Time for the 2025 ARRL Jan VHF Contest!
Weather Contingency Plan
Due to an incoming arctic cold front (forecast: high 21°F, low 18°F, wind chill 3°F), I’ve canceled my overnight trip to Magazine Mountain for safety reasons. The extreme cold poses risks for antenna setup and potential vehicle issues.
New plan:
1. Saturday: Mount Scott, Oklahoma
– Operating during 6m opening (approx. 4-7 PM)
2. Sunday: Turkey Mountain, Tulsa
– Operating 9-11 AM (or until propagation ends)
| EM26 | 890 ft | 36.07070, -95.99401 | Turkey Mountain upper trailhead | Turkey Mountain |
| EM15 | 700 ft | 35.98606, -96.01076 | 12261 Casper St, Jenks | I-75 W121st St,Jenks/Gpool I-75 (Clarion Hotel right off highway) |
| EM25 | 700 ft | 35.98851, -95.98297 | 11928 S. Mulberry Ct, Jenks | I-75 W121st St,Jenks/Gpool just 1 mile East of Clarion (Curtin Drug)FireDept Adjacent |
| EM16 | 808 ft | 36.01049, -96.04800 | 4734 W Hilton Rd, Sapulpa | Creek Turnpike Adjacent, little pad of asphalt overlooking hwy. Near I75 |
This plan minimizes exposure to harsh conditions while still participating in the contest. Stay warm and safe, everyone! 73/N5ZY
Crossing finger for good weather! If it’s snowing or 20 deg I will likely stay home. I’m not driving windy mountain roads with all these antennas watching for deer and tree limbs and trying not to skid off the road. Likewise I will not be driving down the mountain in the dark.
Begin: Saturday Jan 18 at 1 PM Central
End: Sunday Jan 19 at 10 PM Central
My call will be N5ZY/R for Rover
ARRL VHF Contest Rules: arrl.org/january-vhf
Also check for my friends in OKROVER.INFO
The view to the Northwest in October when Lisa and I had a chance to visit the park!
Weather permitting, I will drive to Mount Magazine in Arkansas! Mt. Magazine has the highest point in Arkansas. It is located South of Ozark and Clarksville in Midwest Arkansas. The park is beautiful and is about 2,600 ft above sea level! When standing on Mount Magazine in Arkansas, one observes the classic example of mountain ridgelines. The Ozark Mountains, where Mount Magazine is located, feature mountain ranges with distinctive east-west running ridgelines. These ridgelines create a visual effect where mountains appear to layer into the distance, with each subsequent ridge seeming slightly lower and more distant.
My goal is to submit a best score for me and if that happens to be ranked in the section top 10 that will make me real happy. I also hope to provide new grid squares to lots of people! My other goal is to enjoy the sights and some high-tech radio time. The peak of Mount Magazine is not accessible by car so I will be driving from side to side as the peak is a few hundred feet above the roadway. I’m planning to begin the VHF Contest at Mount Magazine on the North face Saturday and make as many contacts as possible then scoot around to the South face and repeat. I will overnight at Mount Magazine and Sunday morning do the same when 6m opens Sunday morning.. however Sunday morning I will start pointing South to South America, then as those opportunities dissipate I will return to the North side and face East and North East.
When 6m begins to fade away around 10:30 AM I will leave for my next grid squares to hopefully make several local contacts at each stop. For the evening opening I will try to be at another higher elevation in Garfield or Pea Ridge. Then I will begin my journey home since I cannot see tree limbs in the dark!
Grid Squares – Where and when
| Local Time | Grid | Lat, Lon | Elevation (Ft) | Note | Gmap Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SATURDAY 1PM until band dies | |||||
| 1,3,5PM | EM35 | 35.17419, -93.64629 | 2570 | North face of Mount Magazine AR | Google Map |
| 2,4,6PM | EM35 | 35.16378, -93.64182 | 2540 | South face of Mount Magazine AR | Google Map |
| SUNDAY 8AM to 10PM | |||||
| 8-9 AM | EM35 | 35.16378, -93.64182 | 2540 | South face of Mount Magazine AR to South America | Google Map |
| 9-10:30AM | EM35 | 35.17419, -93.64629 | 2570 | North face of Mount Magazine AR to East | Google Map |
| 12 PM | EM35 | 35.51837, -93.83549 | 708 | Ozark AR | Google Map |
| 1:20 PM | EM35 | 35.51540, -93.99827 | 780 | Fisher Mountain, Mulberry AR | Google Map |
| 2:00 PM | EM25 | 35.45844, -94.35614 | 554 | Van Buren AR | Google Map |
| 3:30 PM | EM26 | 36.05842, -94.20301 | 1495 | Centennial Park, Fayetteville AR | Google Map |
| 4:55 PM | EM26 | 36.23008, -94.15453 | 1521 | Callahan Mountain, Springdale AR | Google Map |
| 5:35 PM | EM26 | 36.37672, -94.11472 | 1335 | Pleasant Hill, Rogers AR | Google Map |
| 6:05 PM | EM26 | 36.444062, -94.025368 | 1400 | Pea Ridge National Military Park, Garfield AR | Google Map |
| 6:40 PM | EM36 | 36.441154, -93.972700 | 1672 | Garfield AR | Google Map |
The contest does not end until 10 PM local time but once the sun goes down I’m going to concentrate on getting home. I will have a radio on but 146.52 but I suspect nobody will be listening for me on a Sunday night.
APRS Position Beacon
I will use APRSdroid to beacon my live position.
You can see where I am using https://aprs.fi/ and searching for my callsign.
Frequencies
For this contest we are allowed to use everything above 6m and the National Simplex Frequency may be used if not busy.
| Band | WSJT-FT8 (USB) | Call Freq (USB) | QSO Freq (USB) | FM SIMPLEX | FM SIMPLEX 2 | FM SIMPLEX 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 M | 50.313 | 50.125 | 50.145 | |||
| 2 M | 144.174 | 144.2 | 144.220 | 146.52 | 146.49 | 146.55 |
| 1.25 M | 222.174 | 222.1 | 223.5 | |||
| 70 cm | 432.174 | 432.1 | 446.0 | |||
| 33 cm | n/a | 903.1 | 915.0 | |||
| 23 cm | 1296.174 | 1296.1 | 1294.5 |
Antennas
| Bands | Antenna |
|---|---|
| Verticals | |
| 2 M | Whip while driving |
| 2/70/23 | Comet Base Vertical CMA-GP-95 while parked only and while the rotor is NOT in use! |
| Horizontals | |
| 6 M | Par Electronics Stressed Moxon, (50.3 Mhz) or M2 Antennas 6M-3SS beam or Par Electronics 6M Omniangle (OA-50) |
| 2 M | M2 Antennas 2M7X (144-148MHz) |
| 1.25 M | M2 Antennas 222-10EZ (222-226 MHz) |
| 70 CM | M2 Antennas 440-11X (420-450 MHz) |
| 33 CM | M2 Antennas 917HD (900-930MHz) |
| 23 CM | M2 Antennas 23CM35 (1250-1300MHz) |
For June VHF I may add verticals for 33cm and 1.25m.
Radios
| Radio | Desc/Use |
|---|---|
| IC9700 | 2m, 70cm and 23 cm USB and FM |
| IC7610 | 6m |
| IC7300 | To use with transverters |
| Q5 Signal L33-28hp50 | Converts 10 M to 33 cm |
| Q5 Signal L222-28hp100 | Converts 10 M to 1.25 M |
| Anytone | VHF Mobile |
Visual Map
I’m visual.. so here is a map created using https://www.egloff.eu/qralocator/ I’ve added number to represent the order and local where I intend to be on the air.
