[Elecraft] K7VK on 6m from Bare Cone Mountain in DN25tr Montana

[Lance Collister]

Hello!

Just in case you are in the western North America and still need grid DN25 on 6m, 
I wanted to let you know that K7VK, K7PX and I are planning to head up to 7800' 
Bare Cone Mountain in the Bitterroot Range on Monday September 28 for an overnight 
6m Terrestrial Propagation Mode mini DXpedition. If anyone wants to see on Google 
Earth where we will be, the coordinates are:

Latitude:   45°43'9.43"N
Longitude: 114°24'44.24"W

I am bringing along my K3 with PR6 preamp, laptop computer with GPS timekeeping. 
Vick has Steve's 5 element backup yagi tuned up, and I have broken down my 6M8GJ 
and Portable Mast ( http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/6M8GJassembly.htm ) into 
largish sections for transport and fast assembly up on the mountain top.  I will 
take along LMR600 low loss feedline, just as on a 6m EME DXpediiton - the only 
difference is that we will not be running an amplifier up there.  We hope to just 
beat the snow up there ;-)

Vick says that he also will have liaison on 40m, so we will be monitoring 
7133-7136 if people are not copying us and want to let us know to turn the antenna 
or something ;-)  We will NOT have any internet capability up there, but please 
watch the ON4KST Region 2 6m chat page and the DX CLUSTER spots for information 
posted by others: http://www.on4kst.info/chat/login.php?band=7

We will monitor either 50.190 or 50.125 when we are not transmitting.  Please 
don't expect us to be transmitting all the time, because we will only be on 
battery power.  If people don't hear us, but are interested in working us, they 
should call for us.  We will come on if we copy anything.  Based on my experience 
and the 7800' high QTH we will have, I am sure we will be able to contact anyone 
between 600 and 1200 miles on JT65A mode using D layer scatter and under 600 miles 
on ground wave.  This little barefoot (100w) DXpedition should demonstrate the 
ability to collect grids year-round on 6m using the power of JT65A.

We will plan to start out between 1800 and 1900Z Monday on 50.190 beaming NW on 
JT65A mode (we will always XMIT in the first seqeuence, regardless of mode).  I am 
inclined to stay primarily on 50.190 throughout the day and evening, switching to 
various modes as is appropriate.  We will have CW and SSB capability also in the 
event signals are extraordinarily strong, and will monitor 50.125 when we are not 
busy working stations on 50.190.

On Tuesday morning we will plan to operate FSK441 on 50.260 (and possibly QSY to 
some other frequency as required).  If we are going to be listening up 10, we will 
send something like "CQU10 K7VK DN25".  Similarly, if we are listening down 10, we 
will send something like "CQD10 K7VK DN25".  We probably won't be on past about 
mid-morning on Tuesday, since we will have to tear down and leave at least by noon.

I hope people who still need DN25 can be QRV at some point during our little 
mountain top excursion ;-)   GL and VY 73, Lance


-- 

Lance Collister, W7GJ (ex: WN3GPL, WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8, E51SIX)
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT  59834  USA
QTH: DN27UB
TEL: (406) 626-5728   URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
2m DXCC #11, 6m DXCC #815