NJ0W Home

I have finished all of my planned 6m Rover operations for 2011 so I have reorganized the page. Hopefully I didn't mess up your bookmarks to much.

As an Amateur Radio Operator (Extra Class) I operate primarily as a Rover, whether it be 2m public service, 6m meteor scatter, or any of the various HF modes or bands. I have installed a Yaesu FT-897D all band transceiver that I run bareback (100w) driving a Tarheel 80m-10m screwdriver antenna, a 375w TE Systems 6m linear into either a PAR Electronics 6m stressed Moxon or a 6m Mosley 5el beam on a trailer-hitch mounted 29' push-up mast (choice of antenna will depend mostly on the wind velocity and available set-up time at the operating location), and a 375w TE Systems 2m linear into a 4el beam (or bareback into a 2m whip). I also have another mast and 500' of coax available for detached operation if needed.

Operating 6m in Organ-Pipe
Cactus National Park, AZ

For power, my 4WD Ford F-150 has an upgraded 235 amp alternator charging a bank of six 6v industrial lead/acid batteries that are rated at a total of 630 amp-hours at 12v. I am able to run in excess of 14 hours between charges even when running full output WSJT modes. When Roving, I also set my HT up for APRS w/GPS location (you can track me at <http://aprs.fi/?call=nj0w-7>). This has worked fairly well even in remote areas. I do TRY to work 6m Es when moving via my PAR Electronics 6m Omniangle antenna, but safety will always come first so it may not always be possible (logging can be difficult). I generally monitor 146.520 FM simplex and 50.125 USB when Roving.

I process QSL cards upon return from each trip; SASE is required! I usually prepare custom QSL card backs for each operating location that have a photo of a GPS readout, the applicable grids (1,2,or 4), and Single, Boundary, or Confluence operation annotated. If you want separate cards for each grid from a multi-grid operating location, then please include a note or send separate cards for each grid to clue me in.

For those that have a lot of QSO's for me to validate, if you would like to send a single card and a summary sheet in a format that I can use to validate my grid activations (IOW; the same info that a card has) you can do that. I would like one of your cards as a 'souvenir' and since I do want to apply for the 'reverse FFMA' award someday (grids activated vs grids contacted) I will need evidence of having activated each grid I operate from so the sheet will need to meet that requirement. I will, of course, accept a stack of cards too.

Send QSL card requests to:

I generally send out replies on the first weekend after receipt so if you haven't received a return within a couple of weeks you should send me a follow-up email. Of course, if you see here that I am out roving, please take that into account.

David
NJ0W

PAST OPERATIONS

...2010 Arizona QSL Party (County-Line HF Operation (as KF7GCL)
...2011 Rover Day-trips out of Flagstaff, AZ [6m FSK & phone]
...2011 Organ-Pipe Cactus National Park, AZ 18-19 March [6m FSK]
...2011 Southern Utah 4-7 May [6m FSK & phone]
...2011 Interior-West 6m Rare-Grid DXpedition 25 May - 10 July [6m FSK & phone]
...2011 Route 66 On-the-Air 9-18 September, 2011 [HF Phone]
...2011 Arizona Statehood QSL Party 8-9 October, 2011 [HF Phone]

FUTURE PLANNED OPERATIONS

For the rest of the fall I am planning a few Saturday trips to the Northern Arizona grids. This time of year weather is a major factor so I will be announcing them on the FFMA Yahoo Group <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FFMA/> during the week before. On the list are DM35/36, DM46/47, and DM55/56. I am also looking at a few Southern AZ trip in the Jan-Mar time frame to get a heat fix and be away from the snow and ice up here in Flagstaff. Perhaps DM31/32 or DM23/33.

Also, I am continueing with my previously announced plans to return to DL88 and DL79 in Southwest Texas. When I was there last summer, 6m Es never manifested so I am planning to try again in 2012.