[Moon] SM2CEW contest activity

[Darrell]

Hi Peter;
Your Operations sounds like mine in some respects. My AZ Froze and 
stopped turning, I put a heater under it, and waited an hour, which 
should have been long enough,,,,,,which it was, but while Frozen and 
me trying to drive it I cut off a Half Moon Key in the Big Chain 
Sprocket so when it did warm up, the Large chain sprocket simply spun 
on the shaft, unbeknown to me, hi hi.

I did not have the blasted Ice you have though, about the only thing 
I like about WINTER, is no Lawns to mow, no Black Flies, or Other 
flying bugs around to eat you, hi

Regards & Thanks, Darrell

At 08:22 AM 11/30/2007, you wrote:
>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
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