A Little Action for ARRL Centennial

The ARRL Centennial QSO Party brings with it some motivation to activate my personal call N1TX. Working me is worth 12 points, because I am a Technical Specialist.  This year-long QSO Party has been incredibly popular, and of course any Alaska signal chumming the waters generates a lot of action anyway. The European pileups have been bodacious.  Listen for N1TX/KL7 evenings after 0100Z and on non-contest weekends. CW is my preferred mode, but I'll be ramping up the digital modes, especially RTTY, in the coming weeks.  I'll toss in regular phone contacts for good measure. Since extended daylight hours are upon us, listen primarily on 10-20 meters.

The Centennial QSO Party Leaderboard shows some respectable standings for several Alaska stations. KL7RA is currently ranked #6 overall.  WL7E is #19, AL9A is #24.  KL2R is ranked #57 without even trying.  

Sked? Look at a Map

I continue to be amused by how clueless some "DXers" are when it comes to trying to work Alaska. Whether for DXCC, WAZ, or just WAS, operators in KL get a lot of requests for scheduled contacts. That's especially true for Alaskan contesters, who are typically the most active. We usually share those requests among ourselves to maximize the chances of a successful QSO.  No matter, though, because some operators just want us to alter the laws of physics as well.

One recent example, which pretty well reflects what I am talking about: "I need Alaska on 160 meters. I am usually active on the band at 8 PM Eastern Time..."  Oh, dude!  There are a couple of things you forgot to consider.  First, 8 PM Eastern time is 4 PM Alaska time.  Second, in mid-March, it is still daylight in Alaska at 4 PM.  In fact, the sun doesn't go down here until nearly 8 o'clock, and it's changing 6-7 minutes each day!

Here are some simple rules of thumb to factor into your propagation "analysis."  In northern hemisphere summer, if it's daylight where you are, it's daylight here.  If it's nighttime where you are, it's daylight here.  In winter, if it's daylight where you are, it's dark here.  If it's nighttime where you are, it's dark here.

We get requests for contacts on 10m:  "Hello, OM.  I badly need Alaska on 10m for 5BDXCC.  I have been hearing many W6 and W7 stations at 1800Z.  I think this should be possible.  73 from Italy!" Maybe, maybe not.  Alaska is BIG.  Really, really BIG.  It covers from about 57 degrees north to 71 degrees north and from about 131 degrees west to 173 degrees west.  Alaska is also far away from everywhere else.  Fairbanks and Anchorage, where most Alaska hams live, are over 1500 miles from Seattle.  That's about the same distance as Boston to Havana!  Hearing stations in W7 or even VE7 has no bearing on whether or not you can work us.

If nothing else, go to the DX Cluster databases and see when and where KL stations are being spotted.  It changes day by day and season to season.  Be flexible.  And above all, be sensible!

ARRL DX SSB 2014

Despite low bands absolutely stinking all weekend, 10m allowed some really great rates.  In the end, 3000 QSOs and 1.465M claimed score. That was largely thanks to a really strong crew at KL2R this year. Guest operator Bill AC0W (left) and new prodigy Wes KL3UI (right, above) complemented the usual suspects Carl WL7BDO and Dan KL1JP (seated).

 BAND   QSO S/P DUP  POINTS   AVG 

----------------------------------

  160     0   0   0       0  0.00 

   80     0   0   0       0  0.00 

   40     8   4   0      24  3.00 

   20   530  50   8    1584  2.99 

   15   533  53   5    1596  2.99 

   10  1877  59  49    5625  3.00 

----------------------------------

TOTAL  2948 166  62    8829  2.99 

==================================

     TOTAL SCORE : 1 465 614

That's Just Ridiculous

The Amsterdam Island DXpedition is out of the gate, and the results on the bandscope last night made me sick to my stomach.  Almost 20 kHz choked with callers.  Disgusting.

Gee, That Was a Lot of Fun!

If anyone had told me a week ago I could have this much fun running QRP from Alaska, I'd have said they were nuts.  I started the ARRL 10 meter contest at 5 watts just to test the waters, thinking I would soon grow frustrated and go with a LP entry. 

Encouraged by the initial results, I stuck it out at QRP.  NL7YL's CW QRP AK record has stood since 1991, and I crushed it.  Another KL QRP might beat me this year, but the basic score was very gratifying. I could work just about everyone I could hear.  I even had some brief runs.  Conditions were far from spectacular, especially lacking EU.  

Laboring under some disadvantage with tri-banders no longer horizontal after a month of back-to-back ice and wind storms, it's good to know the station still has some competitive standing.  The QSO count exceeds my lifetime QRP achievement by two orders of magnitude.  I can't complain about that.

Call: KL2R
Operator(s): N1TX
Station: KL2R

Class: SO CW QRP
QTH: KL7
Operating Time (hrs): 10.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   CW:  333    68
  SSB:           
-------------------
Total:  333    68  Total Score = 90,576

A New Slant on Radio

The weather has been wild for the past month or so.  Nov 13-14 brought freezing rain at +15F followed by heavy snow, more freezing rain, and then wind.  It was fierce, frightening wind, which toppled huge spruce trees, leaving thousands of people in the area without power for days.  KL2R didn't have juice for nearly five days.  As the temperatures plummeted to 0F and below, it became a full-time job just to keep warm.

Most of the antennas survived.  The only true casualty was the 80m delta loop.  The tri-banders at 55 and 75 feet were tilted 45+ degrees, but they still work.  In fact, a subsequent wind storm several days ago pushed the higher one aimed at Europe to vertical polarization.  Repairs will have to wait until warmer weather. Nevertheless, their survival of estimated 70 mph winds and ice with no damage is a real testament to the Force12 engineering behind the C3s.

I had a feeling the ravens flying past were mocking me.

ARRL Sweepstakes CW 2013

KL2R was on the air in a good form for Sweeps CW as SOHP UNLIMITED for about 17 hours during the weekend.

 BAND   QSO DUP SECT  POINTS 

-----------------------------

  160     0   0    0       0 

   80     6   0    0      12 

   40    89   0    3     178 

   20   128   1   12     256 

   15   201   2   10     402 

   10   281   1   58     562 

-----------------------------

TOTAL   705   4   83    1410 

=============================

    TOTAL SCORE : 117 030

Operators       : N1TX

I resolved to work no more than 12 hours, but the conditions were just too good to pass up. 10m was phenomenal at the start, and you can see it was a real money band. I had worked 70-odd sections early on, many of them usually difficult, and I decided to go for a CLEAN SWEEP. Achieved with hours to go thanks to N7IV in ND. I thought I would NEVER get a QC, but I camped on VE2AWR for over an hour before conditions permitted. The 80m dipole project didn't make it up the tower, but it will be ready for phone SS.

I nearly forgot to mention one guy -- a willy billy five? -- who called me in the heat of 110+ per hour and then sent me 5NN signal report. WTF?!? I then asked him for his details, and he sent me his name was Tom and his QTH was East BF (or whatever). One of the guys patiently waiting in the pileup sent HI HI. Ugh!!! NOT IN LOG YOU RAT BASTARD QRZ?