KL7J HamRadio Page

Zone 1 - Grid BP40mm
KL7J Callsign

Yaesu FTDX101MP. Windows 11.
Acom 1500 amplifier. AT4K antenna tuner.
SteppIR 6 - 40 meters @ 74 ft on a Hazer Tram.
Buried Hardline to remote coax switching wire antennas and verticals on 8 acres.
Antique gear... namely the operator @ 80 yrs 😃

I have lived in Alaska 54 years.
I visited Alaska in 1966. Returned in spring of 1971 after finishing a B.S. degree and working for 2 years. Alaska was much more a self reliant low population frontier before the 1975 Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, it was awesome times for me. Career was almost 30 years for Alaska and been retired in the State of Alaska system for 25 years. Received my radio license in Alaska 47 years ago. I live near the small rural town of Soldotna... for the past 42 years.

Some snapshots of the shack over the decades.

KL7J in 1979 as KL7EO.

KL7J in 1981 as NL7J.

3 HF beams, all rotatable in 2001

My Callsigns spanning 47 years operating in Alaska.

KL7J (11/1996 to Present)
NL7J (1980 to 11/1996)
KL7EO (1979 to 5/1980) Extra Class
WL7AFE (11/1978 to 3/1979)

My 23 year journey to DXCC Honor Roll #1
* Completed and current since 2001 *

KL7J DXCC Award

DXCC Honor Roll #1 from 2001 - 2025. Sole current Honor Roll #1 in Alaska. All 340 eligible DX entities confirmed in LOTW.

ARRL lifetime = 351 DX. All contacted from South-Central Alaska.
Honor Roll worked in SSB and Honor Roll worked in CW.
9-Band Digital DXCC.
10-Band. 100 DX entities on each band including 60 meters.

U.S. States - 8-Band SSB, 9-Band CW, 10-Band Digital.
WAZ mixed 7-Bands. WAZ in SSB, CW, and Digital.

Band activity and Mode Stats over the years →

Some of my favorite DX'ing cartoons.

Night CW cartoon

LoTW, QRZ and ClubLog are uploaded daily.
-
Photo QSL (e.g. below) via SASE to QSL Manager N3SL.
(N3SL, 22 N Hidden Acres Dr, Sioux City, IA 51108-8641)
or
ClubLog

I have a special affection for dogteams.
In early 1970's I had a dogteam 😊

HF Mobile/Remote in the far north and to the Arctic Ocean.

I have been HF mobile on the Alaska Highway many times including two winter trips. Alcan Hwy in 1966 to Alaska was almost 1000 miles of rough dirt road and infrequent fuel availability. It was wonderfully remote. I have been HF mobile on the Yukon/Northwest Territory's Dempster Hwy that is a 454 mile dirt road to Inuvik, NT (/VY1 and /VE8) in the Arctic. I have also been HF mobile on the 300+ miles dirt 'Dalton' Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline Road to the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

A HF rig was occasionally taken when I was dropped off in remote wilderness by bush pilot for big game hunting or wilderness fishing. Below are a few HF mobile/remote trips. I used a 20/40 meter alligator clamp jumpered dipole when remote tenting.

Contesting interest is limited and there's the frequent geomagnetic realities (and aurora) of Alaska's location so close to the magnetic north pole with the burden of
high-latitude effects on radio propagation.
Some years I've been active low power category ARRL CW Sweepstakes weekend trying for a 'Sweep'.

Miscellaneous
*Alaska Judicial Districts reference for County Hunters. Map and cross reference

* FTDX101MP with USB cord to computer (no accessory interface) for FT8 (pics and setup that worked for me)): PDF

* FTDX101MP transmitting 60 meters with no mods (to keep warranty) using WSJT-X program: PDF

One of my other hobbies is scenic and wildlife photography.

Aurora with a local Kenai River temp inversion.
Soldotna, Alaska
My antenna with star in Auroral curtain 3/2023.
Soldotna, Alaska
(Canon T3i EOS SLR, f3.5, 15 sec, 24mm, ISO 800)
[East view from N60.524 W150.920 3/24/2023 09:11 UTC]

Visitors to this page. I hope a QSO with all.

The world is a DX canvas to paint.
Propagation and patience is a great equalizer of antennas.
DX in the ether drives the imagination of a contact.

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