[Elecraft] Alaska

[John Ragle]

Larry...

     This is a somewht vague quest, but here is some info. I used to 
operate as KL7PM, QTH Fairbanks. (The call belongs to someone else now.) 
The "era" was the sunspot maximum of the late '40's. In those days we 
were running 25 watts input using plate-modulated AM, and the antenna 
was a 5-element beam at about 30 feet. In those days I was in high 
school, and we came home at local sunset in the wintertime, about 3:30 
or 4:00 PM. Ten meters was open to the states until full dark, about 6 
or 7 PM.  The vertical MUF at College, AK was probably around 40 or 50 
MHz (in those days they were mcs), and it was fairly normal to receive 
broadcast FM in the 88-108 MHz band in Fairbanks from the east coast.

     From my present location, FN32, I have worked into the Kodiak area 
(several hundred miles south of Fairbanks) with 10 watts USB on six 
meters with a 5 element beam.

     I rarely operate in the evening here, and do not hear stations in 
the west in the morning when I am on...neither 20, 15, 10, nor 6 meters. 
But my guess would be that your best chances are when the greyline is 
about midway between the east coast and AK. Your chances are best to 
work people in the southwest or central AK or the Aleutians, as the 
panhandle people are bounded to the East by very high mountains, so only 
long path would be really feasible for them. There are lots of hams in 
AK, so it should not be a problem -- they're not DX anymore.

     One further comment...I do work lots of eastern stations in the old 
USSR early in the morning, usually on 20 or 15, using RTTY or BPSK31/63. 
It may be that you can work far enough around that way to pick up some 
AK stations then. Just wait a couple of years for old Sol to wake up 
fully, and then AK should be as plentiful as Teapot Party peeps in SC.

     Look at a polar projection from your QTH to AK. There is a lovely 
AZMAP program by AA6Z, Paul Burton, available on the internet, which you 
may find helpful. Check out    http://www.aa6z.com/

John Ragle -- W1ZI

/=====/

On 2/2/2012 8:43 AM, Larry wrote:
> What bands, times, settings, etc.  would be best to make a contact with a ham in Alaska using a K3? Thanks, k4mwe
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