The September VHF Contest is usually slow, with few or no six-meter openings. That’s what happened this year, although I did manage to boost last year’s score significantly. Here’s how that happened.

VHF Contest Single Op Portable — Two Radios

I started participating in the QRP category with the 2024 CQ WW VHF Contest in the Hilltopper category. I enjoyed it so much that all subsequent VHF contests have been in a QRP category. I love the simplicity—plug in your radio, connect a computer and antennas, and you’re on the air filling the logbook.

Well, of course, doing the same thing over and over isn’t my style, even when it’s working. So why not add some complexity to the effort?

This time I used an Icom IC-7100 on 144 and 432 MHz, driving that super simple dual band 2m/70cm Yagi. I then added an Icom IC-9100 on 50 MHz with the 3-element M2 Yagi. This radio setup allowed me to be on two bands at the same time. Rather than switching from 6 to 2 and back again to see if anything was happening, I could monitor both simultaneously, including running some CQs. It worked out great.

VHF Contest — Computer Software

For the computer setup, I continued to run N3FJP’s VHF Contest Logger, but instead of running WSHT-X directly to the log, I used JTAlert to route both radios to the log. This setup continued to alert me about dupes and new grids, so it worked well.

I also ran DX Maps and VHF-Slack Chat and kept an eye on N3FJP’s Ham Dash and the Contest Online ScoreBoard to track how others were doing in the contest. I used my iPhone’s hotspot for the internet connection.

VHF Contest Portable — DC Power

In past contests, I powered the DC directly from the car’s battery, which caused a significant IR drop on the cable from the front of the vehicle. Although 10 watts isn’t a heavy load, I found some reasonably priced LiPo battery options on Amazon. This discovery was sparked after seeing one at the Central States VHF Society Conference. Greg, WQ0P, recommended I lift his 100 AH battery, and I was amazed at how lightweight it was. I found a similar battery, and that’s how I powered my rigs during this contest.

I did keep the car’s engine running for air conditioning. Plus, I ran the computer, monitor, and iPhone from an inverter powered by the car. It would have been a simple matter to run everything from the battery, but there was no need.

September VHF Contest — 2025 Results

I managed to run up a fairly reasonable score this year. Last year, from the same spot, I found 2,769 points. This year, I gathered up 4,998 points. The big winner was 2 meters with 37 QSOs and 20 grids, versus last year at 23/15. Six meters also improved from 28/17 to 38/18. 432 MHz also improved from 10/7 to 15/11. Having two sets of eyes on the bands and two radios to work those contacts that did appear really made the difference.

Highlights included working CO2QU on 6 meters. Most other distant stations were heard but not long enough to complete a QSO. Sunday morning, Don, NL7CO/R, stopped by for an eyeball QSOs. He had a single band effort going on 2 meter SSB and FM. I then worked him in EM01, EM02, and EM03 for new grids. His encouragement to plug in the microphone also helped me pick up QSOs with K5LLL and WD5DJT.

VHF Contest — Butt-in-Chair

As we all know, butt-in-chair is a key part of any contest effort. To that end, I set up well before the contest started on Saturday at 1 PM Central. I then operated until the bands had long been quiet, around 6:30 PM. Afterward, I drove into Hico, TX, to my motel. Next, I went to a wonderful restaurant called Oma Leen’s, where I sank into a bar stool and enjoyed a superb meal. That’s one thing I like about VHF contests: you can usually shut down for the night and still do just fine.

On Sunday, I was up at 5:30 AM, grabbed donuts and coffee, and headed south to set up the station. You can see the sunrise I captured at the top of this blog.

It was slow but possible to make some QSOs. The challenge is that you’ve already worked most of the stations in range on Saturday. But there were a few new ones that I added to the log. Plus, the SSB contacts mentioned above added some excitement to the effort.

By 1:30 PM, there wasn’t much else to do, so I closed up shop and headed home. I figured by that time, most of the ops were watching football rather than their radios. Again, it’s all about butt-in-chair, but it does matter which chair you choose!

It was a fun contest; we’ll see how my score compares — and I’ll start thinking about the next improvements to my station for the January VHF Contest.