VHF Portable Operation
Bob Witte, KØNR

2003 January VHF Contest
During the 2003 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes, I did a "backpack QRP portable" operation, climbing to the summit of Mount Herman (elevation 9063 feet) in the Rampart Mountain Range. This was a completely hike-in, battery power expedition so I only operated on Saturday. The trail did not have much snow on it due to the lack of snow in this area but it was icy in spots. 

My equipment consisted of a Yaesu FT-817 All-mode QRP transceiver used on 50 MHz, 144 MHz and 432 MHz. The antenna for 50 MHz was a dipole strung between the trees. I used an Arrow Dual-band Yagi antenna for 144 MHz and 432 MHz, mounted on a camera tripod. The tripod allowed the antenna to rotate 90 degrees so that the antenna polarization could be changed from vertical to horizontal. 

The photo above shows the FT-817, my paper log book and a Kenwood TH-79A dualband HT for making FM contacts. I entered the contest as Single Operator Portable and will probably win the category for Colorado and maybe the Rocky Mountain Division (but only because no one else was crazy enough to operate outdoors in January!) Actually, the weather was sunny and mild all afternoon.

2002 June VHF Contest KØNR
During the 2002 ARRL June VHF QSO Party, I operated portable west of Monument, CO in vhf grid DM79, at an elevation of 9300 feet in the Rampart Mountain Range. The cloud in the background is smoke from the Hayman Fire, which became the largest forest fire in the recorded history of Colorado. Although not a very serious effort, I placed first in the Rocky Mountain Division for the Single Operator Portable category.