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Summer 2006 Issue |
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Grid DXpedition to EN20
KX9X and NM9H activated rare
grid EN20 for the duration of this year’s By Sean Kutzko, KX9X |
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The following is a recap of the KS9Z/Ø grid DXpedition to EN20, which took place from June 9–12, 2006. This DXpedition was timed to coincide with the ARRL June VHF QSO Party. Matt Kolb, NM9H, and I were the operators. In contrast to a rover operation, Matt and I activated a specific, rare grid for the entire contest period, and then some. We hope that our experiences will encourage others also to go on grid DXpeditions for the purpose of activating rare grids for extended periods of time.
This was to be our first grid DXpedition in
four years. We made a conscious decision to get back into things slowly,
so we chose to use smaller beams on the high bands, reducing the amount of
packing we had to do, and left the kilowatts at home in favor of simple
bricks. We also only went out for essentially three days of operating. We hit the road at 4:30 AM from EM59. We arrived at the KOA campground in Rock Port, Missouri in EN20 at around 11 or so that morning. Our hosts, Annette and Dave, were delighted to see us and couldn’t have been nicer. They made us feel very welcome and showed us to the small cabin we’ve grown accustomed to renting for these trips. It is 12' ¥ 12', has one double bed (which served as the operating surface), and two sub-twin-size bunk beds. It is out of the elements and has air conditioning and electricity. It is all we could have asked for. We started setting up upon arrival. It was hot (91 degrees), with bright sunshine and no shade. We took several breaks while getting the antennas up. By late afternoon, we had 6 meters and 2 meters up and running. Matt fired up some bratwursts on the grill while I started working 6 meters. Our first QSO was with WA7FPO in DM54 at around 2200 UTC. Our first disappointment occurred when Matt took out his laptop to check his e-mail. We found no nodes to hit. We were told the site had wireless internet, so Matt asked if there was a problem. Indeed there was; it hadn’t been working for a couple days and there wouldn’t be a tech out to look at it until Monday! This put a major crimp in our plans. We were hoping to be able to check the prop loggers for info on band openings, and I had made a sked with one ham who badly needed EN20 on 6 meters. I didn’t write down any of his information, since I figured I’d just get it from his e-mail. That was a big mistake, one that cost a ham a grid, and I’ll never do that again. |
 The cabin at the Rock Port, Missouri KOA, our site for the ARRL June VHF QSO Party EN20 grid DXpedition. |
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