[AK-VHF] January VHF After-Action Report

[Brandon Clark]

Hello group!
As most of you already know, the event was a big success. We have been 
working to increase activity in these events and managed to do exactly 
that. Thanks to everyone who came out to play. Below is a run down of 
how each location worked. Useful for future planning and path-mapping.

BP51 - Anchorage Hillside
This location near the Flattop Trail parking lot is always a productive 
one. Using this as the first site of the contest worked well, since 
that's usually when the most people are on air. Contacts were made all 
the way down to Anchor Point on the peninsula, and the MARA operators 
were also well represented. We totaled twelve contacts across 6 M, 2 M, 
and 70 cm.

BP41 - Point Woronzof
This was a new location that I hadn't used before. I set up on the side 
of the road very near to the Point Woronzof parking lot. There is a 
small rise there that is right at the end of one of the runways, and it 
actually made for a great location. Contacts into the peninsula were 
fewer, but Anchorage, Eagle River, and the stronger Mat-Su stations were 
booming in. The total was fifteen contacts across all three bands.

BP50 - Turnagain Arm
The grid that couldn't be worked - or so we were told! Anyway, we worked 
it, and it wasn't only super stations who got contacts. The KL7VHF rover 
location was just a hair north of the Falls Creek Trailhead, on the 
Seward Highway. This grid doesn't have line-of-sight to anything other 
than the bay, but I think we are getting very favorable diffraction 
around the mountains. Nine contacts, using 6 M and 2 M, from eight 
different operators, INCLUDING stations in Anchor Point, Nikiski, and 
the MARA group.

BP50 - Sterling Highway mile 46-ish
I haven't worked from this grid since the 2018 June event, and that time 
I was running so late that I only had a few minutes to call. This 
location is on a rise just as you come out of the mountains headed 
towards Soldotna. Once again, despit not having line-of-sight to much 
this grid was hopping with activity. Farthest contacts were from the 
Mat-Su group, but contacts were also had from throughout the peninsula. 
A few Anchorage stations also got in. Total of 14 contacts on 2 M and 6 
M. (High SWR on my 70 cm antenna was preventing long distance work with 
that band.)

Brandon, KL7BSC (operating as KL7VHF)