[Mich VHF UHF Society] Greetings from the western reaches of EN82

[David Pruett]

Tom,

Thanks for your note.  I enjoyed reading what you had to say and hearing 
your perspective on the club.

There seem to be a number of small pockets of weak signal VHF/UHF 
activity here in Michigan, each with few dedicated ops. I've been on VHF 
on and off since 1989, and it sure seems like the bands are empty a lot 
of the time.

I had the chance to operate 2M from K3MQH, a multi-op station on a 
mountain top outside of Gettysburg, PA in the 1997 Sept VHF QSO Party.  
Out there, 2M sounds like 40M :-)

Yes, I can see how having a club web site and e-mail reflector has 
helped in resurrecting MIVUS.  But the web site content is a bit sparse 
or old, and there is very little chatter on the reflector.  Roger can't 
do it all by himself; we all need to contribute stuff for the web site 
and converse on the reflector.

As you are aware, I am also involved with the Mad River Radio Club with 
contesting on HF, so I'll be splitting my time between the two clubs.  
But I feel a lot of loyalty to what MIVUS is trying to do, and hope to 
contribute towards that.

I have been trying to recruit newcomers to the weak-signal VHF/UHF 
world.  I think that one way to do that might be rovering.  I think 
there are a lot of guys who have radios with HF/50/144/432 capability 
that never venture above 30 MHz.  With a few simple antennas on their 
car, they can make QSOs in a VHF contest and have a lot of fun if there 
are people for them to work.  This is where MIVUS comes in - mentoring 
people like this as to the right way to set up their stuff, then 
promoting the rovering activity on the e-mail reflector.

I think the "Golden Mitten" award is a great idea.  There should be a 
page on the MIVUS web site describing the award with an official list of 
the 24 grids and how to apply.  If somebody would work out the details 
of how to administer the award, maybe I could craft a web page.

I hope that you will be able to acquire those Larcan modules. Those 
would make a great club project with some of our experienced tech guys 
leading the way so other members can increase the capability of their 
stations.  This is exactly the kind of thing which can build interest 
and activity.

I wish that we had some sort of weekly net, maybe rotating between 
different bands so members could get on an test their stations without 
having to wait for a contest weekend.

Or maybe a set of beacons on the most popular VHF band, centrally 
located in the state, again so that people would test their stations' 
receiving capabilities without needing a contest to do so.

I am glad to hear about the "Spark in the Park".  I've already marked in 
my calendar, and plan to attend.

Do you know if K8EB/b on 903.065 is still QRV?  I'm putting my 903 gear 
back together and I'd like to find a beacon to listen to for proving out 
my setup.

73, Dave/K8CC


On 5/4/2016 9:56 PM, Tom wrote:
> Dave,
>
> Really nice post. I myself would love to do more on VHF/UHF, but I'm 
> 33 months away from the R word!
>
> I also wish there was more activity. It's puzzling, as it seems like 
> activity is down. I give a little talk about once a year to the 
> Holland club, and I push the faith at hamfests by telling the FM'rs 
> that a 7 element 2 meter beam on top of their roof, will let them talk 
> to Chicago, Milwaukee or Detroit anytime.
>
> Roger, W8IO gets the credit for resurrecting the MIVUS crowd. With 
> this list server, it is easier for all of us to keep track of what is 
> going on. We've even come up with an award, the Golden Mitten award, 
> for working all 24 Michigan grids. "We" need to get working on being 
> able to award that.
>
> The best part of this list is that if someone like you does go rover, 
> you can let all of us know, and we can then look for you.
>
> Any ideas for increasing activity, well, they are appreciated.
>
> As an aside, sometime in June, I might be able to get my hands on some 
> 50+ Larcan VHF high band 1 kw modules. If I get those, there will be a 
> special deal for MIVUS members. I should be able to bring them to the 
> annual meeting.
>
> Oh, speaking of that for you Dave and everyone, make sure to put 
> August 20, 2016, Saturday on your calendar for the annual MIVUS 
> meeting at the "Spark in the Park". That will be 3-8 pm, Saturday in 
> Grand Rapids.
>
> Thank you fro the note Dave, and your level of activity is very much 
> appreciated..
>
> Tom K8TB