March 2000 QST

By Dan Henderson, N1NDContest Branch Manager1999 ARRL SeptemberVHF QSO Party Resultsmeans a lot of differentthings to differentVHF/UHFpeople. Many hamsimmediately think of using their FM H-Tsor mobile radios to chat away on the localFM repeater driving to and from work.Packet will come to the minds of many whoenjoy digital operating. And for chasing DXabove 50 MHz, of course, it’s hard to beatCW or SSB.All it takes is a good contest to bringthe best of VHF and UHF together—regardless of mode or location. You maybe running FM contacts while perched ona mountaintop, or honing your rover skillswith a friend while travelling 65 MPH downthe interstate highway. You might test yourSSB or CW QRP savvy after hiking to thetop of a ridge behind your house, or youmay choose to enjoy the mode of yourchoice from the comfort of your own shack.In whatever way you choose to compete, aVHF contest allows you to experience newopportunities in this wonderful avocationwe call Amateur Radio.The ARRL September VHF QSO Partynetted 606 entries, with over 900 operators,including the operators at the various fulland limited multi-operator stations. Newto this annual fall VHF/UHF challenge wasthe inclusion of an Affiliated Club compe-tition. Fourteen clubs entered the mediumor local club categories for 1999, a numberthat is certain to rise in September 2000.The multi-operator W6TOI group was wellprepared on the West Coast and rackedup a Top Ten finish in their category.Jeff, W2FU, with Chris, K2CS, sharingthe duties, set a new overall scoring markfor Rover entries with a score of 220,175.Their effort stands as the Atlantic Divisionrecord as well. They were joined as newrover division record setters by N4OFA inthe Delta division, N1MJD in New Englanddivision, NK4Q in the Southeastern division,N6TEB in the Southwestern division andAB5SS in the West Gulf division.Four new division records wereestablished in the single-operator category.Congratulations to new record holdersK1RZ in the Atlantic division, KA1ZE inthe New England division, N9VM in thePacific division and K5IUA in the WestGulf division. Rounding out single-opdivision record setters were KQ6QW andVE7DXG who set QRP portable marks inthe Southwestern division and Canadarespectively.Multioperator and limited multioperatorefforts were in abundance, andtheir operators accounted for approximatelya third of the participation in the contest.The group efforts at K3MQH in the Atlanticdivision, N0UK in the Dakota division,K7VHF in the Northwestern division, andW6TOI in the Southwestern divisions allestablished new multioperator records fortheir divisions. New limited multioperatorNortheast Region(New England, Hudson andAtlantic Divisions; Maritimeand Quebec Sections)KA1ZE 359,324 SK1RZ 223,450 SWA2FGK 201,083 S(K2LNS,op)K3VGX 10,608 QK1ZE 6,536 QWB2AMU 1,900 QW2SZ/1 1,418,436 MK3MQH 792,225 MK1WHS 365,781 MK3YTL 384,033 LNC1I 286,029 LNS9E 231,080 LW2FU 220,176 RN1MJD 143,256 RWA2IID 26,448 RSoutheast Region(Delta, Roanoke andSoutheastern Divisions)K2UOP/8 89,376 SK4QI 62,860 SW4RX 44,408 SW4FRZ 12,540 QCentral Region(Central and Great LakesDivisions; Ontario Section)WA8WZG 388,144 SN2BJ 134,720 SK2YAZ 132,396 SN8A (N8XA,op) 7,097 QN9MYK 3,591 QN9LAG 636 QW0UC 188,710 MW9ICE 151,076 MMidwest Region(Dakota, Midwest, RockyMountain and West GulfDivisions; Manitoba andSaskatchewan Sections)K5IUA 86,426 SW8CM 58,000 SW3XO/5 37,584 SWest Coast Region(Pacific, Northwestern andSouthwestern Divisions;Alberta, British Columbiaand NWT/Yukon Sections)N6HKF 52,407 SN9VM 51,450 SN7STU 37,736 SVE7DXG 16,254 QKQ6QW 12,930 QK6LMN 6,075 QW6TOI 96,942 MK7VHF 55,872 MN1VM 54,897 MW2ODH/6 155,500 LW7AV 6,437 LWB7FJG 4,648 LN6TEB 75,864 RN6DN 33,320 RWB7DHC 17,424 RK8GP 1,108,905 MK4SZ 5,192 MN0UK 119,579 MKK5IH 11,242 MK0FF 6,890 MN0QJM 108,575 LN5XU 12,864 LW4IY 244,110 LAA4ZZ 171,125 LW4NH 74,834 LN4OFA 29,862 RNK4Q 9,928 RWB0QGH 1,440 RN8ZM 20,995 LNI9E 17,536 LN8PVT 5,002 LWB9SNR 103,240 RN8KWX 64,962 RK8WW 55,528 RAB5SS 63,745 RW9FZ 26,523 RWB5VYE 23,180 R102 March 2000