Pete Heins-N6ZE used the Fall 6-Meter Sprint as a warmup for the CVARC Virtual Picnic and Sprint scheduled for Saturday, August 29, 2020.
On Saturday August 22, Pete, participated in the sprint from his Thousand Oaks, home QTH (DM04ne). It is in the middle of the Conejo Valley, near the intersection of Janss and Moorpark Roads.
N6ZE’s home 6-meter station is an IC-756 Pro 2 (80W) with a horizontally polarized M>2 5 element yagi at 12′ above the ground (mounted on the patio roof on the west side of the house). It is located below the roofline of the single-story house.
With the advent of FT-8, much of VHF contesting has moved away from SSB/CW. It is difficult for Pete to work over the Santa Monica Mountains on 6-meter SSB, but with FT8 it is much easier. Despite the challenge, N6ZE did have SSB QSOs in grids DM03, DM04 and DM13. KG6IYN used FT-8 from his location in Grid DM12 near San Diego: Pete easily worked him and heard him during the entire contest period. N6ZE managed three FT8 Qs with N6GP/Rover in grids DM03,13,14.
Data:
A total of 16 QSOs were made to 5 grids: DM03, DM04, DM12, DM13 and DM14.
10 QSOs were achieved on FT-8; 6 QSOs were made on USB.
6 QSOs occurred with stations in the Ventura County cities of Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, and Newbury Park.
9 QSOs were made with stations on South Side of Santa Monica Mts; and a QSO with KM6NLZ in Arcadia (DM04xd).
Upcoming VHF/UHF SPRINTS include:
The CVARC Virtual Picnic & 6meter/2meter/1.25meter Sprint from 8:00AM- 11:00AM on Saturday, 29 August
The Fall 2-meter Sprint from 7:00PM – 11:00PM on Monday, September 21
The Fall 1.25-meter Sprint from 7:00PM – 11:00PM on Tuesday, September 29
The Fall 70 cm Sprint from 7:00PM – 11:00PM on Wednesday, October 7
The Fall Microwave (902 MHz & up) Sprint from 8:00AM – 2:00PM on Saturday, October 10