At 0321 UTC, I logged KA9QFL for what I thought would be my final contact in the ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes.  We worked this guy 15 times from four grid squares.  It could have been 16 times if only 6 meters were open.  I am Tim, N9SFN - ROVER.  I say "We" because the for the last 850 miles I have been followed by Al, N9VZX - also ROVER.  How do two Chicago area hams find themselves attempting to rove 15 grid squares?  It all started with the September 1997 VHF QSO Party.

My truck was in the shop for repairs when Al offered to give me a ride if I didn't mind working the contest with him.  He didn't have to twist my arm to get me to agree to that.  I looked for active frequencies and helped him log.  It was a great time, and before it was over we were already making plans for the next contest.

First, we realized we wanted to do the contest as a rover.  I knew some good locations for transmitting.  Since the operating rules allow only one stations call per rover and having never done this before we thought it would be good to have two separate vehicles.  This way we knew that we could activate all of the grid squares we traveled to.

Second, we needed more equipment, a lot more equipment.  Being active in public service helped a lot.  Local hams came up with enough for two full stations on 6 meters, 2 meters, 222, and 440.

My S10 Blazer was outfitted with an Icom 28H, used primarily for scanning the recommended 2 meter simplex frequencies.  Below it sat an Alinco DX70 which I used for 6-meter FM.  Below that sat my Icom 3220H I used primarily for 440, with the sub-band set to a 2-meter call frequency for Al and me.  For 222 I used a Standard dual band HT which actually served me well with only 5 watts output.  I tossed in the cell phone just in case.

My antennas were all mag mounts with the exception of 6 meters which was bumper mounted.  I also had a 30 foot telescoping mast and a 2m/440 beam in the back the truck for setup at certain locations.

For power I set up four 12-volt 24-amp batteries behind the passenger seat which were being charged off the car.  From this I ran all my radios, the GPS, the camcorder and the laptop computer used for logging and mapping.

Al was in his S10 pick-up.  He had his Icom dual band mobile set for 2 meter and 440 FM.  On the passenger seat Al used a milk crate to hold in place a Yaesu 736R, from which he operated 6, 2, 222 and 440 FM and SSB.  He also had a telescoping mast, a 2m/440 beam for FM and a 2 meter beam for sideband in the back the truck along with a similar battery backup.

Finally the big day had come and all our preparation was to be put to the test.  We started out from Chicagoland 1900 UTC 01/18.  From a location in the southeast corner of EN52 we drove north and then east until we entered EN62.  It was kind of rough driving and logging at the same time.  We decide to make a stop south of Milwaukee.  From there we were able to make many contacts while getting a bite to eat.  At 2200 UTC we entered EN63 where we stopped along the Lake Michigan shore hoping to get some contacts from 8-land across the lake.  No luck there but, several of the stations we worked in EN62 followed us up and we were able to work them again.

Driving west we entered EN53 where again we gave out points to several stations we worked in other grids, as well some new ones.  It was 2236 UTC and I had to get back to Chicago by 2400 for a previous commitment.  I was off the air but Al was able to work a few more stations driving home and again later that evening.

1400 UTC 01/19.  The radios were dead silent as I drove to meet Al in EN51.  It was an hour later by the time we started our rover caravan.  We had an ambitious goal of activating 11 grid squares in 14 hours.  Good Luck!

By 1530 UTC Chicagoland was buzzing with activity.  We drove west to Joliet then east entering EN61 by 1645 UTC.  Heading south it was getting hectic so we stopped for a while half way between Chicago and Urbana.  From a rest stop along I-57 we were able to work several stations.  Al pointed out that all of the activity seemed to be to the north and maybe we should stay, but I convinced him we needed to push on south if we were going to meet our goal.

By the time we entered EN60 we could no longer hear the Chicago stations.  Stopping briefly to make contacts between ourselves, Al stumbled upon some guy who asked Al why he was using "his" simplex frequency!  Somehow Al talked him into giving him points but, he wouldn't come back to me.

EN50 was a wash.  It was 1900 UTC and we had no new contacts.  I promised Al we would stop in EM59 long enough to set up the mast and beams, which we did.  From 2000 to 2100 UTC we called CQ  from southwest of Urbana on all four bands and got nothing!

It was very discouraging.  Al said we had nine grids already why not head back to Chicago where at least there was some activity.  He was right but, I wasn't ready to give up yet.  With only 7 hours of contesting left we headed east towards Indianapolis.

EM69 wasn’t much better until we entered the Indianapolis area.  At 2400 UTC we decided to stop just inside EM79 to reevaluate our goal.  We were not making a lot of contacts even in a large urban area like Indianapolis.  EN70 was close by we could easily do that but, EN71, 72 and 73 were more remote and would have to be dropped.

On the road we contacted Mark, KA9QFL, who was working the contest from EM79 on the same four bands we were.  Mark was swinging beams around following us up into EN70 then back down into EM79, EM69 and up into EN60.  He was really happy to hook up with us.  By the time we bid him '73 we gave him a combined total of 46 Wow!

Now it was time to head on back home to Chicago.  We had 12 grid squares activated which wasn't too shabby.  More important, we had a great time talking with guys we might not normally have a chance to.  Also, we learned a heck of a lot about where the activity is for future rover contesting.

Wait a second.  Was that somebody on 2 meters?  It's only 0324 UTC, the contest isn't over.  Hey Al, lets bag this guy - which we did.

I would like to thank local hams AA9KK, WB9KHR, KB9NXE, N9RNQ, N9QQK, & K9ZOG.  We could not have succeeded without their equipment contributions and significant encouragement.

'73 N9SFN