|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iBob Cunnings NW8L |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iThis year I returned to South Sandia Peak in the Sandia |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iWilderness Area, overlooking Albuquerque, NM. The location was atop the |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ilong north/south ridge a few hundred yards south of the summit, at |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iapprox. 9600 ft. elevation. This is a nice location, with the terrain |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
idropping off sharply to the east and west, but requires a good 4 hour |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ihike to reach. The antenna was a dipole with balanced feedline, |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
isupported by two 16 foot telescoping fiberglass poles. The "shack" was |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iin a nice sheltered depression in the limestone just below the ridgeline |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ito the west, with a tarp providing shade. I used my 20/30/40 KX1 with |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iautotuner. It was powered from a pack of 8 AA cells. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iI managed a total of 34 qso's - 23 BB and 11 home stations, all |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ion 20 meters. Big signals heard included N7OU/BB, N6GA/BB and KF0UR/BB. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iSignals from eastern US were very weak, I only managed WV, PA, GA and |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iIL. Heard N4BP(FL)and VE3OBU/BB repeatedly but couldn't work them. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iThanks to all for another great FOBB, especially the home stations who |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ianswered my calls - it can't be easy! |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
 |
The KX1 setup |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iThe KX1 is connected to the AA battery pack, and runs perhaps |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iperhaps 3 watts out. I use a little self-powered speaker that plugs |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iright in to the headphone jack. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The antenna |
image/jpeg |
|
|
iThe antenna a 64 foot long 40/30/20 dipole with jumpers between |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
isections for band selection. Sloping down to the right is the feedline, |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
imade of 18 gauge speaker wire used as a balanced line and connected |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
idirectly to the KX1. The idea this year was to try a horizontal dipole |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i(not an inverted vee) running along the ridge line. It's only 12 feet |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ihigh but the ground falls away so quickly on either side that I hoped it |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iwould result in some decent low angle radiation. The feedpoint is |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
isupported by one pole, and the right half of the dipole gets additional |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
isupport using another pole. The other half of the dipole is tied off |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
idirectly to a conveniently located tree about 16 feet tall out of view |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ito the left. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The radio shack |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iHere's the radio shack, under a Noah's Tarp in a sheltered cleft |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iin the limestone. It got warm but steady breezes helped to make it |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ipretty comfortable. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The view to the Southwest |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iLooking to the southwest from the ridge we see Kirtland AFB and the |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iRio Grande valley. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The view to the North |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iLooking North along the ridge South Sandia Peak is seen a few |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ihundred yards away. It was pretty green up there this year. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The view to the East |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iTo the east are the San Pedro "mountains". Although cloudy and hazy, |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ithe usual afternoon thunderstorms kindly held off until FOBB was over. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The Grover Cleveland Tree Medallion |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iTaking the CCC trail back down, I snapped photos of some medallions that |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ihave been nailed to trees. This must have been a labor of love for someone, |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ibut I have never discovered just who. The medallions bear an approximate |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
idate of germination for the tree, and a historical reference of some sort. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iHere we have Grover Cleveland 22nd President, 1885. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The Grover Cleveland Tree |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iYou can see old blaze marks in the Grover Cleveland tree. The CCC trail was |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
isupposedly used by Civilian Conservation Corp work parties in the 1930s. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The Leonardo Tree Medallion |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iOn another tree is the Leonardo da Vinci Birth 1452 medallion. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iThis one is caulked with silicone. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The Leonardo Tree |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iThe Leonardo da Vinci tree is a very gnarly old pinon pine, long dead. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iI suppose DD~1943 means 'death date' approx. 1943? |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The End Holy Roman Empire Tree Medallion |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iOn another tree is the End Holy Roman Empire 1806 (date of dissolution of |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ithe Empire by Francis II) medallion. TB6, TB~1951? What's 'TB'? |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
The End Holy Roman Empire Tree |
image/jpeg |
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iThe End Holy Roman Empire tree is a small ponderosa pine. If the germination |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
idate is correct it's over 200 years old, but trees grow slowly here. |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iI'm told there are many more of these scattered around the trails |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iof the Sandia Wilderness, I'll bet I've walked past some more than a |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
ifew times without ever spotting them! |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
i |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
iSee you next year! |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
whitemesa.net 70 |
|
|
|
|
|
