Back on VHF After a Long Break: Winter Contesting and First 6m Contacts

It’s been a while — a long while — since I’ve participated in a VHF contest. In fact, the last time I hit the bands for a VHF event was back in September VHF 2018. After such a long break, it felt great to jump back in and give it another go.

This time around, I decided to step things up a bit. I actually put in the effort and got a small station together for the contest. I set up a 3-element Yagi for 6 meters on a 10-foot mast and a 3-element Yagi for 2 meters on a 12-foot painter’s pole. Nothing too fancy, but it did the job. Both antennas were simple enough to raise solo, even in the less-than-ideal weather.

Speaking of weather — it was cold. No snow, but brutal temperatures that barely cracked the double digits, with wind chills dipping below 0°F. Not exactly the most comfortable conditions for portable ops or roving, but we made it work.

The real highlight of this contest was getting my brother W0EGT involved. Neither of us had ever made a contact on 6 meters before, so this was a first for both of us. Hard to believe I’ve been a licensed ham for nearly 10 years and had never touched 6m until now. Better late than never, right?

We submitted our logs just to see how we stacked up against the competition — especially within 0 call land and here in Missouri. To our surprise, we didn’t do too badly at all. We ended up placing 14th and 15th in the region. Not bad for a cold weekend, some simple antennas, and two guys trying 6m for the first time!

This was a great reintroduction to VHF contesting, and sharing the experience with my brother made it even better. Looking forward to doing it again — maybe with slightly warmer weather next time.

73!

1	SO3B	K0PHP	MO	1,008
2	SO3B	K0VG	MN	868
3	SO3B	WD0BGZ	NE	744
4	SO3B	N0AT	MN	480
5	SO3B	KF0LKJ	MN	384
6	SO3B	WB0LJC	MN	294
7	SO3B	W0UC	MN	222
8	SO3B	W0VC	MN	196
9	SO3B	W0LMS	MN	186
10	SO3B	WA0VPJ	MN	112
11	SO3B	W0SEI	MN	110
12	SO3B	KB0HNN	MN	77
13	SO3B	K0DJD	MN	64
14	SO3B	W0EGT	MO	56
15	SO3B	N0RVS	MO	40
16	SO3B	KJ0P	MN	30
17	SO3B	KB0NAV	CO	24
18	SO3B	W0IZ	CO	4

In Missouri we got 2nd and 3rd place. Not too many people contesting or sending in their logs.

1	SO3B	K0PHP	MO	1,008
2	SO3B	W0EGT	MO	56
3	SO3B	N0RVS	MO	40