Contest Expedition to Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

1. KL7FF Contest Expedition to Prince of Wales Island, Alaska Paul Kiesel, K7CW

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Need to Get Back from Mountains

6. 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

7. 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

8. Ketchikan – Creek Street

9. Ketchikan – Creek Street

10. Cruise Ship Moored at old town Ketchikan

11. Ketchikan Street

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

13. Haida Way Lodge, Craig, Alaska

14. KL0RG

15. Inside Drucker Cabin

16. Inside Drucker Cabin

17. Inside Drucker Cabin

18. Inside Drucker Cabin

19. Inside Drucker Cabin

20. Drucker Cabin – Looking South

21. Prince of Wales Island in the distance…

22. 1st & Tuttle

23. Tuttle Way – Looking East

24. 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 Getting Stuff to the Cabin Kevin (2m) Paul (6m)

25. 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.

26. 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

27. Bellingham, Washington Terminal

28. Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada

29. Dryad Lighthouse near Bella Bella, BC

30. K7CW on deck of M/V Malaspina

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

32. Observation Lounge – M/V Malaspina

33. Cruise Ships in Ketchikan Harbor

34. Big Salt Lake – West side of Prince of Wales Island

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

36. K7CW assembling the 6-meter yagi

39. The 12 element 2-meter yagi

41. Order of Battle 2-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.

42. KL7FF – 144 MHz station

43. KL0RG operating 2m

44. KL7FF – 50 MHz station

45. K7CW operating 6m station

46. All the comforts of home…

47. CQ Contest from KL7 Fox Fox

48. 144 MHz Results16 QSOs in 9 Grid Locators during the contest, One QSO the day before (1 More Grid). Stations Worked: VE7DAY CO70 – FSK441 W7IUV DN07 – FSK441 W7MY DN06 – FSK441 W7EME CN85 – FSK441 WA7GSK DN13 – FSK441 AL2P CO45 – FM VA7ISL CN88 – FSK441 W7GLF CN87 – FSK441 WA7BBJ CN97 – FSK441 K6MBY CN88 – FSK441 KF7CQ DN13 – FSK441 KD7OWT CN97 – FSK441 VE7BBG CN88 – FSK441 KL7UW BP40 – FSK441 K7MAC DN13 – FSK441 K7ND CN87 – SSB VE7SL CN88 – FSK441

49. 144 MHz Analysis Left 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 Contest is duck soup due to Arietids Meteor Shower. Need to convince more folks to try this mode. Next time try 144 MHz EME Using JT65B. Also have 222 MHz for meteor scatter QSOs on that band. Need more operators and tighter planning for this.

50. KL7FF – 2m Grids Worked Blue rectangles = QSOs in contest Gray rectangle = QSO before contest White rectangle = KL7FF QTH