Located west of the oceanside community of York, Mt. Agamenticus' panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and New Hampshire’s foothills to the west  were a backdrop for the operation, which included three HF stations and a VHF setup. Antennas were a BuddiPole and various dipoles for HF, and a pair of J-Poles for 144 and 220 MHz. 

Mount Agamenticus has an interesting story to tell. During the 1940’s it served as the site of an anti-aircraft spotting station and an SCR-271 early warning radar, as well as quarters for 25 soldiers from the 551^st Battalion of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The entire complex was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1945 when crews couldn’t get up the auto road due to heavy snow.  Except for the radar tower’s concrete footings, nothing remains of that era.

In December of 1966, after being planned for several years, the “Big A” ski area was opened for the first time, and was dedicated at an opening ceremony by Governor Reed. It was designed by the famous ski resort architect and consultant, Sel Hannah, founder of Sno Engineering. Mt. Agamenticus is one of few ski areas which featured parking and a lodge on the summit. It featured a double chairlift, T-bar, and rope tow, and also offered night skiing.

In the 1970’s when a real estate development threatened the area with 3,000 residential buildings proposed, a Save Mt. Agamenticus Committee was established to protect the lands as part of a wilderness area and wildlife preserve. The committee was ultimately successful, but the environmental movement, combined with an anemic economy, and other factors such as poor snowmaking, also had an effect on the popular ski area, which closed after the 1975 season.

The famous ski lodge, with its massive fireplace and 34 by 54 foot second story lounge, still exists today, and serves as an education center. Several remnants of ski area equipment, though mostly dismantled and far beyond operation, are still on the grounds as well. 

We setup our stations on the south-western slope, and were especially successful on 220 MHz, where Dakota Dumont KB1YYC, made simplex contacts as far away as Rhode Island!  Charlie Shepard, W1CPS, and Cindy Shepard W1CJS, were busy working stations on 15 and 17 meters, using a fan dipole and an Icom IC7000, while Ryan Michaelson, KB1YTR made use of his Elecraft KX3 and random wire to work stations on 20 meters. Meanwhile, Thom Watson W1WMG, myself, Dave Wood KB1FGF, and Sam Webber N1WIG, worked stations mostly using a Yaesu FT857 and a dipole (40 meters) and Buddipole (20 and 15 meters), many of whom were taking part in the Florida QSO Party. 

Field Day Preview

Its that time of year again! On the weekend of June 22-23 join us for Field Day at Wassamki Springs Campground. Special thanks to the Hillock Family for once again providing an outstanding location to hold this event.

Last year we beat our previous QSO record despite having to break down for a few hours because of  thunderstorms. We made the most of bonus points opportunities and handled more than a dozen radiogram messages.

       

For 2013, we anticipate good participation and expect to improve our QSO totals even more. But Field Day is about more than just making lots of contacts and finding new ways of capturing ARRL's foolish bonus points. Its about building camaraderie and working together as a team to accomplish a certain goal. Most importantly, Field Day is about enjoying the experience and having a good time.

New IRC Introduced

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PSK-31 Code Gets ITU Official "Seal of Approval"
ITU Endorsement

by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ

The code behind the popular PSK-31 digital mode has now been officially endorsed by the International Telecommunications Union and given its own "recommendation" number. Echo Ireland, the journal of the Irish Radio Transmitting Society, reports that the technical characteristics of "Varicode," developed by Peter Martinez, G3PLX, in the 1990s and which serves as the underpinning of PSK-31, has been enshrined by the ITU as Recommendation ITU-R M.2034,

Telegraphic Alphabet for Data Communication by Phase Shift Keying at 31 Baud in the Amateur and Amateur Sayelite Services.

ARRL CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, says the primary value of the designation is that it "provides further documentation in an important international forum of radio amateurs' continuing creativity and contributions to the art and science of radio communication" (Echo Ireland, March, 2013, 19).

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QSL Corner

In this issue, we'll take a closer look at some vintage QSL's from Clipperton Island, ranging from 1958-2000.

If you received an interesting one yourself that you'd like to show off, please send a digital image to [email protected] and we'll be sure to publish it in an upcoming issue.

FO0AAA - CW contacts on 20, 10, 12 and 17 meters March 2000 - We all know about this Dxpedition from the DVD we watched FO0XG - SSB with W2AO 10 meters March 1978 FO0XX - CW contact with W6BS 20 meters April 1985, Clipperton ‘85 consisted of 16 operators, they traveled aboard the “Royal Polaris” made nearly 31,000 QSO’s in 130 different countries during six days of operation. FO8AT - SSB and AM contacts with W1PFA 20 and 15 meters August 1958. This is one of the first Dxpeditions we are aware of to the island. Sponsored by the San Diego DX Club, the crew, 11 men and one woman, were scientists who were put ashore to perform “IGY” studies. Shortly after reaching shore, rains and extremely high winds arose, making immediate operation impossible. Operation commenced on August 8 and continued through August 23. Extreme weather conditions which existed during the entire stay on Clipperton and “IGY” tasks limited operations.