KL7FF

Paul Kiesel, K7CW

Why Go to Alaska?

• KL7FNL KL7GLL VE8BY - Late 50s and Early 60s on 6-Meters

• Exotic DX before days of SSB – Fading AM Signals

• K0CER’s 1970 Trip to Ketchikan – KL7ABR• Make KL7 Available – Lower Latitude = Better

Chance for Sporadic-E• Increase Weak Signal VHF Awareness in Alaska

– KL7UW Efforts – Alaska VHF Up Group

Location Attributes

• Primary: Unblocked Horizon to Canada, United States Lower 48 and South Central Alaska

• Reliable Electric Service

• Internet for Accurate Time and Sked Coordination Before and After Contest

• Other Facilities & Conveniences a Plus

Search for Location

• Check All Cities and Towns for Unblocked Horizons in Necessary Directions

• If None, Check Resorts, Hunting Lodges and Vacation Cabins

• SE Alaska Defined by Mountains and Fjords

• Most Land Outside of Towns Totally Undeveloped and Roadless or Wilderness

Need to Get Back from Mountains

Drucker Cabin

• Near Thorne Bay • Has All Amenities• Reasonable Rates• Has Satellite Internet• http://www.lodginginnalaska.com/cabin.html• Tim & Teresa Lindseth Very Friendly and Helpful

Preliminary Trip in May

• Make Sure Cabin Fulfills Requirements for Contest – Very Important

• Determine What Needs to Be Brought

• Talk to Lindseths About Extra Table, Internet Activation

• Find Out Where Ferry Docks Are, Ferry Schedules, Waiting times

• Visit Old Ketchikan to Buy XYL Present

Ketchikan – Creek Street

Ketchikan – Creek Street

Cruise Ship Moored at old town Ketchikan

Ketchikan Street

Inter-Island Ferry M/V Prince of Wales – Ketchikan to Hollis

Haida Way Lodge, Craig, Alaska

KL0RG

Inside Drucker Cabin

Inside Drucker Cabin

Inside Drucker Cabin

Inside Drucker Cabin

Inside Drucker Cabin

Drucker Cabin – Looking South

Prince of Wales Island in the distance…

1st & Tuttle

Tuttle Way – Looking East

Getting Stuff to the Cabin

• Transceiver & Brick• Computer• Mast for Antenna• Tower Sections for 6-

meters• Coax Cables• Tools, Adapters,

Jumpers, etc.

• Transceiver & Amplifier

• 8-Element Yagi• Tower Top Section

and Rotator• Bring 2-Meter

Antenna from WA• Rope

Kevin (2m) Paul (6m)

Shipping Stuff from Washington

• Amplifier, 6-Meter Antenna and Sundry Non-Perishables Shipped via Alaska Marine Services Barge from Seattle, WA to Ketchikan.

• Remaining Equipment, Tower Section, Rotator, Rope, etc. Packed into Pickup for Trip on Alaska Marine Highway Ferry from Bellingham, WA to Ketchikan.

Decision About Land or Sea Route

• Desire to Pass Out Rare Grids to Deserving.

• Driving Time• Cost of Gas Plus Ferry Prince Rupert• Cost of AMH Ferry Bellingham - Ketchikan• Sailing Time• Compare Ferry Schedules• Decision: Take the Ferry – Good Decision

Bellingham, Washington Terminal

Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada

Dryad Lighthouse near Bella Bella, BC

K7CW on deck of M/V Malaspina

Commerce on the Inside Passage. A tug towing a load of logs

Observation Lounge – M/V Malaspina

Cruise Ships in Ketchikan Harbor

Big Salt Lake – West side of Prince of Wales Island

KL0RG at a USFS rest stop west of Thorne Bay, Alaska

K7CW assembling the 6-meter yagi

The 12 element 2-meter yagi

Order of Battle2-Meters: Concentrate on Meteor Scatter Skeds. Watch For Tailenders After Each Sked. Call CQ on WSJT FSK441a Mode. Watch for WA6KLK for Possible KL7-W6 Tropo QSO. Use 144.143 for FSK441a and 144.180 for SSB.

6-meters: Meteor Scatter Skeds with 4 Stations. Hope for Sporadic-E. If Not, Work as Many Stations as Possible via Meteor Scatter. Check for Aurora. Periodically Rotate Antenna Towards South Central Alaska, to Pick Up Possible Callers. Play CW CQ Loop on 50.103 When Things are Slow. Listen for Callers on That Frequency. Try to Avoid 50.125, if at all Possible.

KL7FF – 144 MHz station

KL0RG operating 2m

KL7FF – 50 MHz station

K7CW operating 6m station

All the comforts of home…

CQ Contest from KL7 Fox Fox

144 MHz Results 16 QSOs in 9 Grid Locators during the contest, One QSO

the day before (1 More Grid). Stations Worked:

VE7DAY CO70 – FSK441W7IUV DN07 – FSK441W7MY DN06 – FSK441W7EME CN85 – FSK441WA7GSK DN13 – FSK441AL2P CO45 – FMVA7ISL CN88 – FSK441W7GLF CN87 – FSK441WA7BBJ CN97 – FSK441

K6MBY CN88 – FSK441KF7CQ DN13 – FSK441KD7OWT CN97 – FSK441VE7BBG CN88 – FSK441KL7UW BP40 – FSK441K7MAC DN13 – FSK441K7ND CN87 – SSBVE7SL CN88 – FSK441

144 MHz AnalysisLeft for Alaska with 9 skeds. 2 more skeds made after arrival. Worked 5 Stations at sked time. Worked 1 local on FM. 3 skeds not completed; 2 of them due partly to stations out of sequence. Remaining QSOs due to tailending and replies to CQs. 5 of these had skeds but called early and completed. 1 SSB meteor scatter QSO attempt was successful.All 14 FSK441 meteor scatter QSO attempts were successful!

Conclusion: Very glad we decided to do 144 MHz in Contest.Making FSK441 meteor scatter contacts in the June Contestis duck soup due to Arietids Meteor Shower. Need to convince more folks to try this mode. Next time try 144 MHz EMEUsing JT65B. Also have 222 MHz for meteor scatter QSOs on that band. Need more operators and tighter planning for this.

KL7FF – 2m Grids Worked

Blue rectangles = QSOs in contestGray rectangle = QSO before contestWhite rectangle = KL7FF QTH

50 MHz AnalysisWe hoped to have Sporadic-E. It essentially didn’t happen. We wereblessed with many meteor scatter contacts. We did have a path across the Gulf of Alaska which may have been tropo. NL7OW hasbeen pushing his belief that there is a consistent path across the Gulfof Alaska.There was also an interesting path to two stations in Central Washington State where signals were consistent and strong as compared to the rest that we were hearing via meteor scatter at the same time. Three guesses are sporadic-E, ionospheric scatter or tropo. More discussion is needed about this. There was no apparent aurora.

There were four 50 MHz skeds. None were completed due to lack ofpropagation. Two were beyond meteor scatter range. Completed with twoof the stations later. Digital modes were not used. We had to plan to have sporadic-E which would not allow time for digital modes. I would not plandifferently next time even though one cannot guarantee sporadic-E propagation.

50 MHz got 74 QSOs and 27 grid locators in the contest. 125 total QSOs.

KL7FF - Grids Worked on 6m

Black dots = grids worked in contestRed dots = grids worked next dayYellow dot = KL7FF location