[Moon] SM2CEW contest activity

[Peter Sundberg]

Pretty much everything has been either not possible to use, or has been
running in "limp mode" during this years ARRL contest. Last weekend was no
different..

The 144 MHz array was totally iced up, and SWR very high -> "unusable"

My dish elevation was frozen solid in the park position, and while trying
to get it going on Friday I managed to damage the elevation mount. Early
Sunday morning I could get the dish going, but only at very limited
elevation angles. The problem was not the snow, but the thick layer of ice
under the snow.

http://www.sm2cew.com/sm2cew_dish_nov_07.jpg

At 0630 GMT on Sunday I heard P43L working N2UO on 1296 MHz, and Al had a
really good signal. Unfortunately P43L had to stop operation right then and
there as torrential rain was making the /portable operation under a tarp
impossible. 

I worked 18 stations in an hour and a half on 23cm, new initial was AL7RT.
On 432 managed to get on for an hour as the moon came above the trees on
moonrise, and worked 8 stations. Conditions on 432 sounded really good,
despite heavy aurora. Due to the earlier problems, my elevation drive
jammed at 29 deg elevation, so I had to stop with many hours of good moon
still available on Sunday evening.

Sorry for missing those treasured CW QSO's with a lot of you guys, but this
is life at the arctic circle. 37 QSO's only in this years contest, snow and
ice last weekend, and strong winds that kept me off for most of the time
during the first leg. 

But best of all, all QSO's were done without loggers... hi! 

And if it was easy we wouldn't be doing this!

73 de Peter SM2CEW
www.sm2cew.com
http://blog.sm2cew.com