Sweepstakes Surprise

When I went to the post office late last week, there was a pickup slip for a parcel. When the clerk brought it to me, I was surprised to see it had an ARRL return address. Hmmm...I hadn't ordered any books, so I was intrigued. Lo and behold, I was stunned to see KL2R has won NW Division CW in multi-op category. It just goes to show the importance of choosing your competition category carefully. Our first plaque ever!



Thanks to EVERYONE who worked us that weekend! And special appreciation to Eric KL7AJ for his help as second operator.

KL1Y Returns from YI-land

Two Rivers Contest Club member Rod Mitchell KL1Y/YI9YO (photo center) returned home safely after a year stint overseas. Yay!

I think the desert has made him soft. He's back just in time for cooler temperatures ahead and snow only weeks away, and Rod is already making noise about relocating to warmer climes, at least temporarily. That's a bad thing. We could use some extra help for KL5O and the fall contests. :-(

Welcome home, Rod!

Nearly Cooked Bush Shack

Here's some pics a friend took a couple of days ago showing the results of this summer's forest fire (called Zitziana fire) that nearly cooked the NL7Y remote cabin and two towers at West Twin Lake. QTH is 93 miles SW of Fairbanks. The black in the foreground near the cabin is the result of a backfire set by the smoke jumpers to prevent the fire that approached from the west (upper area now turned tan/brown). All was saved as the fire was slow moving through grasses and new green vegetation. Some big big spruce trees were saved. The tallest one to the left rear of the cabin held my 160M inverted-L. Hope the groundplane survived. The Force-12 beam shines through the trees to the right of the dwellings.

Prior to the first big fire in 2002, the area was unburned for over 150 years. Some of the big spruce had been there since the 1600's (over 400 yrs at least). Trees like those surrounding the cabin plus black spruce covered the surrounding terrain as far as can be seen. So, after two fires in seven years maybe it's now safe to move the main tower up the hill for a better shot at East Asia.

73 Gary NL7Y

Keep an ear out for KL5O

The Alaska 50^th Anniversary of Statehood Special Event will be on the air October 18, 2009 from 1800Z until October 19, 2009, 0600Z. There will be many stations on from around the state of Alaska all using KL5O (kilo lima five oscar). We will be on all bands, from 160 through 10 meters, including the WARC bands. This would be a good opportunity for those station needing Alaska on a particular band or mode to make that needed QSO. Operation will be scheduled to facilitate working North American stations, though all stations worldwide are encouraged to participate.

Making a QSO in this event qualifies as credit for Alaska in the ARRL Year Of The State QSO Party.

Details and updates: http://www.kl5o.com/

July NAQP RTTY

Yeah, well, THAT sucked. 98 QSOs in six hours of operating. My objective was 100. 40m never really opened. I was happy to make a few Q's on 15m. The rest were, of course, on 20m. The Kp and aurora were giving KL2R fits. On the DMU-2000, I could watch the signals peak and dip in a rhythm almost sea-sickness-inducing. Bang, bang: make four or five Q's in a spurt, then nothing for 15 minutes. Typical for Fairbanks.

I can understand why all the real contesters beat feet south as soon as they could.

Walter Cronkite KB2GSD SK

My earliest memory of TV is Walter Cronkite signing off. That magnificent, confident, reassuring voice was something to which my whole family looked forward weeknights. I was hooked on evening news as a tyke. He has been much on my mind lately, as we remember two generations have passed since man first walked on the moon.

Although licensed only as a novice, I think KB2GSD was a contester at heart. "I want to win," he once said. "I not only want to win. I want to be the best. I feel very badly if I can't be."

Good night, Walter. Thank you for being the very best.

Field Day Reprise

I turned on the Wayback machine and found myself thinking about Field Day a few weeks ago.

Last year's participants, Ken W6HF and Luci KL1WE, couldn't visit for Field Day, and co-founder Rod KL1Y is overseas. Nevertheless, Field Day 2009 at KL2R was a record-setter. We station operated Class 4E for a change of pace. Rain was minimal, and KL1JP's solar-battery cooler was put to good use with FT897 and FT857. The FT950 was primary for CW and digital modes. N6PU's Jupiter was in the #2 HF position. Dan attempted several satellite QSOs, but the passes were not favorable.

Justin KL1RL dusted off the ham-hat and lent a hand on setup and operation after months away from any radio. New member Elaine N6PU was first to arrive and last to leave, and she stirred up some good interest on PSK31 and the other modes. Her 5 kW generator came in handy in the middle of the night, too. New licensee Alex KL2TI camped in front of the microphone with some coaching and worked some SSB. Phil KL8DX, another new member, drove all the way up from Healy and earned the nickname "Manimal II" after six hours pounding brass with little introduction or orientation. He said of Field Day at KL2R, "My first chance at operating in a group setting was last weekend, and it makes me want to return and do it many more times. "

Read more about our Alaskan ham fun: http://www.akradio.net/activities.htm