NCDXF Beacons: 17 Meters Shows Promise

I have heard Lower 48 hams extol the fun of the 18 MHz band, and I must confess being a bit intrigued.  Several weeks ago I heard a brief European opening in the middle of local night, and I worked a JA at the same time.  Twenty meters was essentially lifeless, and 15m was DOA.  During the solar upset earlier in the month, I was surprised to hear VK/ZL phone transmissions on 17 meters when little could be detected elsewhere.  I decided to download Faros by VE3NEA and spend a few days monitoring the high-band beacon network sponsored by the Northern California DX Foundation.  

The following 24-hour sample shows some surprising (to me) openings on 17 meters.  The vertical axis on each sub-graph represents frequency in MHz.  The horizontal axis shows time starting at 0000Z and major ticks every three hours.  The boxes represent time slots for each beacon, and colors range from dark blue to orange and red to indicate increasing signal strength.  paths are fairly weak.  (Some beacons, like 4U1UN, are off the air.)

(Almost) All Quiet on the Northern Front

This past week brought a C-class x-ray flare, and the sun sent a coronal mass ejection hurtling toward earth.  The HF prognosis for the first week of August was poor, indeed.  There would be a "solar tsunami" arriving around August 3rd, according to one local headline, while worldwide there were predictions of fantastic auroral displays.  The six-meter gang at the mid-latitudes must have been drooling with anticipation, but HF radio operators inferred a dismal time on the bands.  The HAARP riometer looked grim.  Kp was at 5 and headed upward, plus the aurora scale was pegged at 9.

I would have written off the radio and cleaned the cameras to prepare for the northern lights had it been a week or two later.  The skies at night are still too light to see aurora at 65 North, though.  Instead, I fired up the rig to see what, if anything, I could hear during the onslaught.

I chose to explore 20m around 0200Z, and I heard W1AW with code practice almost ESP-weak.  No other CW signals were audible.  I switched to the 85-foot C3 pointed to Europe, and I noticed  a surprising number of apparently European PSK31 signals.  Although the signals were moderately strong, I could see on the waterfall an unsettling dance of flutter and Doppler.  DM780 could just make out a few prefixes and other tantalizing details.  PSK31 on trans-polar paths is notoriously susceptible to corruption.  I switched to the North American C3 and could begin to see (and decode) several US stations, but copy was still rough. With the Kp index so high, I had little hope of them being able to hear me.  Years of experience have taught me that much.

I quickly scanned the higher bands up through six meters.  I was surprised to hear some weak but readable ZL/VK SSB on 17 meters, but otherwise, they were dead.  Back on 20, I watched the digital waterfall display and saw slightly improving conditions towards the States.  Two very clean PSK signals appeared, which turned out to belong to a VK and a 3D2, both 90-95% readable.  The north-south route was less impacted by the ionospheric turbulence overhead, and I believe grayline enhancement helped things along.  (A short time later I had a nice chat with Aisea 3D2AA and proved the reasonably good path was two-way.)

The signal ID function in DM780 then reported an Olivia 500/16 signal just up the band.  I could barely discern the smeared, faint tones on the waterfall, but I tuned up and changed modes to see what I could monitor.  Lo and behold, it was Peter VE7NBQ having a ragchew with a W5.  Peter had told me of the impressive performance of Olivia earlier in the week, and now I am convinced. As the tones faded from view on my screen, characters continued to print a clean QSO. Olivia's forward error correction makes it far superior to PSK31, and perhaps even CW under some circumstances.  I will have to explore more.

2010 IARU HF Championship

Last year, the KL2R crew were drafted into service for W1AW/KL7.  For this year's IARU event, however, we opted for a multi-single effort with W6HF, KL1WE, KL1JP, NL7WO, and N1TX operating.  It was a nice mix of interests and experience, and as a 24-hour contest, the pace was relatively leisurely for any one operator.

Band conditions were promising at the start with countless loud signals from Europe on 20 meters.  The 15m band never developed as hoped, but 40m blew the doors open with many loud stations from North America and the Pacific on the dipole at 100 feet.  For a while, we had a pipeline to Brazil.  ZL6HQ on 80 was a nice surprise, too.  QSO breakdown was a pretty even split between Europe and North America at about 40% each.  Africa was all but completely absent from our headphones.  Best DX goes to VQ9 and A71.  This DX Monitor map shows the distribution of all contacts:

We had a special incentive to look for one particular Russian station.  Alaskan contester  and friend Corliss was invited to Moscow and operated R3/AL1G.  We worked her on both CW and SSB on 20 meters.  It turned out to be easier work her there than when she is at home, but it was still a big challenge!  Corliss seems to draw a big crowd whenever she's on the air.

KL8DX: His Take on KL2R

Field Day 2010: Gone but Never to be Forgotten

Despite the poor propagation, this was a banner year for Field Day at KL2R.  Not just a contest, Field Day is a great exercise in teamwork.  Also, to Connie KL1BE and yours truly N1TX, Field Day represents a time for socializing and a chance to "integrate" family/friends with the radio hobby through fellowship and mutual generosity from everyone involved.  This year proved a resounding success in that regard.  We had about 20 visitors, some of whom I had never met before, and several I had not seen for a long time.

The preparation team and operators demonstrated a tremendous amount of enthusiasm, innovation, and sheer determination.  The personal contributions of each resulted in an accomplishment greater than their sum, which was an event far more fun and enriching (and fattening) than I had imagined it could be.

About six weeks of planning in earnest paid off when Friday setup began.  We had many equipment options available and were able to adapt as needed to changes in personnel and time available to test.  By the time Friday morning rolled around, the shack was ready to accept new gear and antennas.  Dan KL1JP brought a portable solar setup with batteries, a Moxon 6m antenna, and a strong arm for slinging lines to put up the two additional G5RVs.  

We had four HF stations set up in the shack with my FT950 and FT100, KL1RL's FT1000MP Mark V, and KL1AZ's TS2000.  Elaine KL6C rolled in an 18-foot trailer complete with table, generator, and Ten-Tec Jupiter for a fifth HF station.  Ken W6HF and Luci KL1WE operated their mobile FT897D briefly as HF #6.  Thank goodness for the effectiveness of W3NQN bandpass filters.  Two Honda 2 kW generators powered the shack, and the solar-charged batteries kept things going in Elaine's trailer. 

The entire layout was networked using N1MM software.  Although basic configuration of multi-multi operation is fairly straightforward with N1MM, I believe this arrangement proved to be the most problematic aspect of the entire weekend.  As with anything, you can do planning to the smallest detail, but only thorough testing can wring out the bugs.  Alas, Murphy was lying in wait in several dark corners once the contest began.  As an example, we painfully discovered N1MM is far more stable in multi-user mode with fixed IP addresses instead of using DHCP.  Fortunately, no fatal errors occurred, and the log did not suffer. 

Mother Nature once again demonstrated her cruel sense of humor by teasing us earlier in the week with decent propagation only to pull the magic ionospheric carpet out from under us on Saturday with high aurora and Kp index  See below.  We hardly heard any east coast stations.  Even our relative proximity to the west coast didn't seem to help much with contacts.  Twenty meters CW was the money band, disappointing as it may have been, thanks largely to the skill and tenacity of Phil KL8DX.  Elaine KL6C tried like the dickens to resuscitate 80m, and John KL1AZ persevered on 10m and 6m.  He netted one QSO on the latter.  Along with digital guy Kevin NL7WO and newcomer Rich W8VK, Elaine and John earned gold stars in my book for exemplary commitment by keeping the CQs going despite few or no prospects most of the time.

Space Weather and Geomagnetic Indices

Results by Band

Band  Mode  QSOs    Pts      7  CW       9      18      7  LSB      4      4      7  PSK31    3      6     14  CW     213     426     14  PSK31    1      2     14  RTTY     2      4     14  USB     18      18     21  CW       1      2     50  USB      1      1    144  CW       1      2    144  FM       2      4    420  FM       4      8  Total  Both   259     495

With these contact results, of course, bonus points will play an essential role for any sort of competitive standing.  We had that pretty well covered.  W1AW bulletin?  Check, thanks largely to the booming signal of K6KPH.  Satellite QSO?  No problem, as W6HF and KL1WE have that down to a science.  Public relations?  Done.  Neal WL7NZ even got us a plug on radio station KIAK.  Alternative power?  Yup. KL1JP's solar-charged battery configuration worked with aplomb.   QTC?  Ed AL7N took traffic for me on 2m CW.  Public official?  State Rep. Tammie Wilson stopped by with her SWL husband, Bob, and spent a good long time asking a lot of questions.  Again, planning and teamwork paid dividends.

Food, of course, played an essential role in keeping the team motivated and rolling in the right direction, largely thanks to KL1BE and KL1WE laboring in the kitchen day and night.  The menus included biscuits and gravy, home fries, huevos rancheros, refried beans, tortillas, homemade bread, grilled cheese sandwiches, vegetable pie, pea soup, green salad, bean salad, moose chili, burgers, bratwurst, angel food cake with fresh strawberries, and other tasty treats.  Gallons of coffee, iced tea, sodas, wine, and plenty of water kept us well-lubricated.

Special guest Rich Carstensen W8VK happened to be visiting family in the area and hitched a ride with KL8DX.  Rich spent most of Saturday entertaining us with tales of QRP conquests on Top Band and his time as lead tech at Alinco.  He never missed an opportunity to call CQ on CW when a position was free.  Andre KL7AC, Mike AL7KC, Ruth KL2WR, Larry KL2WS, Eric KL7AJ, Chad  AL2D, John AL7ID, and Fred WL7IJ rounded out the guest list.  (I am sure there are a couple of others I  am not recalling in the post-FD fog, and I hope they forgive me.)

In the end, 2010 brought a Field Day for the memory book.  Even though I'm a competitive sort of guy, the points are secondary.  The published results can hardly reflect the wonderful rewards of camaraderie and good cheer gained from the whole weekend experience.  Thank you, all!

Field Day 2010 Preparations

The shack's radios have been fairly quiet during the past couple of months, save for some odd moments for DX and some lightweight competition efforts.  For the past six weeks, however, we've been planning for a wonderful Field Day with (hopefully) a turn-out greater than ever. 

Many of the Fairbanks-area hams, as most Alaskans, are busy with summertime outdoor activities like fishing and camping, and organized events like Field Day take too much time away from those.  Still others enjoy a trip down to Byers Lake for the annual Motley Group picnic, which happens to coincide with Field Day.  (The Motley Group is a statewide net that meets daily at 2100 local time on 3933 kHz.)

A couple of months ago, Neal Brown WL7NZ, president of the local Arctic Amateur Radio Club, asked Larry N1TX if KL2R would be interested in hosting some AARC operators not otherwise occupied, since it appeared KL7KC would not be participating in Field Day this year. Of course others would be welcome.  FD 2009 was a banner year in terms of participation at KL2R, and the more the merrier!  Thus, the gears began turning.

Initial response to the call for help was very enthusiastic, so we quickly began inventories and brainstorming the possibilities.  Over the past several years, we've been operating primarily as a Class E station (home emergency power) and will do so again.  Generators and batteries are not a problem.  A wide number of rigs are available, too.  We got quite excited about the possibility of checking out NL7Y's Elecraft K3, but other interests pulled him away.  Nevertheless, ICOM, Yaesu, Kenwood, and Ten-Tec should all be well-represented.  Dan KL1JP set about building another solar power unit housed in a large portable cooler.  He also designed and built Moxon antennas for 6 and 20m.  Elaine KL6C (ex-N6PU) has been gathering parts for our educational activity, building some battery systems.  Ken W6HF and Luci KL1WE made the drive north from California and practically demanded to be put to work cleaning out and organizing the KL2R shack to make the place suitable for human habitation.

The press release is finished and ready for distribution, elected officials and fire department staff have been invited, Ed AL7N is standing by for NTS traffic, the menus are shaping up, etc.  So things are looking very good, indeed!

Two Days Full Of Surprises & A Fig Newton Solution

Both N1TX and KL1JP manned the KL2R contest club location for
the ARRL SSB DX contest.  Despite an optimistic pre-contest strategy
of hopeful band openings, we were lonely for several hours in the
beginning of the contest; eliciting responses to that effect from the few
stations that responded to the KL2R call.  Saturday afternoon, we
finally gained some traction calling CQ on both 15m and 20m before the
sun let loose a x-ray burst and terminated our modest efforts.  As the
x-ray burst subsided and the bands started improving, the aurora kicked
up and limited our efforts again.  Fortunately, persistence up here in
Fairbanks becomes a way of life and persisted we did, finally racking
up about 250 contacts before 15m and 20m faded into oblivion Friday
evening.  The late evening and nighttime efforts by a solo N1TX added
a few 40m contacts but nothing like we had hoped for.  40m becomes a
continually challenging band from the Alaskan interior and again, that
proved true for this contest too.

We were hoping conditions would improve Saturday morning, allowing us to
pick-up the east coast on both 15m and 20m during the early daylight hours.
But again, despite our optimism, our efforts were akin to plunking away; in
either S&P or CQ modes, getting a few here and there.  We had hoped for some
limited action on 10m but it never occurred.  It was only in the early
afternoon when KL1JP asked Larry for some snacks and fresh coffee that
conditions up here drastically changed.  After a handful of relatively fresh
Fig Newtons, things took a turn for the better.  After the cookies, KL1JP,
calling CQ added QSO after QSO to the log, achieving a "personal" best rate
of approximately 250/hr.  We were told by many "lower 48" stations that we
were "booming" into the lower 48 and KL2R certainly took advantage of that
factor.  Although we mostly played the westerly advancing grayline, some
surprisingly and very strange 20m openings occurred, allowing us to pick up
numerous Midwest and Southeast US stations.  The arrival of the evening
hours again saw the bands quiet down.  Since Dan had to work on Sunday,
Saturday night saw another solo N1TX effort with some contact additions to
our 80m and 40m stockpile.

Sunday morning saw Larry operate when time and patience permitted, adding
another 90 contacts to our log giving us a total of 740 Q's with a total
point count of 176,160 which bettered our previous 2009 QSO count of 663.

As always, Larry was an excellent host; constantly making fresh coffee and
offering to sit in the seat when I wanted a short break.  The way we figure,
in the end it came down to having the Fig Newtons in the shack that did the
trick, allowing the bands to open up.  Needless to say, fresh Fig Newtons
will be available during any future contests.

Here's the preliminary tally:
Callsign        : KL2R
Category        : Multi Operator - Single Transmitter (MS)
Band(s)         : All bands (AB)
Class           : Low Power (LP)
Operating time  : 17h59

BAND   QSO  S/P DUP  POINTS  AVG 
----------------------------------
  160     0    0   0       0 0.00

   80     4    3   0      12 3.00

   40    19    7   0      57 3.00

   20   570   54   9    1701 2.98

   15   147   16   0     432 2.94

   10     0    0   0       0 0.00

----------------------------------
TOTAL   740   80   9    2202 2.98

==================================
      TOTAL SCORE : 176 160