[pct-l] Amateur Radio on the PCT -- Part 2

[doodad.pct at hotmail.com (Doodad PCT)]

In Part 1 I described my VHF/UHF Amateur Radio set-up for the PCT.  That 
kind of operation requires close to line-of-sight range, either directly or 
through terrestrial or satellite relay stations.  I mentioned in Part 1 that 
I will be sending position telemetry on the 2 m VHF Amateur Radio band so 
that folks can track my northward progress on:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=n7rr&radar=***&terra=4&topo=2

I will also be operating in the shortwave part of the radio spectrum, where 
radio waves can be bent by the ionosphere, allowing direct regional and even 
very long-distance communication.  Radio frequency bands are often named 
according to their approximate wavelengths.  The Seattle AM broadcast 
station KOMO transmits on 1000 kHz, or a 300 m wavelength.  There is one 
Amateur Radio band just above the AM broadcast band, still in the middlewave 
part of the spectrum, called the 160 m band.  The Amateur Radio shortwave 
bands are  80 m, 60 m, 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m.

I will be carrying an Elecraft KX1 transceiver which is specifically 
designed for backpackers.  See:

http://www.elecraft.com/

I built mine from a kit and in April, 2004, I published a review of it in 
QST, a national Amateur Radio magazine.  I praised the radio highly, but I 
complained that it really needed to operate on the  80 m band, since that is 
where radio amateurs meet, mostly in the evenings, to chat and to pass 
message traffic.  Amateur radiograms are a great way for wilderness trekkers 
to stay in touch reliably with folks at home.  They can be delivered by 
telephone, by mail or by e-mail to the addressee.  They can also be sent via 
the same radio traffic system directly to the wilderness trekker.  I will be 
happy to send such messages for other hikers along the trail.  Those 
messages could range from a birthday greeting to Aunt Martha to an important 
change-of-address request for a package.  Spurred on by my plan to thru-hike 
the PCT this year, Wayne Burdick, the full-time design engineer at Elecraft, 
figured out how to add 80 m capability into the already very small and 
light-weight KX1 box.  I expect to be building my optional module within a 
couple of weeks, leaving plenty of time to test it in the field before my 
early April PCT departure.

With the brand-new optional module (The Elecraft website doesn't yet mention 
it.) installed, the KX1 transmits on the 80 m, 40 m, 30 m and 20 m Amateur 
Radio bands, but it receives from 1000 kHz in the AM broadcast band all the 
way up to 16.505 MHz, meaning that it also works great for listening to 
shortwave broadcast and aviation transmissions.  It only transmits in Morse 
Code mode, so the operator needs to acquire that skill in order to transmit 
with it.  The big advantage of using Morse Code is that reliable and 
accurate communications with a low-power transmitter is much more likely 
than with voice operation.  I will also use cross-mode:  transmitting in 
Morse Code, but listening to single sideband voice stations which are 
typically transmitting with higher power.  If there are any wannabe radio 
amateurs among the thru-hiker community, there is still time to acquire a 
General Class Amateur Radio license, including passing the 5 
words-per-minute Morse Code requirement, and build a KX1.  It would also be 
possible to operate on limited shortwave frequencies with the more basic 
Technician Plus Amateur Radio license, for which passing a 5 
words-per-minute Morse Code exam is also necessary.

For originating and receiving message traffic, I will be checking into 
various 80 m Morse Code nets:

Oregon Section Net (OSN) 3587 kHz @ 1830 PDT (0130 UTC)
Washington State Net (WSN) 3658 kHz @ 1845 PDT (0145 UTC)
Northern California Net (NCN) 3630 kHz @ 1900 PDT (0200 UTC)
British Columbia Emergency Net (BCEN) 3652 kHz @ 1900 PDT (0200 UTC)
Southern California Net (SCN) 3598 kHz @ 1915 PDT (0215 UTC)
Idaho Montana Net (IMN) 3647 kHz @ 2000 PDT (0300 UTC)

There are also four Western US slow-speed Morse Code nets which operate on 
frequencies available to holders of the Technician Plus and the 
no-longer-available Novice  Class Amateur Radio licenses:

Utah Code Net 3708 kHz @ 1830 PDT (0130 UTC)
Colorado-Wyoming Net 3715 kHz @ 1830 PDT (0130 UTC)
West Coast Slow Speed Net (WCN) 3702 kHz @ 1900 PDT (0200 UTC)
Northern California Net (NCN) [slow-speed Morse Code session] 3705 kHz @ 
2100 PDT (0400 UTC)

Just for fun, on 24 days of my thru-hike, I'm planning "Operation PCT" 
starting at local noon for quick Morse Code contacts with radio amateurs 
anywhere in the world.  We will exchange three pieces of information:

1. callsign
2. name
3. Maidenhead grid (That's a geographical location system developed 
specifically by and for radio amateurs.  Most GPS receivers can be set to 
display Maidenhead grid coordinates.  The Maidenhead coordinates for the 
southern PCT terminus near Campo are DM12so; they are CN99ob at the Manning 
Park Lodge.)

My scheduled days for "Operation PCT" are:

Mondays: April 10, May 22, July 3, August 14
Tuesdays: April 18, May 30, July 11, August 22
Wednesdays: April 26, June 7, July 19, August 30
Thursdays: May 4, June 15, July 27, September 7
Fridays: May 12, June 23, August 4, September 15
Saturdays: May 20, July 1, August 12, September 23

On scheduled weekdays I'll operate on:
7030 kHz ± 1200-1215 PDT (1900-1915 Z)
14.060 MHz ± 1215-1300 PDT (1915-2000 Z)
and on Saturdays:
10.106 MHz ± 1200-1230 PDT (1900-1930 Z)

What does this cost in backpack weight?  My complete shortwave station 
weighs 1.7 kg including the KX1 transceiver with 6 internal AA cells, extra 
external battery pack, antenna, external speaker, headphones, two Morse Code 
keyer paddles, logbook, and 2.4 L Rubbermaid container.  Since most of my 
operation won't be tied to camp chores for stealth camping, I might decide 
to eliminate the external speaker.  I could send the speaker in my float box 
in case I change my mind.  I'll be experimenting with a lighter wire 
antenna.  So, I might be able to cut the weight down to about 1.2 kg, or 
slightly more than my Bearikade Expedition MKII food canister.

Doodad
PCT Northbound 2006

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