NT4L/R 2000 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes Plans

NT4L Rover Operations

The NT4L (x-KF4AJO) VHF Contest Rover Team, uses a 1976 Dodge Van with a raised fiberglass roof (affectionatly called Buttercup because of its yellow paint scheme). We have a table and two comfortable chairs in the operating position. We have pneumatic mast connected to a CDE rotator at the base and the mast extends through a hole in the roof (formerly a venthole). On the mast (when extended) we have:

6m Cushcraft 5el at the top (about 29' off the ground).
2m K1FO design 12el om a crossboom with a 903MHz Directive Systems 33el looper and a 1296MHz M2 35el
432MHz K1FO design 22el a crossboom with a 222MHz 11el.
2m K1FO design 12el, stacked with the one below the 6m beam, on a crossboom with a 432MHz K1FO design 22el. that is stacked with the one just above it.


Rigs:
6m - Kenwood TS-60
2m - Icom IC271A and RF Concepts 10w in/170w out amp
222MHz - DEM transverter and Ericsson amp
432MHz - Yeasu FT790II and Mirage 30w in/100w out amp
903MHz - DEM transverter with converted Ericson 1mw in/50 watts out
1296MHz - DEM transverter and amp

Status update:
While traveling to Dayton for our annual pilgrimage we "threw a rod' in the engine and had to be towed the last 115 miles and after the fest was over towed home. Check later for pictures of the towing situations. As a result of this we are out of the rover business until we can replace the engine. Because of extremely limited funds (we were opperating on a shoestring budget as it is) it took several months before we got roving again. Donations are being accepted for the "Save Buttercup" fund at: ;{)
Save Buttercup
C/O B.W. Martin, KQ4TV
4558 Brooke Valley Dr.
Hermitage TN 37076

Hello,

My name is Bruce, KQ4TV and I work the NT4L (x-KF4AJO) rover operation with Robin, KB4IDC.

Robin handles the 432 and 6m rigs and I handle the 2m rig along with logging. We Share operations on the 1296 and 222 rigs. Robin takes notes while operating but I log the entries using a laptop computer running VHF-DX. We have not implemented DVRs/Voice Keyers to call CQ (yet!) but plan to. We are looking at a rearrangement of the equipment so that any operator can handle any band.

We generally get up the day of the contest and drive to our first operating position. While it used to take 8-12 minutes for us to set up after parking the van facing North, it now takes about 30 seconds to open the valves and fill the pneumatic mast. Preparing to move takes a similar amount of time. We operate for about 90 minutes until things get real slow and then move to the next grid. Late Saturday night (Sunday Morning) we will sleep for several hours and get up and either operate some more or move to our next grid.

I hope this gives you an idea on how things work for us. We are constantly improving things as we learn from each contest what works and what does not. Suggestions and Ideas are appreciated.

Robin recently gave a presentation at the 1999 SEVHF confrence on roving. If you would like a copy of his PowerPoint presentation you can click here for the "ZIPPED" version. I hope to try to HTMLize it soon.

Please send questions or comments to:
vhf@kq4tv.aprs.net
or:
rmidgett@edge.net

../images/OmarBC.jpg
In the Dayton Flea Market with mast extended.
../images/BCtowHome.jpg
Buttercup being towed home.