08/01/2005 | KX0R KX0R operated 1B from the Laramie Mountains, Medicine Bow National Forest, in SE Wyoming. Located in open pine woods and sagebrush meadows on a ridge at 7800 feet, this remote site provides a challenging, rich FD experience with minimal RFI.

2005 1B operation was 100% battery-powered, QRP, and solo. It was a really fun operation this year due to good weather and band conditions!

Rig: FT-817; 300 Hz filter; SCAF-1 filter; CMOS-4 keyer; 2 homebrew balanced tuners; antenna switch. No computer.

Power: 17AH lead-acid gel batteries.overkill.

Antennas: #1, horizontal Vee beam, 162-foot legs, 50 degree angle, 35 feet high, 160 feet of ladder line feed, lobes ENE and WSW; #2, 70-foot dipole, 40 feet high, 65 feet of 300-ohm feed, lobes SE and NW. Antennas put up in ponderosa pines by fishing pole method; hundreds of feet of black Dacron and #22 magnet wire used.

Operating position: Passenger seat of a 1970 VW Bug; a small operating table bolts into place; there are small shelves for the rig and accessories; Velcro-mounted paddles; 12V operating light made from a car brake-light bulb; no computer; car can be moved or driven if required.

Highlights: Most contacts were on 40, 20, and 15 CW; 40 and 20 were about even for contacts and sections; 15 was nice, with good short skip and both CW and SSB contacts. Operation was mostly hunt-and-pounce. The big Vee did a super job on both 20 and 40; it was awesome into the NE states, SE Canada, and CA. The dipole was good on 40 and even better on 20M, where it ran as 2-half-waves-in-phase with a pattern complementary to the Vee. By using two balanced tuners and a switch in the 50-ohm line, I called with the better antenna, and got a lot of Qs first call. Directional differences between the two antennas were dramatic on 20 and 15M, with deep nulls and peaks apparent. 10M conditions were poor; 40M was so live and busy at night, I never tried 80. I operated about 13 hours total and made 277 contacts, all QRP. While I got 2 KH6s on 15M and another on 40M, I missed a few states.

QRP Advice: For QRP forget those little toy antennas and put up some serious wire high in the trees. Youll be absolutely amazed at what 5W can do!

Sidelights: I shared my site with a large wild turkey that visited several times, along with a small herd of free-ranging cows that live in that part of the forest. Saw mule deer and some nice pronghorns (antelope) nearby, plus lots of birds and flowers up there. All gear fit back into the Bug!

Warning: Perhaps one out of every four pine trees at my Wyoming ridge-top site has a dead or missing top, burn marks, grossly distorted shape, or split trunk due to lightning. Lets all be careful and have an escape plan for lightning storms.otherwise you could be operating 0B next year!
-- KX0R