Hi Folks:
Last night's propagation left a bit to be desired... actually, it
left a WHOLE LOT to be desired...! Here's the dreary report...
ECN 20M 12/18/2006
N0SS TOM MO K2/100 0008
K6DGW FRED CA K2/100 4298
AC7AC RON OR K2 1289
NK6A DON CA K2/100
WA7BOC ROGER WA K2 0755
W3MC MIKE MD
N7NLU KARL OR K2 1663
VE3XL RIC ON K2 0968
Thanks to Fred, K6DGW for pulling Mike, W3MC, out of the background
noise. When Mike first attempted to QNI, I had my beam on the west
coast, but Mike was still 569. However, by the time I went back to
Mike (after checking-in N7NLU) Mike's signal had gone into the
dumpster... even when I'd turned the beam back east, I was hearing
only a peep from Mike... Fortunately, Fred was dogged enough to catch
Mike's call after several repeated attempts. By the time the net was
over, Mike was back up to 579/599 status... go figger.
To those on the east coast, and ANYWHERE other than the west coast,
we really DID try to find you... I called with the beam in all
directions, and Fred called several times as well... just no
discernible responses. on 20M.
ECN 40M 12/18/2006
N0SS TOM MO K2/100 0008
KT5X FRED NM K2 0700
KT5E JAY CO K2 5037
40M was even worse!!! I managed a nice pre-net QSO with Fred, KT5X,
and then, had it not been for Fred and Jay (KT5E), I'd have been all
by my lonesome... at least as far as I could hear. I called and
called, but to what appeared to be a nearly dead band. And I had
virtually NO BACKGROUND NOISE to speak of, so it wasn't because of
interference... but to absorption...!
Oh well, there's always NEXT WEEK...!
THANKS to those of you who were able to check into the nets.
For those of you who might be concerned about Kevin and his
well-being following the horrible winds the Pacific Northwest has
experienced... here are a few comments from an e-mail recently
received from Kevin...
Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:13:04 -0800 (GMT-08:00)
Just got phone service an hour ago. I am now running off
battery power through an inverter. I have over a thousand
messages to wade through via webmail. I am running a laptop
which does not pull mail from the server.
I am OK, rattled to the extreme, but OK. It took quite a while
to stop shaking after the tree fell a few feet from where I was
sitting. I was in the strongest part of the house and to
windward. The tree limbs were flying over that part of the
house but not at the windows. None were broken. Drywall and
broken branches exploded through the new room and the rest of
the house. Every few feet there was a hole through the roof. If
I'd have been anywhere but where I was I most likely would have
holes in me too!
Power may be back on by Thursday. I have not found the other
end of the broken G5RV or the tree which was supporting it. If
the trees were not in straight lines I would say we had been
hit by a tornado. Hundreds of trees are down on my twenty
acres. The four Trojan T-105 (backup batteries) started at 12.7
volts. They are down to 12.2 volts now after booting a desktop
unit to tranfer files to the laptop and running the IC-706 for
comms. I still have a J-pole up so I got my nephew to help me
limb the hemlock and cover the roof with plastic. Luckily the
wind and rain came to an end. It has snowed but that is not as
bad.
The water I had standing by in five gallon buckets froze but
that simply made it easier to transfer into the bathroom. I
used a pan to transfer the top few inches in the toilet tank
and the poured to the fill line. I've run out of back up water
so am going to a beaver pond tomorrow to steal some of their's.
I don't think they will mind because their pond is spring fed.
I'll get a few more days of flushing water. I have cut my way
down the mountain and have gotten more supplies. I did heat
some water on the wood stove for shaving and washing.
I hope to be back on the air but if priorities push the antenna
launch date off that is the way it goes. If I get power this
week it will ease my burden. Sure is nice to have Internet
contact again! I will stay in touch and keep you apprised of my
progress.
Any ideas on who to call to lift off the hemlock
tree?
Kevin.
73,
Tom N0SS
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