before noon I got on again and heard a few loud stations and
then things died down again when a thunderstorm was approaching
again, so I was done. I did better than last year by over double
so that was cool. Maybe one day I will put up a better antenna.

Most the action was 6 meters typical for June. 2-1296 bands were just average .

Yaesu FT-991A, 40watts FT8, Cushcraft 11 element operating on
Coronado Heights which is 300ft above the surrounding area.

Well, another June VHF contest is in the books, and this year I managed to more than double my
previous score! Maybe it was the Topo map obsession, or perhaps it was just sheer luck that my car
didn’t completely give up the ghost when the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree a few days
before the event. (Rule #1: Be resilient—unlike my antenna elements after an argument with a tree
limb.)

This was my first rodeo with a portable 6m 3-element beam, and that thing worked! I also packed
along transverters for 222 and 902 MHz, but let’s be honest—they mostly just enjoyed the scenic
ride and provided me with that soothing sound of static. Between 6m being busier than a swap meet
and the weather radar demanding my constant attention, I barely had time to blink, let alone sleep
or chase those elusive higher bands. I’m sure I missed out on a bunch of opportunities, but hey, I
still managed to snag some 2m contacts at a whopping 1,000 miles! Who needs sleep when you have
ionospheric magic and a dash of stubbornness?

This contest is the perfect excuse to geek out over maps, plan routes, and dream up wild new radio
projects. Every year, it pushes me to learn more, build more, and maybe—just maybe—dodge more
thunderstorms while roving from grid to grid. There’s something uniquely satisfying about
squeezing into a cockpit full of radio gear, dodging tree limbs, and pretending you’re not just a
little bit crazy. (don’t worry I’m considering meeting with a therapist.)

My goals for next year? Keep improving, keep moving forward, keep learning, keep mentoring
Technician class license holders (encourage them to try VFO mode), and most importantly—keep
having fun and exploring new places. After all, if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it
wrong.

Finally, a huge thank you to the organizers and log checkers who work tirelessly to make this
contest possible. You’re the real MVPs—even if you do make us wait for those results!

QRP - 5W to a 20-Foot End-Fed Wire.
Wish I had more time, but I did get
lucky and catch some good Es on 6m.
Tnx for your patience and the QSOs.
Go Arizona Outlaws! -73- John N6HI

On June 14-15, 2025, Tom (K6VCR) and Scott (N6MI) operated from Frazier Mountain (DM04ms, 8,013
feet, Ventura County, California) in ARRL's June VHF contest. We operated from the crowded N6MI
converted television news van (6 meters mounted on the back rack of gear, with higher bands mounted
on the rack of gear between the front seats). Tom made camp in his tricked out four-wheel drive
truck. I slept on the floor of the van. The moon was very bright, so flashlights were optional. It
was about 46 degrees at night and 78 degrees in the day. A fierce wind blew on the Friday night
before the contest, but the peak gusts on Saturday were only about 15 miles per hour. We used: a
five element yagi on 6 meters at 60 feet (500 watts); a 12 element yagi on 2 meters at 20 feet (100
watts); an 11 element yagi on 222 MHz at 12 feet (75 watts); an 18 element yagi on 432 MHz at 16
feet (75 watts); and a 16 element yagi on 1296 MHz at 12 feet (10 watts). We left our microwave
antennas at home for this contest. Yellow and purple wildflowers were in bloom on the mountain. The
sunrises and sunsets were awesome. Our raw score: 279 contacts on 6 meters (40 CW, 77 USB, and 162
FT8); 58 contacts on 2 meters (23 FM, 31 USB, and 4 FT8); 16 contacts on 222 (5 FM, 11 USB); 26
contacts on 432 MHz (11 FM, 15 USB); and 6 contacts on 1296 MHz (1 CW, 3 USB, and 2 FT8).

SEE ALSO N6ZE/R ENTRY

ALL QSO ON FT-8

EXCUSES FOR LOW SCORE: FAMILY ACTIVITIES; POLITICAL GATHERINGS; HEAT; LOCATION IN THE CONEJO VALEY

see also n6ze @ home qth 6m FT8 entry.

Excuses for low score: family activities, political gatherings, heat, stayed in Thousand Oaks whole
time & had no high hilltop locations

Always a fun, but challenging event. ICOM IC-7300, Heil ProMicro Headset,Vectronics HFT-1500 Manual
Tuner, and a home brewed G5RV Half Size, up 45 feet, runnlng N-S at 6,053 feet elevation.

Wonderful openings on 6 meters to Europe, and Africa. Lots of fun!

IC-7100, HOMEBREW ANTENNAS AND FIGHTING A COLD - THANKS FOR BEARING WITH ME 73.

6 meters got off to a very slow start Saturday afternoon. I wasn't hopeful that
I would hit 100 Qs again for a medal point. With only 3 elements on 6m at 18'
above ground, 6BTV to help fill in, and teeny tiny verticals for 146/223/446 FM
low to the ground, 6 meters had to perform! Finally by late afternoon early
evening Saturday, prop started popping here just in time for the dinner bell! I
hurried through dinner, and got back in the chair and found a ton of activity on
6 FT4, and had a blast working stations almost non stop for the next couple of
hours. When FT4 dried up I went to CW and worked a dozen ops there and then half
a dozen on SSB. Back to FT8 to finish the night there. Went to bed with 114 Qs
in the log. Operating time on Sunday was very scattered with Fathers Day
obligations. But the times I chose where productive. Even had a bit of local FM
activity to fill in a few more points.
Best score I've been able to put together here in TN with a very limited antenna
patch. And the 6BTV came in handy with quickly changing band conditions, as the
beam is still turned by armstrong method 150' behind the house. I found the
vertical worked well for the short Es to the SW into TX grids and the beam was
either due west or due north as those paths changed slowly, and I didn't have to
get out of the chair as often to go out and rotate the beam! 40% of all 6m
contacts were made on the 6BTV. Always an adventure contesting with the
minimum!

Thanks for the Qs es 73!

Gene, N9TF
Rigs: K3S, Yaesu FT-897D, Alinco DR-235. Antennas: 3 element 6M, 6BTV ground
mounted, Comet GP1 146/446 at 20' AG, 220Mhz mobile antenna stuck to/in house
gutter ~ 15' AG.

Not much activity heard in Fresno, CA on Saturday, only 1 contact in CM96.  The next day Sunday I
was in Reedley CA DM06. No contacts made and nobody heard during the afternoon.

Conditions were very good on Saturday and early Sunday. Lots of fun!

Awesome band condx!

Limited operating time combined with absolutely horrible QRM at
my home QTH made for a horrible contest.  Could not get anyone on
SSB and had to go to FT8 and even then only completed 3 contacts.
Need to find time (HA) to improve my chances for Sept.

It's been a while since I entered a contest but truly enjoy it as always. Had a family event on
Saturday and Sunday morning with no propagation until the afternoon, thank you all for the QSO's and
see you all in the Magic Band !

First contest busy weekend managed to grab 22 contacts. 73 see ya!!

For my first attempt at working a VHF contest outside of the VE3MIS club station, I am pleased with
the outcome!

My station QTH is located in an industrial area, and the random QRM on 2M made it at times
impossible to make SSB contacts. Something to work on for the September contest.

Aside from one bad patch cable, and a new win11 machine being a bit persnickety with N3FJP, this was
a stress free contest. (Contesting @ VE3MIS was always an adventure in MASH 4077 style day of
contest repairs!)

Though there was lots of FT8 going on, I was still able to make a number of SSB and FM Q's. Thanks
to all the locals who took some time on Father's Day to get on the air!

My homebrew 6M Moxon (1/2" PVC Pipe and some #12 AWG wire) worked a treat!
The only downside it was fixed. Rotor coming soon for it..
Running a separate radio for 6M was a good choice! 

I need to pay more attention to the chats. I know I missed out on working some of the rovers..

See you all in September!

73 de Mark, VA3HES

IC-7300 25W DG, 90W PH, homemade 4-Element quad.

Okay, I eventually, and somewhat in hindsight, had fun. Really.
It was tough, after the fact, to accept my score was less than a
third of last year.
I advanced my "state-of-the-art" WRT to my VHF+ & Rover activity.
A good week later, I'm still pretty chuffed to have successfully
installed my first solder/compression N-type connector! Yeah me!
I had seriously intended a five grid rove. I went there. I didn't
work folks though, so CO70 was not activated. CN79 and CN89
garnered but one contact apiece. pout. CN78 gave me four. This
in spite of running four bands. No FT-8 on hand for the numbers,
however why should this so bring a halt to contesting Are folks
on Most contacts were garnered fm my aerie above my home CN-88.
A friend lent me an IC-9700, and from the contacts I did make, I
quite like it. The FT-736R did offer me 222, however I think
there's another path to this band. It's so heavy to haul out to
car and back. So, I did have fun -- the requisite thing, however
I may take a poll before adding 300 km of driving and fuel again.

Fantastic operating conditions for this contest.

I had a lot of fun. This year my focus was to get all Ham Bands from 50MHz thru 78GHz operational
from home on my tower. Many of Bands are minimal systems with the intent of working relatively local
stations to generate OVHFA Club points. Recently I added a Q5 5BVUX HP Transverter connected to an
I0JXX 130-1300 Log Periodic Antenna. I also installed a Directive Systems 5el 6m Yagi. I got Kuhne
systems for 2304 & 3400 tested for the first time & installed on the tower the day before the
contest. My 5760 MHz thru 78 GHz have been on the tower and working well for a while now as my main
operating focus. 73 Kevin VE3KH Fn03cg

BAND           QSOs              MULTS

50             110               50
144            89                29
222            35                13
432            38                13
902            20                9
1.2G           22                9
2.3G           14                8
3.4G           6                 2
5.7G           12                8
10G            1                 1
24G            2                 2
123G           8                 8
LIGHT          8                 8

First VHF test from my station. Had to build a 6M dipole to get on the air.
Then realized most activity on FT8,which I had not figured out yet.
A couple hours into the contest, and with help from Steve, VE3SMA
(thanks Steve!) was also making digital Q's.  Very Cool!

My transmitted mode is shown for cross-mode contacts
Equipment -
50 MHz FTDX10 60-100W, Moxon
144 MHz K2 + DEMI xvtr + amp 100 W, 5 el  For FM FT-290R 20 W, indoor GP
222 MHz K2 + XV222 24 el
432 MHz K2 + MM xvtr+amp 50W, 10el. indoors.For FM FT-818 6 W, indoor GP
903 MHz K2+rx conv., homebrew tx, 5W, 7 el. indoors
1.2 GHz FT-290R+xvtr+amp 6 W, 10 el. indoors
2.3 GHz FT-290R+xvtr 1 W, 9 el. indoors
3.4 GHz FT-290R+xvtr 1 W, 15 dBi horn indoors
10 GHz K2 + DB6NT xvtr/amp 2 W, 2 ft. dish indoors
24 GHz FT-290R+xvtr 250 mW, 1 ft dish indoors
122 GHz FT-817+VK3CV xcvr, horn
470 THz homebrew LED MCW xcvr 0.7 W DC input, 2" lens
Log contains 4 duplicate QSOs not counted in claimed score

This year is a special year for the VHF community in Ontario, as Ontario VHF Association celebrates
75 years as Canada's oldest VHF group. To celebrate, we decided to use the club call VE3VHF, after a
40 year hiatus. We continue to encourage Canadian hams to embrace all modes of operating above 30
Mhz, rather than a monoculture approach, and it certainly makes things interesting in a contest. We
honor our SK members VE3DSE, VE3BQN, VE3MR, VE2DO, VE3ASO, VE3CRU, VE3AL, VE3DHL, VE3HW, VE3ARV 
some who were among the original 50, who met in Sept 1950 at the Riverside Lodge in Oakville,
Ontario... and many others who organized, and contributed, including the gang from WNY. Today we
have a close relationship with the Rochester VHF Group, as we share DX around lake Ontario. This
year, the conditions were thankfully above normal, as the weather warmed up just in time and we had
E skip on 6 and 2 and lots of activity above 1296.  Thanks to all our rovers,muliops, microwave ops
and home stations! The next 25 years will be interesting Im sure.  73 Dana VE3DS Chairman OVHFA.

BAND           QSOs              MULTS

50             12                12
144            8                 8
222            8                 8
432            8                 8
902            8                 8
1.2G           8                 8
2.3G           8                 8
3.4G           0                 0
5.7G           8                 8
10G            0                 0
24G            1                 1
123G           8                 8
LIGHT          8                 8
109               73


POINTS

Dupes are a POTA station. I  collected various parks

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I did not have a lot of time for the Contest. We did
communications for a Bike race on Sunday

Station:
FT991A + KPA500
6m. 5el LFA @ 50ft
2m. 2 x 5el Quagi @ 60ft Not useable due to hi SWR . . . the array has moved resonance to
140.300mhz.

EN33, 23, 24 on Saturday, then EN43, 44, 34 on Sunday, all at an easy pace.  No digital this year,
all analog (PH/CW).  6, 2, 222, 432, 902, 1296, 5.7 and 10G.  While I did bring 6m along my focus
was on playing on the higher bands.  Regarding QSO points 1296 lead the way with 81 with 10G right
behind that with 72.  222, 432, and 902 (the best rover bands) pitched in 64, 64, and 63 points
respectively.

Great Contest!!! good 6 meter opening plenty of SSB, CW and digital contacts to be had ot was a lot
of fun!!

6 Meters FM - DR-06T 50 watts, 2 Meters FM - Kenwood TR751A 25 watts, 1.25 Meters FM - BTECH UV-25X4
25 watts, 70 Cm FM - IC-47A 25 watts, outdoor omni antennas up 20-25 feet

Thanks for the contacts and thank you to the ARRL for sponsoring
the contest.

I understand there was a wonderful Es opening on Saturday...
I was tied up with a family visit with kids and grandkids until 7pm...
I caught part of the opening until it died out before midnight.
Sunday... some in the morning but I had errands and chores.
Sunday afternoon and evening... NADA.
Oh well, had a great time anyway !

Nice to work so many on 6m CW & SSB!

6m wide open stations on 2, 222 and 432 notiicable few

Wkd Euro DX

Operating from Shenandoah National Park, Loft Mountain Campground. Ran mostly on batteries with
solar charge on Saturday.  Sunday was raining and foggy. Park rules limited generator use to 2 hours
in morning, 3 hours late afternoon. Rig FT-991a, 2 ele 6M, 3 ele 2M, 5 ele 432.

Super sunspots, then super thunderstorms. I made a few mistakes, and apologize for any confusion I
may have caused.

Most fun ever in a VHF contest (6 meters only). Checked the band as I was headed to bed and found a
great opening to JA.

Thank you to all the rovers and Idaho operators who gave me q's during the contest, you're the best!

Learned some lessons on this contest.  6 was hot and I built for
all bands and I had lost time getting ready.  I think if I have
to set up 6 and 2 will be my go to for this contest.  As much as
I tested and prepped my computer failed and locked up throughout
the contest.  But the GPS clock worked great!  My batteries were
weak and I relied on the generator quite a bit.  I had rebuilt
the carb and tested for an hour at home and was solid.
Unfortunately I had the carb off 3 times before I realized the
problem was fuel flow from the tank that was causing multiple
failures on the generator.  And had a few other issues here n
there.  Had I had success on everything I believe this contest
would have had the best score yet.  In spite of the lack of
activity on SSB. Although I ended up installing new rotor, 4
antennas and coax the relaxing retreat from work with good food
and beverages was great.  I think ARRL should sponsor a non
digital contest for VHF in June rather than a non digital
catagory. 73s  -W7UW

EN63WA

Had a fun time in the four grids over in Chicago on Saturday
afternoon.
moved after those to Michigan and did some ft8 at the rest area
just across the state line.
After getting a few hours sleep, started moving between state
parks to combine POTA and the contest.

total travel = 909 miles
grids activated = 7
parks activated = 6

That was fun! The opening on 6m on Saturday
evening just kept going and going. Another good
opening on Sunday as well. Thanks for the QSOs
and 73! -Ron (W8RU).

Running from a one story condo with all antennas in the attic.  Always a challenge from here.  Thank
goodness for FT8 and Q65, which allow for contacts >100mi.  I managed to pick up Arkansas on 2m over
a 850mi path.  The path lasted only about 30 sec, long enough to get the exchange through on FT8. 
Still not sure what the propagation mode was, either a long MS ping, or a short Es path.  It
certainly was not the usual tropo, as 2m and above had no tropo enhancements at all.  I kept my
operations here on 2m-1296 this time, and stayed off of 6m, even though it was very open.  Obviously
I was not out for totals, just new grids and states on 2m and above.  Picked up 2 new grids on 2m,
and one new state, so from my perspective, the contest was a success!

Nice opening last few hours!

Operated portable from my vehicle with a Xiegu X6100 and a 17'
vertical from a hotel parking lot in FN21.  The opening was good,
but not really good enough for QRP, and it was especially hard to
get through to the stations working a pileup.  Glad to have
gotten a few contacts before the band closed!

FANTASTIC 6 Meter conditions! :)

WOW! What great conditions on 6 meters all weekend!

Openings to South America, Europe and Africa. Got
one new DXCC (S01WS); been trying to get that one for
a couple of years now.

2 meter activity seemed a bit less than usual; maybe 
everyone was concentrating on 6 meters. Really wish
more folks would get on 432.

Six was open during the mornings

Started off thinking I would just see if I could work a few new states or DX, but ot lured in by the
magic of radio!  Thanks everyone for the QSO's and a great event.

I went QRP portable to a hill on Long Island in FN30 for the
contest.   There was a nuisance rain all day on Saturday and
there were not too many stations on.   There were some
interesting momemts on Saturday afternoon when I was able to work
4U1UN from NYC on Six Meter CW - I was up 250 feet ASL and the
UN station is at 500 feet ASL... covering over a distance of 40
miles direct.   Another moment was when I attempted to work a
local ham on 223 MHz FM when his logging program got fouled up.
I was outside in the rain holding my three-element beam on a
stick and he was messing around with the program with no luck.
I suggested that he do hand logging, but he did not want to, so
subsequently no QSO resulted and I did not hear him again during
the contest!  He would rather mess around with the program than
record the points by hand!  There were good conditions to Florida
on Saturday evening and mid- Sunday morning.   It is interesting
to listen to when a Sporadic-E opening first occurs....signals
either build up slowly or there is a loud burst for 40 seconds as
was the case when I worked WB9Z in EN60 on Saturday.                          THE ARRL SHOULD
SERIOUSLY CONSIDER SPLITING DIGITAL AND ANALOG INTO TWO SEPARATE EVENTS - KEEP THREE EVENTS FOR
January, June and September for Analog modes and one special event in August for VHF digital.

6m was on fire all Saturday and Sunday AM from here in south east FL

Unfortunately, I had a late start, so I clearly missed some good
activity on 6 and 2 meters. I am looking forward to participate
on the ARRL F.D. and the Sept. VHF contests, So hopefully the VHF
bands will be active. Thanks.

This is a QRP entry.. with a measured 5 watts out to a HB 2" j pole. CW ony... and I also want to
add that the digital folks could do better with a  contest on their own.

Great band conditions on 6-Had a blast

Playing with a new QRP pocket radio (FX-4CR)

A very light 2 hour effort .

Best QRB is 1937km for XE2X at EL06

Dupes left in, RY = Digital