[NLRS] Lake Superior 10 G Cumulative operation August 2026. (long)

[Gary]

Hi Everyone,

Next year it will be four years since the Northern Light Radio Society 
(NLRS) group has been back to Lake Superior. There is enough interest 
now to support going back for the August 10 G Cumulative weekend next 
year. It's a great vacation area, with plenty of scenery and most of the 
time, good to great propagation.

After this years September 10 G weekend I sent an email to the Michigan 
ops thanking them for the rain scatter contacts that we made.  I also 
asked if there was any interest in going back to Superior next August. 
The interest level was much higher then I expected, especially given the 
long lead time. These are not firm commitments, nothing is carved in 
stone, but I already have five ops who say they want to operate on the 
Minnesota North Shore as rovers, a few more have expressed interest. On 
the Michigan UP side there are four ops who said they will go plus 
another three who are interested. Then on the Canadian side there are a 
few who want to operate there, as well as others who are interested.

For those that haven't been with us before, here is how we work it:

We operate between the MN North Shore (western shore of the lake), the 
UP of Michigan (Keweenaw peninsula, Copper Harbor area) and a Canadian 
site, which has been at Marathon, ON. There are a two sites that we use 
on the Keweenaw peninsula, Great Sand Bay and Brockway Mountain. One 
site is used each day unless there are too many people, then the 10 G 
only ops will use one site The first day and the other site the second 
day. Those with the higher bands use the opposite site and then switch 
to the 10 G only ops site the second day.

During recent trips the Canadians have operated both days at Marathon, 
ON. There is one other site that has been used, at Terrace Bay. The last 
time we were up there it wasn't usable, but it may be this time.

Saturday morning the MN North Shore rover group, or groups depending on 
numbers, start near Duluth, MN. We work the UP site(s) and if conditions 
allow the Canadian ops. The MN NS has a limited number of sites that 
meet the 10 Mile move rule and allow us to get near the shore. Many 
possible sites are blocked by trees. Depending on the time it takes to 
work the UP and Canadian sites, the NS group can make between 8 to 11 
stops during the day. Many spend the night near the Canadian border, at 
the Grand Portage Casino. Sunday morning the rovers start at some new 
sites on the north end of the route. These are sites that they may not 
have had time to visit on Saturday. Then the rest of the day the 
group(s) work their way back toward Duluth using the Saturday sites. The 
UP ops work the Canadian site as time allows.

In the past there were ops who wanted to operate from the Eastern side 
of the lake. That's not practical. We did have a group at Wawa, ON a 
couple of times. No contacts made with the MN NS the first time. The 
second time there were a few contacts between the northern end of the NS 
and Wawa. Operating time at each NS site is limited due to the travel 
time between sites so not much time was spent looking for the Wawa ops. 
This also applies to working the Eastern Shore of Superior. Another 
problem with the Eastern shore is that it is very hard to get near the 
lake as the roads are many miles inland, and there are trees everywhere. 
There are a few places on the Eastern shore where one could operate. Due 
to the time constraints no one has tried to operate there. There are 
chances to work the Marathon site, but they are limited.

The Michigan UP sites have a problem working east as neither of the 
Michigan UP sites have a view to the East. Great Sand Bay is on the 
western side of the Keweenaw peninsula and has Brockway mountain, about 
650' higher, just to the east. From Brockway the path East is blocked by 
local terrain. It is possible to work to the East from the top of 
Brockway but that requires a move and then the paths to the MN NS and 
the Canadians are lost.

While most of the activity is on 10 G, because of the distances. In 2022 
there was some good activity on the higher bands between the MN NS and 
the UP. The longest 24 G contacts were 226 km and the longest 47 G 
contacts were 160 km. I don't think that any longer paths were tried. 
Shorter paths are available the further north the rovers travel on the 
MN NS. The shortest path to the UP is 124 km. The longest path is 
between Duluth and Brockway at 333 km. The shortest path from the MN NS 
to Marathon is 256 km and it's not an over water path. The longest NS to 
Marathon path is 488 km. To date no 24 G or up contacts have been made 
between the MN NS and Marathon, but then I don't think anyone 
tried. However, every time they have tried, there have been many 
contacts on 24 G between Mount Brockway and Marathon at 180 km. I don't 
know of any 47 G or higher contacts over that path. Again, I don't think 
they tried. There have been a number of local 47 and 76 G contacts on 
the UP. Those paths are from Brockway to a site near lake level. There 
is another site near Great Sand Bay that may have views to Marathon. If 
they can get path around the trees near the beach, I would expect that 
those with the higher bands would use this site rather the GSB. There 
are a number of ops who would like to try the 47 G and higher paths 
between the MN NS and the UP and between the UP and Canada.

So, now that you know how we operate, who is interested in joining one 
of the groups? Please let me know and I will add you to the list. Also, 
remember that nothing is guaranteed right now. If you are going, since 
these are summer vacation areas, it may be a god idea to make 
reservations early.

73, Gary WBØLJC