[AK-VHF] contest

[Ken K]

 Thanks to everyone who listened for me. In addition to working KL7UW and AL7LO on Saturday, I also decoded K7YK a few times. I’ve used the 3-el yagi and less power for previous QSOs into Southcentral and the Kenai Peninsula when the band was closed. Since stations south of the range apparently decoded me much more frequently than I decoded them, I think the lack of contacts may have been related to a very strong inversion going on here this weekend. A common occurrence here when warm air pushes in over a very cold stable air mass; it often results in vivid displays from Fairbanks of a phenomenon known as Fata Morgana, a type of mirage that reflects images directly above themselves. 

Saturday was typical; from my vantage points, I could see the peaks of the Alaska Range reflected upside down above the range. It’s a cool thing to see. I’m guessing refraction of radio waves blocked my reception somehow. Here’s a good site for descriptions of tropospheric dx modes: https://www.dxinfocentre.com/propagation/tr-modes.htm. The Twitter feed for the National Weather Service Fairbanks office Jan 14 has a good description and picture of the Fata Morgana. It was still happening this afternoon.

I'll send a check log in for the contest. Lets try again this spring; I think we’ll have better luck.

73,
Ken NL7B 
     On Sunday, January 16, 2022, 09:58:13 PM AKST, Ed Cole <kl7uw at acsalaska.net> wrote:  
 
 Hope everyone enjoyed the contest.

Very little activity except on 6m-FT8 for me:
Happy to work three grids: BP51, BP64, BO49

Working Ken-NL7B/R in Fairbanks in grid BP64 on FT8 was the most 
gratifying.  We also tried from Murphy Dome (BP54) both days but Ken 
could not see me.  I got his FT8 signals both days and his MS using 
MSK144 on Sunday.

Ken was using a 3-element yagi so guess it was not quite enough from BP54.

KL7HBK BO49 was a nice surprise which increased my grid count to three.
Final score 45
1 144
1 222
6 50

Please consider submitting a log and indicating club membership of "AK 
VHF-Up Group" if a member.  Club gets mention in contest results if 
three logs or more are submitted.

Go to: http://www.arrl.org/january-vhf

use: www.b4h.net/cabforms/ to make a cabrillo log
it will link you to the log submission form after you complete your log 
entries.  Note: voice modes are entered as ph, digital modes as dg, cw 
as cw.

73, Ed - KL7UW