ARRL September VHF Contest

Thanks for the Support - 1 AA2SD/R and 2  KE5NJ/R "Chris" for the " Atlantic Division"  Raws Scores for Limited Rover Class Only in the Atlantic Division. Congrats to all of the Rovers in the field with the effort during the Sept VHF Contest, and all of the Operators ! Also congrats to Dave K1RZ in MD for winning SOHP. and to Ron Single Operator, Analog Only, High Power  WZ1V Thanks to all of the PackRat and other Club members supporting us as novice Rovers.

Lots of Fun and great support, look for us Roving in the upcoming Jan VHF Contest 

Raw scores for the Sept. VHF contest are now available:

https://contests.arrl.org/rawscores.php?cn=sepvhf

An early morning sunrise in Grid FN11 Overlook Drums PA

September January VHF Contest Summary- AA2SD/R

AA2SD/R Rover - Sept 25 2024 - Thanks to all that worked me from the Poconos and the ride back home during the September VHF Contest. Although the band  conditions were not great, I was able to hit all of my planned grids over the 2 day period. I visited FN11 in the evening and again in the morning. The Big Pocono State Park site proved again to be a great location with 70 QSO’s during the first 3 hours of operation. Although my score is low, my main objective is to support low signal “phone” VHF activity and test “quick” antenna setups for operation. This trip I also tested some stationary mobile FT8 during the early morning hours successfully. Thank you to all club members that supported me, and I look forward to working you from the field during the January VHF contest.

Follow the You Tube Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hg-QSR9NTo

Grids and Rove Summary

• FN21HB Big Pocono State Park 2

• FN11WA Overlook Lookout Motor Lodge Drums PA1

• FN10WW  Overlook

• FN20DV Penns Peak Overlook

• FM29 Home 

• QSOs in Log : 162  40 Multis 7,760 points

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. Going for “ease of set up” and speed, I only brought only a single fiberglass push pole, no rotor for the 3 Grids after the set up at  FN21

I look forward to working with you during the upcoming January  VHF Contest

You have the opportunity to work me (4) times in the Poconos in addition to my home grid driving back.

I will be Roving to (4) High Elevation Areas in the Poconos on 4 bands  FN21HB - FN11WA- FN10XX - FN20DV-  FM29MT - listen for  me on the following bands  144.203 - 50.128  221.103 432.203    +/- based on conditions. Updates are available on my website https://www.aa2sd.com/ , you can join my  text list here. https://www.aa2sd.com/text-sign-up. 

Saturday Day One Grids FN21HB and FN11WA

• FN21HB Big Pocono State Park 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST elevation 2057 ft  FN21HB80DF

• FN11WA Overlook Lookout Motor Lodge Drums PA 8:00-9:30PM elevation 1578 ft FN11WA77XI 

Sunday Day 2  Grids FN10XX, FN20DV and FM29

•   FN10WW  Overlook Eagle Rock 9- 11 AM  FN10WW95KC

•   FN20DV Penns Peak Overlook 12:00-2:30  elevation 1542 feet FN20DV82EG

• 8:00-10 PM FM29 Gibbsboro Pole Hill Park  elevation 160 ft FM20 and FM29 RIde 

FM29MT57MR

Timing and schedule is based on travel times and conditions.

Sept VHF Rove  Route Plan for Saturday 9/14 and Sunday 9/15

About

Objective: For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz. Stations outside the US & Canada (and their possessions) may only work stations in the US (and its possessions) and Canada.

Dates: The second full weekend in September (September 14-16, 2024)

Contest Period: Begins 1800 UTC Saturday, ends 0259 UTC Monday.

Notice: Participants in the FM Only category can now count contacts made on 902 MHz and 1.2 GHz toward their scores. Previously, only contacts on the four lowest VHF bands (50, 144, 222 and 432 MHz) counted toward participants' scores in this category.

Click Here for Complete ARRL September VHF Contest Rules (PDF)

For contest information contact contests@arrl.org or (860) 594-0232

All legal modes are permitted (while CW and SSB/Phone are most common, MSK144, FT8 and FM-Only are gaining popularity - other popular modes include PSK31, FSK441 and JT65). For Cabrillo file mode definitions, Digital modes should be represented as "DG" (for all things digital), SSB Phone as "PH", FM voice as "FM", and CW as "CW".

Stations in KH0-9, KL7 & KP1-KP5, CY9 and CY0 count as W/VE stations and can be worked by DX stations for contest credit.

Log Submission Deadline

Logs are due within TEN (10) days after the event is over. Logs may be submitted either online or via mail, but electronic Cabrillo logs are the preferred method. Electronic logs must be submitted via our web app at contest-log-submission.arrl.org/

Logs that have been submitted electronically are listed on the Logs Received page. Click the contest name to see a list of submitted logs sorted by call sign and club name.

Online Log Submission - Cabrillo formatted logs must be uploaded via our web app at contest-log-submission.arrl.org.

Submitting Paper Logs By Mail - Be sure to mail your completed Summary Sheet and Log Sheets postmarked before the log submission deadlines.

Paper Entry Forms:

September VHF Summary Sheet

VHF/UHF Log Sheet

Send completed Summary Sheets and logs to:

ARRL - September VHF Contest, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111

If submitting a paper log, it is strongly suggested you use a delivery method that offers a tracking number.

If you wish to convert your log into a Cabrillo formatted log for electronic submission, visit www.b4h.net/cabforms/ and select the event of interest. You can input your log data which will be converted to a Cabrillo formatted log for you (it will generate a log and return it to you), and then you can in turn submit your Cabrillo log online via the web app at contest-log-submission.arrl.org/.

Awards:

Downloadable Certificates will be awarded in the following categories at https://contests.arrl.org/certificates.php

Single Operator:

- Top Single Operator in each ARRL/RAC Section for high and low power.

- Top Single Operator on each band (50, 144, 222, 432, 902, 1296 and 2304-and-up categories) in each ARRL/RAC Section where significant effort or competition is evident. (Note: Since the highest score per band will be the award winner for that band, an entrant may win a certificate with additional single-band endorsements.) For example, if KA1RWY has the highest single-operator all-band score in the CT Section and her 50- and 222-MHz scores are higher than any other CT single operator’s, she will earn a certificate for being the single-operator Section leader and endorsements for 50 and 222 MHz. 

- Top Single Operator Portable in each ARRL/RAC Section where significant effort or competition is evident. (Single Operator Portable entries are not eligible for single-band awards.)

- Top Single Operator, 3-Band in each ARRL/RAC Section where significant effort or competition is evident.(Single Operator, 3-Band entries are not eligible for single-band awards.)

- Top Single Operator, FM Only in each ARRL/RAC Section where significant effort or competition is evident. (Single Operator, FM Only entries are not eligible for single-band awards.)

Rover:

- Top Rover, Limited Rover and Unlimited Rover in each ARRL Division and Canada where significant effort or competition is evident. (Rover entries are not eligible for single-band awards.)

Multioperator:

- Top Multioperator score in each ARRL/RAC Section where significant effort or competition is evident. (Multioperator entries are not eligible for single-band awards.)

- Top Limited Multioperator in each ARRL/RAC Section where significant effort or competition is evident. (Limited Multioperator entries are not eligible for single-band awards.)

DX:

- Top DX stations where significant effort or competition is evident.

Club Competition:

There are ten ARRL-sponsored contests that are designated as Affiliated Club Competitions (ACC) for ARRL and RAC affiliated clubs:

- RTTY Roundup
- January VHF Contest
- International DX Contest
- International Digital Contest
- June VHF Contest
- 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest
- September VHF Contest
- November Sweepstakes
- 160-Meter Contest
- 10-Meter Contest

For full club competition rules, please see the link below:

• Club Competition Rules ver 1.2 (rev 09 Feb 2022)

Last Year's ARRL 2023 Sept VHF Contest AA2SD/R

Get On the Air During VHF Contest Season

ARRL 07/19/2024

VHF contesting season is in full swing! Summer weather brings with it enhanced propagation. With good conditions, stations hundreds of miles away can be worked via tropospheric ducting, E-skip, and perhaps even meteor scatter. If you have an HF rig that includes 6 meters or VHF/UHF capability, you’ve got just the tools you need to take advantage of these enhancements! US amateurs of all license classes may participate in these events, so they are a great way for Technician Class hams to compete in contests.

There are several upcoming VHF+ contests coming up. The 2024 CQ World Wide VHF Contest is this weekend, beginning at 1800 UTC on Saturday, July 20 and concluding at 2100 UTC on Sunday, July 21. Participants can operate on the 6- and 2- meter bands.

The first of the VHF Fall Sprints, the 6-meter Sprint, will be held from 1800 – 2200  UTC on Saturday, August 20. The sprints continue in September with single-band events on 144, 222, and 432 MHz. The final sprint, held on the first weekend of October, includes all bands 902 MHz and above. For rules, see https://www.packratvhf.com/sprints/2024_Fall_Sprint_Rules_Final.pdf.

Closing out the VHF contest season is the ARRL September VHF Contest, which will be held from 1800 UTC on Saturday, September 14 through 0259 UTC on Monday, September 16. All amateur frequencies above 50 MHz may be used.

For activities on the higher VHF and UHF bands, there are two contest opportunities coming up. The ARRL 222 and Up Distance Contest begins at 1800 UTC on Saturday, August 3 and concludes at 1759 UTC on Sunday, August 18. Operation is allowed on all bands from 222 MHz through 241 GHz. 

The ARRL 10 GHz and up Contest will be held the weekends of August 17-19 and September 21-23, from 0900 UTC Saturday through 0759 UTC Monday. Any amateur band from 10 GHz through light may be used. 

If you need an antenna for the VHF contest season, ARRL has a space- and budget-conscious solution, with two antennas in one. The ARRL Dual-band Momobeam 6/10 Antenna features a 10-meter Moxon (28 MHz) and 6-meter Yagi (50 MHz). The antenna is made of aluminum tubes, galvanized steel hardware, UV-resistant POM-C driver insulators and polypropylene clamps. Assembly is easy, and all tubes are labeled. It comes with two sets of hardware – one for permanent install and the other for portable use. The antenna retails for $299.95 and is available in the ARRL Store. It is designed to get Techs active on 6 and 10 meters while Solar Cycle 25 is near its peak.