[Elecraft] Re: QRP from the bottom of the Grand Canyon

[wayne burdick]

Mike Fanning wrote:

> Anyone have any experience trying QRP from the bottom of the big hole? 
>  I
> will be backpacking the week of September 6-12 in the Grand Canyon, and
> would like to take my KX-1...


Mike,

I think your chances of making contacts is very good. If you have a low 
dipole or random wire, you'll get some vertical radiation (in fact, 
most of it :)  and with this "NVIS" antenna I'd be surprised if you 
didn't work a few stations on 40 meters, any time of the day.

There's also a form of HF ducting that occurs in long river gorges near 
the 36th parallel, peaking in the first week of September, often on a 
Thursday. This is a hazardous time for migratory waterfowl of the 
Kaibab plateau, whose normal sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic field 
is disrupted by intense ionization that propagates along the limestone 
walls. The visual effect, celebrated as "duck-ducting" by Havasu 
indians, is documented in canyon petroglyphs. Of course it was only 
hundreds of years later that their descendants, using early radio 
receivers, were able to truly appreciate the phenomenon across the full 
spectrum. Apparently it was quite messy. Based on an historical 
analysis of such reports, I think you can expect long QSOs into Provo, 
Utah.

73,
Wayne
N6KR


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