So my new MFJ 969 tuner works! That was my first experience with 6m. Next time I look fwd to doing
more than just the tail end.

Fellow Club Members and friends

Thank you for working me from the 3 locations in the Poconos during this weekend. I set up at
Camelback, Penn State in Hazleton PA and also the 100 mile overlook located at Jim Thorpe. It was a
challenge to keep ahead of the thunderstorms and weather conditions. I appreciate all of the help
with the spotters as we worked within  the bands.

Follow along with me on YouTube during this (2) Day Rove in the mountains

https://youtu.be/3WrE2QgGfycsi=5Z0-RyhocUbjUQf6

Spent about 90 minutes on a SOTA summit (W6/NC-399, Coyote Peak in
South San Jose) making contacts. Not very many people on the air, or
at least a lot fewer than I was expecting. It was a nice day out
though, and I enjoyed my time on the summit. The lack of contacts also
made it easier to type everything in back at home :D

FT8 QSOs using FT817ND with wsjtx running on Raspberry Pi 3. Buddipole 2 element Yagi on 6 m and
attic loop used normally for HF bands.

Once again I setup four complete separate stations for simultaneous operation on 50, 144, 222 and
432.  And once again I could not get N1MM+ to play nicely with this arrangement, even with three
computers available to cover the N1MM+ limitation of two WSJT-X instances per N1MM+ instance. 
Starting out with empty WSJT-X log files and judicious selection of the WSJT-X color coding made for
reasonably good situational awareness as the QSOs accumulated, even without N1MM+ assistance.  I was
pleased to put a few Caribbean grid squares into my 6 meter log, and it seemed that activity on the
upper bands was pretty good.  However, compared with last year's contest I had fewer QSOs and lower
score.  Two rig failures and one antenna failure did not help at all.  I made an effort to look for
SSB contacts, especially on 6 meters, but only came up with a few of them.  Thanks to the rovers
NV4B/R, AG4V/R, K4CNY/R, K4NO/R and KG9OV/R for all the extra QSOs and multipliers.  Time to start
repairs and reconfiguration for the January VHF contest.
73, Walt, AJ6T, EM66

Contest: ARRLVHFSEP 2023
 Band   Mode  QSOs     Pts  Grid  Pt/Q
    50  FT8     34      34   25   1.0
    50  MSK144   1       1    1   1.0
    50  USB      2       2    1   1.0
   144  FT8     52      52   32   1.0
   144  USB      1       1    1   1.0
   222  FT8     16      32   14   2.0
   420  FT8      6      12    6   2.0
   420  USB      1       2    1   2.0
 Total  Both   113     136   81   1.2
Score: 11,016
1 Mult = 1.4 Q's

Tropo conditions better than June but stil not great.  Enjoyed
working
old acquaintences on the air.

Strong thunderstirms claimed part of our operating time on Saturday here in New England. But we
still had fun!

Used an indoor fan dipole and 80 Watts.

6 meter dipole that also worked 3rd harmonic on 2 meters.  Poor setup due to other plans but I made
it work on a Sunday afternoon.

Mixing "Digital" modes in this contest has ruined it for most operators.
Adding more "categories has only made it worse. What used to be a fun operation
no longer is. Time to listen to the operators, and fix it.

Tough weekend with minimum propagation but was fun.

Steady action until late Sunday afternoon with a wonderful opening to the midwest and east. You can
find my blog post at
https://k5nd.net/2023/09/arrl-september-2023-vhf-contest-fantastic-late-es-opening/

6m was disappointing on the West coast, kept seeing openings on the eastern side of the US.  The
first highlight of the weekend was working DM02 on 6m via FT8 - a very rare gird.  I hope the group
that activated San Clemente Island confirms my contact on LOTW when they get back home.  The second
highlight was being able to work a station in DM12 down in Mexico on 2m FT8 - this contact has
already been confirmed on LOTW.  Not bad for a modest station with horizontal loops, no beams.  

Hope we see more band activity in January.

Testing antennas and locations for permanent buildout on Rover truck and new home.

Well, not that I did not try and put many hours in the chair,  If there is no propagation, there is
no propagation.  VHF contesting west of the Rocky Mountains and east of the Cascade Mountains is
truly an exercise in patience!

Not Much time to operate this contest.  Maybe next year.

Only a part time effort this time. A few hours into the contest my antenna rotor failed leaving my
yagis pointing at a 180 degree heading. Most of my qsos come from either 90 to 120 degrees or 240 to
300 degrees. 

This time on FT8 I did a much better job of asking stations to move to 432. Most of the time they
would move if the band was available to them. 

I have to admit the big tropo opening the weekend before the contest had me sort of "contested out"
so I didn't put a lot of effort into this one. See you in January - 73, K8MM

Fun to operate the family station on
a beautiful Sunday September afternoon
and get out to some Long Haul VHF & UHF
DX that my Dad knows.

could use more analog activity. 0good to have a six meter opening.

My VHF effort was confined to 6 mtrs FT8.  Very few stations worked but there were a few short
bursts where I was able too get a few out of state grids:  CM87, CN80, DM08, DM12, DN26, DN70, DN74,
&DO32  Best distance were DN70 in Colorado & DN74 in Wyoming.  Briefly saw a couple of other CA & AZ
grids but no luck there.  Thanks for the QSO's  Dave ka6bim

For CM04 I was located on the bluff 120' above sea level and a stones throw from the ocean next to
the railroad tracks above Gaviota State Beach Park just up the 101 freeway from my home in Goleta.

For CM04 I was located on the bluff maybe 75' above sea level and a stones throw from the ocean next
to the railroad tracks above Gaviota State Beach Park just up the 101 freeway from my home in
Goleta.  For DM04 I was at Stow Grove Park in Goleta attending the SBARC annual BBQ.

No real tropo so none of any distance were easy,brief E-skip openings on 6 meters made some
excitement for me.

Thanks for all the contacts. Great fun as always.

My sixth September VHF QSO party entry. Good Es on Sunday evening.

Lightning on hilltop forced us to quit
early on Saturday nite. New Security
Guard gave us trouble trying to set up
in an 18 wheeler parking lot with a good
takeoff to SE for long haul DX. I
bargined for just 30 minutes more. Told
we were practicing for storm spotter ops.

I had high hopes for this contest, alas Mother Nature had other
ideas.  An epic thunderstorm rolled through on Friday PM and
knocked out power in the majority of my town.  My power was not
restored until ~1600Z on Sunday!  I put in a few hours to give
points to others and to have my first 432 QSO!  The score was
low, but the fun was high!  I predict a blizzard in Jan. hihi

First time I had 222 for a contest, lots of fun as analog only.

SHERMAN PEAK, WITH KJ7TZT, HIS FIRST CONTEST

Radio operations in this contest were more fun for me (and many other stations) because
KN6UWK San Clemente Island Radio Club operated on many bands throughout the contest from DM02.
My portable station was able to activate two grids in SDG section within operating time I had.
Many SDG ARES stations were operating on F3E from time-to-time which added to log.
Portable antenna: Diamond X50 2m-70cm vertical on a modest portable mast.
Some success on 1.2G 1294.5 F3E using small Diamond D220 portable
discone-like antenna, but I didn't get my own grid because too few stations operated on 1.2G.
1.3m Larsen 5/8-wave whip vehicle mounted served well enough using only 223.5 F3E FM phone.
Few stations recieved from greater LAX section with limited atmosheric propogation.
Often, stations only operated on one frequency, such as 146.52 perhaps because
low cost Chinese radios are awkward to program or quickly change frequency.
My portable station was set up in various San Diego Section locations including local summit
in San Marcos DM13, Torrey Pines Glider Port DM12, and other locations in San Diego area.
KA6KEN/R activated CM94 and made contact with me on two bands.
FT8 did not get used due to computer-radio configuration problems.   Only one J3E contest PH QSO.
Many stations which use repeaters did not participate in the contest on simplex.

The band gods were not with us

This is my first contest. I think I did okay, but I do not understand
multipliers. My station was a Yaesu FT-818ND in a park at 810 feet of
elevation. I operated on 2 meter and 6 meter FM and SSB. Only one
contact was in a different grid square (AK7U), who was doing a SOTA
activation. I am typing this from a paper log I used during the
contest.

KI5VZJ/R includes:
KI5VZJ - Ashley Compton
KC0MTM - Samantha Wing
Cyrus Compton
Chayla Compton

I have been operating Limited Rover for a couple of years and now finally broke 10,000. Most of my
antenna equipment is home built from scrap. January VHF 2023 was my first attempt at FT8 with
reasonable success. FT8 is certainly not my favorite mode but I have been forced in to it. September
VHF brought challenges such as rain storms and poor propagation for me. Activating 8 grids requires
a lot of driving and not operating, and remembering to change QTH both N1MM and WSJTX was an issue.
Many thanks to my local club Ole Virginia Hams for the pileup Sunday evening, making my score a
personal best.

   Gil  KM4OZH

Only had about 6 hours in the contest.  Came home Sunday to an open 6m band and made quick use of
it. Right at the end of the contest, a station in Brazil was still coming into Texas on 6m but
everything else was closed down.

San Clemente Island Contest

My first contest

Busy weekend, very few contacts

First timer here, went up the side of the mountain with my HOA Antenna. It what I have!!! was fun
thank you for having this contest.

My best rove yet. Putting the rover together went smoothly no major
problems. During the contest no problems encountered except the
connector from a paddle to a rig shorted and became useless. All the
rigs worked very well.

Casual operating just for fun.

I wish more operators would move off of FT8 when the band opens. It's a shame to have a nice bad
opening, but no one to work.

Hadn't planned on entering but I hate to see a 6m opening go unused!

Lightning on hilltop forced us to quit
early on Saturday nite. New Security
Guard gave us trouble trying to set up
in an 18 wheeler parking lot with a good
takeoff to SE for long haul DX. I
bargined for just 30 minutes more. Told
him we were practicing for storm spotter
operations.

I started the contest by visiting Greg Cerny, WQØP and his multi-op in EM19. Greg has an impressive
station. Also impressive was the OKRover group, who Greg's crew ran the bands up to 10 GHz as the
Rovers made their way north through Kansas to Greg's home. I was able to meet the Rover's briefly
after they arrived at Greg's and see the new ICOM-905 radio. The next morning, I set up single op
portable. There were some Es to Texas and northern Mexico, though not many stations coming in.
Worked NØLD/R in EM27 on 6M. But hey -- this is the September VHF contest and any Es is a real
bonus. I worked Greg, WQØP on 432 MHz SSB with my 40 y/o IC-490A and 8 element Quagi. The Es faded,
I shut down, and then did chores that afternoon around the yard. About 2215z, I received a text from
John Lock, KFØM (EM17) that CX and LU were "+20dB!" in Wichita, KS. I put the radio back in the car
and set up up as fast as possible. No CX or LU... but the south Texas stations were booming in on 6
Meters. Over the next couple of hours I worked South Texas, northern Mexico, Guatemala, and the Gulf
Coast. Nice to work K5QE (EM31) and W5EME (EM32). The Es were very strong, but wicked QSB at times.
The Es link geometry KFØM had to South America was not lined up for me. Finally, at 2248z CE4MBH
FF44 and LU1MQF FF55 popped in. Both stations are in far west South America. Picked up CO2QU (EL83)
in Cuba at 0028z. I operated until the laptop battery died, then back home for a recharge. Back on
at 0125z 09-11. Worked KM5RG EL09 for the last contest QSO. Quite the September VHF contest Es
opening.

There was a small band opening to Mexico, the Caribbean and South America Saturday evening.  Then
again on Sunday morning and evening.  I only had one contact on SSB; none on CW.  FT8 was the mode
of choice for this contest.  I moved to SSB and CW for awhile whenever FT8 indicated positive signal
levels.  It was my first time using FT8.  There was a bit of a learning curve with this new-to-me
mode.  That's the fun in this hobby.  There's always something to learn.  And in this case,
practice.  I had limited success with the IC-703+ running 10 watts into the ground-plane antenna at
30 feet.  All part of my portable setup.  I wanted to test the current draw of the radio and laptop
pc during this contest.  It drained my 40 amp-hr LiFePO 4 battery about 5 hours before the end of
the contest.  I connected to the home AC and continued to the end of the contest.  All in all, about
21 hours BIC.  This was not one of those contest where I worked everyone I witnessed a decode on.  I
was seeing decode levels down to -22 dB.  I think all of my contacts were with decode levels greater
than -16 dB.  Some signals indicated decode signal strength of +28 dB during the Sunday evening band
opening.  Those were real easy to work with my setup.  All I had to do was call CQ and wait a moment
or two.  Very Fun!

We operated the "OKRover IC-905 Convergence" - 2 mobile operators with 9 Bands (6m through 3cm)
worked each other and others during the contest. We also had 2 mobile operators with 6 bands each
(6m through 23cm). Propagation was good on 6m in the morning and evenings. Even worked Brazil!  

First time out with the two new IC-905 radios in two rovers.  It was really a delight to put some
many bands out there!  I hope other rovers adopt the IC-905!

Our vehicle had Harvey Jones-W0HGJ, Ben Wing-KC0YJI, and Randy Wing, N0LD.

For the 2023 September VHF Contest, I operated from the Bare Hill Unique Area, near Canandaigua Lake
in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Bare Hill is both a Parks on the Air (POTA, K-5098) and
Summits on the Air (SOTA, W2/WE-098) site with about 1600 feet of elevation. This is the 4 time I
have done a SOTA & POTA during a VHF Contest. 

Transceivers used were the ICOM IC-705 and BTECH UV-5X3 HT (for 1.25m). For antennas, I used a 6m
dipole made with speaker wire and a BNC binding post, Elk dual band log periodic dipole (2m and
70cm), and a 1.25m roll-up j-pole for 1.25m.

I primarily operate portable and do mostly POTA on HF bands. But I enjoy the opportunity the VHF
Contests present to try different bands and modes than I would typically do. While I likely won't
break any records, I always have fun and learn a little in the process.

Only two contacts and each was a struggle.  Thankfully, the other operators were very patient.

Just giving points after work. worked at hospital all weekend

Wow, What a rough contest this year's September VHF contest was.
Propagation in my area of the country was brutal. all contacts were good but few and far between. 
But each contest has its own character. And all I can say is I did my best with what I had and It
was fun.
73 From Joe N5QYC

I drove 847 miles!  Good grief!  N1MM worked really well.  
It was a lackluster contest with little openings.  Saturday we didn't have any 6m or 2m propagation,
nor did we Sunday except Sunday evening.  At 6PM on 6m, like a tsunami my WSJT screen filled with
people calling me but like the tide it was suddenly gone after I logged a few.  Then at sunset 6M
opened up to South America and Canada for a brief period.  I'm glad I was following OKRover
otherwise there would have been nobody to talk to.  Only a few people were on 2m FM Simplex.
This was the first time I ever talked on 1.25M and I was surprised how quiet and clear it was.  Also
the first time I made contacts on 23cm!  I also had fun talking to fellow hams at travel stops and
seeing some beautiful countryside

No band openings, BUT had great Saturday night fireworks show from
Mukilteo, just across Puget Sound; nice temperatures & clear skies.

Data:
6m: FT991 & 1/4 wave mag mount whip: 9 Q on FT-8 & 15 on SSB; 4 grids

2m: FT991 & 5/8 wave mag mount whip: 7 Q on FT-8 & 26 on SSB; 5 grids
135cm: FT817 & Ukranian Xvtr with 6 el "VJB Cheapie Yagi": 12 on SSB;
4 grids
70cm: FT991 & 12 el M-2 yagi: 30QSO; 6 grids
33cm: SWL of WA9BTV only
9 QSO with VE7s

Audio issues on 222 MHz, spent over an hour troubleshooting that
and then had a power supply fail.  Finally have high power on 6
meters again.  Distraced by many other things this weekend.
Still missing Tom KE7SW's signal on the bands- RIP.

K4OBL is splattering badly.

Very sporadic enhancements this contest, a lot of ground wave contacts, tough going!

Analog "Classic Mode" only

Biggest complaint, NO incentive to move off digi modes when bands are open.
Sunday evening 6 was open N-S and SW. Strong signals. Went to CW, only heard and
worked 2 CW ops and no SSB, but FT8 loaded. The rules need to be modified to
allow for either points or mults to working same station different mode, DIGI,
and analog, "SSB and/or CW" so ops are incentivized to move to other modes.
If nothing changes, face the cold hard facts 6m will become a vacant lot except for
9Khz of digi (FT8/4/MSK144), ripe for the taking. Getting very boring participating
in a digi only VHF contest. Maybe it is just time for me to focus on low band operating
and move on from VHF contesting. It just isn't fun any longer in the current format.
73 Gene, N9TF

Included 5 dup QSO in 59 QSO's listed, not used to calculate score.

Had a fun time Rover-ing, checking propagation from different locations. Earned my POTA Activator
Six Pack as well!

Poor propagation & Equipment panic repairs

6m ant is an HF low band sloper, 2m antenna is pointed NNW

Limited operating time and heavy QRM/QRN caused a very very low score;
but any time on the raio beats no time on the radio!

First time in four grids! Finally a horz. antenna for 222!
Careful out there! Antenna elements and eyeballs don't mix.
Tnx to all who got on. 73

Well that was interesting operating FT8 only on 6M for the whole contest! Band was a bit dodgy but
managed in the overall scheme of it. 73 de VE3LRL

BAND           QSOs              MULTS

50             82                23
144            103               32
222            34                11
432            38                11
902            25                8
1.2G           24                8
2.3G           12                7
3.4G           4                 3
5.7G           12                8
10G            7                 7
24G            7                 7
123G           7                 7
LIGHT          7                 7

Saturday seemed flatter than usual.  Paths and bands previously
used produced several NIL.  It is getting very difficult to move
multi-band stations to 222 or 432 to complete moving up the bands.
FT8 and analogue modes don't pair well in the same event with
the density of stations on the air.

I had a lot of fun operating this V/Uhf conyest, The 222 contacts
were made on my Vintafe IC-3AT handie with 1.5 watts and stock
antenna,

nice contest  using an INVISABLE antenna

Rainy and thunder condtions saturday and sunday, had a few issues but made the most of it
propagation was not the best no Es or tropo

Last time there was this many Lightening storms at this location was in September 1994. Weather
conditions were tough, but it was still fun.

Glad to see some activity on VHF+
Nothing on CW or SSB called for an hour... crickets!
We risk losing spectrum if we don't use it.

Finally, a 1296 contact!

ran station remote to hand out DM82, handicapped had left A3W connected as antenna
and rig set 50 watts

This was my 3rd attempt as a newbie VHF Rover.  In spite of an
aborted
and recovery route plan due to unexpected RFI, a power supply
connector meltdown, and a dislodged coax connector to the 6m moxon, I
had a ball.  My new rooftop mini-tripod, based from KE4WMF and K5ND
pathfinding designs, worked great.  I only had 6m/2m/432 capability,
but now looking ahead to January '24 for more rover fun and more
bands.  73 to all the Elmers along the way. - Dave W5OC

Lots of fun!

new radio + new antenna +poor propr = same poor score

Portable setup on bench atop Mt. Wachusett MA. Used an IC-9700 on 2m
and 70cm. Antenna was an Arrow satellite antenna mounted on a camera
tripod. Flipped for horizontal or vertical as needed. Operated USB
and
FM. Power was from a 12VDC 15Ah battery. Power was around 20W.
Perfect
day weather wise.

Would have been nice to have had the 2 meter and up tropo conditions we had a couple of times in the
past few weeks!

A brief TEP opening to South America around dinner time on Sunday helped with the 6 meter grid count
as did an Es opening to the upper Midwest Sunday evening.

Folks should learn about meteor scatter; that's always good for a few more grids when there is no
other propagation.

few analog stations again this year

As anyone who does QRP portable operations from remote locations
during the ARRL VHF contest can tell you, there are many challenges to
the operator.   Besides the usual setup problems, there are other
factors concerning the locations, particularly with regards to public
parks. Especially for the Long Island area, some of the public parks
are prone to illicit activities by park visitors that can be a
distraction to the radio operator doing QRP portable operations.
There are only two high points on Long Island, both around 250 feet
ASL, and both are located inside public parks.   The one that I
operate from for the three yearly ARRL VHF contest has had its issues
over the 30 years that I have gone there, and various undercover
police activities to curtail illegal activity have taken place as the
result of public complaints.
Two weeks prior to the 2023 September VHF contest, an undercover
operation at the hill that I operate from, netted a former
high-ranking police official involved in illegal activity.  I was a
bit concerned that when the September VHF contest took place, there
would be problems, but as it turned out, it was very quiet at the park
as shown in the attached photo and I was able to focus entirely on the
contest.
There was much static on the bands during Saturday afternoon as the
result of thunderstorms located to the west of me.  However, on Sunday
morning, there were some moderate tropo activity on the bands.   I was
able to hear W2SZ (FN32) on SSB at very loud signal strength on 432
MHz and able to work him easily.   I was able to work into some
upstate NY grids and into Eastern PA.  The conditions lasted about one
hour and then there was no more activity on any of the bands with
regards to SSB and CW.  It was still an enjoyable event!

I was hoping for a lot more participation this weekend. Not much DX at all.
Still fun.
I also wish that the scoring would allow points for using different modes. It would be a lot more
fun. I could have had QSOs on 6M SSB/FM/DIG, 2M FM, 440 FM with the same station. instead of 4
points it could have been 6 points. Just a thought.
Bill
WB6JJJ
Sherwood, Oregon

Talk about DEAD band(s) this has been it

Just a OM and XYL having fun over the weekend. Many thanks to DM03 and DM37 stations catching us.
All analog contacts.

I was disappointed by the lack of activity on FM and Single Sideband.
I heard nobody calling.

Another on down just wish conditions were good on 6m.

Analog-Only