WS1SM Team Activates W1/HA-001 for CQWW VHF and SOTA
Mt. Washington, Gorham, NH

Mount Washington is known for having some of the worst weather in North America, including the highest recorded wind speed, and extremely cold temperatures. On the day we visited, temps were in the mid 50's (which seemed cold since we were used to the 90 degrees at the base), but it was mild by Mt. Washington standards. Wind speeds were down considerably from the year before. During our entire stay, we only experienced wind gusts capable of pushing over the antennas on a couple of occasions.

We setup our stations on the western slope, making use of one of the park's massive steel-framed picnic tables, and were especially successful on 2 meters, working as far away as Western New York state, and routinely into Western Mass, Vermont, and Eastern New York. The six meter operators enjoyed brief openings into the Southeast and Midwest, and made several QSO's throughout the Northeast as well. Later in the day, the band opened again briefly to the South.

By the day's end we had compiled an impressive score (though we were on the hilltop for under 6 hours). Since we entered the multi-op category, we probably won't place in the top 10, but we enjoyed our time on the "rock pile" and look forward to next year.

Mark Your Calendars! The Maine QSO Party is September 29th

 

Field Day Recap

   

This year we operated 2 stations continuously, and made use of the talents of everyone who participated. Sean W1GFD and Ryan KB1YTR, were busy making 40 meter qso's just about everytime someone looked, while Charlie W1CPS, was taking advantage of the good 6 meter conditions. Dana K1RQ, and Rick, K1OT, gave an impressive performance on 20 meter CW, which drew a crowd from just about everyone present, while others, including Thom W1WMG, Dakota KB1YYC, and Rory KB1PLY, took turns at the mic.

        

Frank KA1QW, did an impressive job of introducing CW to a couple of youngsters brought along by our newwest member, Jerry. Meanwhile, darkness fell and the night crew of Thom W1WMG, Tim KB1HNZ, and Charlie W1CPS, maintained a presence on the air. Early the next morning, Rory KB1PLY made and appearance, and Dave KB1FGF took a turn at the mic. During the afternoon and the next day, we were visited by other hams from around the country, some who just stopped in to say hi, and others who stayed long enough to make a few QSO's.

         

A Visit to Club Sportiv Petrolul Ploiesti
YO9KAG club station

   

The club station consists of an Icom IC756 Pro, an amplifier, and an impressive collection of antennas, highlighted by a multi band yagi, which is mounted on a 75-80 ft tower just outside. Capabilities include CW, SSB, and Digital on HF, and VHF. 

       

For those of you with some language background, you've probably already figured out that the name of the club has something to do with oil or "petrol." This is because the city of Ploiesti, which is located about 30 minutes north of Bucharest, is the nation's largest oil producing center. The amateur radio section is part of a larger organization which is associated with a football club that plays in a stadium across the street.   

Special thanks to YO9BPX, YO9GJY, and YO9CAB for the opportunity to get on the air from the YO9KAG club station. 

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QSL Corner

On page 1, you'll find a card received by YO9GJY for a 10 meter QSO with J28UC in Djibouti. The QSLs below include ET3AA (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), the 5W0M dxpedition to Western Samoa, and the French dxpedition to Noirmoutier Island, using call sign TM1NOI.

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.

	ET3AA - 15 meter SSB contact by KB1HNZ at 1324 UTC on December 30, 2012. (American and Russian DXpedition)
	5W0M - 15 meter SSB QSO by WS1SM on April 11th, 2013 at 0211 UTC. (German DXpedition)
	TM1NOI - 20 meter SSB QSO by KB1HNZ at 2143 UTC on August 14, 2012. (French DXpedition)