My Whimsical Sojourn to the 2025 Central States VHF Conference
Ah, the open road! This year I embark on my maiden voyage to the Central States VHF Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, with my N5ZY rover packed fuller than a clown car at a circus. Antennas? Check. Tools? Check. Snacks? Check. Spare coax connectors hiding in every conceivable (and inconceivable) compartment? Check and check!
The Oklahoma sunrise will find me in high spirits and higher frequencies, ready to activate EM16, EM17, EM18, EM19 and EN10. I will be pausing in each square to call CQ on FT8 like a ham radio rooster greeting the dawn. Will I hit elusive propagation? Will my meticulously planned coffee and snack supply survive to the destination? Time will tell. Hopefully every stop on the map where I transmit a signal will return with a break in the static from far away Multi-Hop Sporadic-E paths and across many bands where only the slightly mad roam.
Until then: May your SWR be low, your connections many, and your rover well-stocked with snacks, many high quality snap-on ferrites and spare fuses.
| Local Time | Grid | Lat/Lon | Elevation (Ft) | Note | Gmap Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EM16 | 36.82583, -97.34289 | 1070 | Overpass-W. Adobe Rd (Blackwell, OK) | Google Map | |
| EM17 | 37.92717, -97.32759 | 1435 | Newton KS Rest Stop | Google Map | |
| EM17 | 37.99988, -97.32756 | 1469 | Newton SE36-I135EntRamp | Google Map | |
| EM18 | 38.000135215001286, -97.32760999567188 | 1469 | Newton SE36-I135EntRamp | Google Map | |
| EM19 | 39.6824267391772, -97.656580687234 | 1530 | Xavier Rd/County Road X Hilltop (easyButDirtRd) | Google Map | |
| EN10 | 40.02425, -97.61409 | 1645 | Cemetary | Google Map | |
The conference
The conference was really interesting – as a hands-on learner I like seeing things not just reading about it. Not every detail is in print – so seeing this stuff in the parking lot helps a lot. There were also a few vendors with their gear here to examine. Down East Microwave gave some interesting presentations.
One of the most interesting things for me was the chance to see so many amateurs in the 10 GHz band (and higher and lower). Brian, NI0P, in the photo below is showing his 10 GHz / 5 GHz dish to a bunch of people. Brian has setup a really neat new Ford Bronco with a lot of gear.
On the other side of me was W0ZQ with his setup. He’s using a receiver pre-amp, a separate transverter and a microwave relay switch and a Leo Bodnar GPS Disciplined Oscillator with an old 2m mobile radio.
Return trip
I didn’t make too many stops on the way to Nebraska. Not a lot of VHF activity on a Thursday morning. On the way home however I stopped at lots of hilltops and some of them were actually productive. On the way TO Nebraska I made, wait for it, dramatic pause: 3 contacts! On the way home Sunday however I made about 45 contacts in the rover.
Here is a snapshot from the Salina Kansas Rest Stop which is conveniently on a bit of a hill. The wind was blowing so hard I was concerned the ladder would blow over as I transitioned from the ladder to the roof of the car.
and another image near Concordia KS on County Road X.
What’s next?
One of my stops was Chester Cemetery, EN10. While making contacts I saw a van with an HF antenna drive by. A few minutes later it was pulling in and pulled up to chat. It was Kent Britain, WA5VJB, and we had a great chat about how I could add 10 GHz to my vehicle. So when I got home I started making plans for 2026 to add 10 GHz. Basically he told me it’s the most forgiving, most popular, and easiest to setup – and all I need is a feed horn on my mast to make use of tropo scatter off air pockets that are different density. I can likely get one grid square on 10 GHz unless there is tropo-storm scatter allowing me to get much further.