K1WHS Station Suffers Serious Storm Damage

K1WHS Antenna Farm
K1WHS antenna farm. Photo courtesy QRZ.com

From yccc.org:

Well-known contester and VHF/UHF/microwave enthusiast Dave Olean, K1WHS, Lebanon, Maine, suffered serious damage to his towers and antennas on June 30 as a result of dangerous storms that moved across New England overnight.

“My place was hit on 6/30 with an apparent microburst that did tremendous damage. Many trees are down and one large white pine came down right across the west guy anchor of my  130 ft Rohn 45 144 MHz tower. This was a tree that I had identified to remove as soon as I had a chance. When it fell, it snapped off the top of the rock anchor. They have a rated working strength of 14,000 pounds, but I am sure the falling tree force was much greater than that. With no guy attached the tower just toppled over and laid out all 130 ft across the tops of trees. The equalizing plate and part of the anchor is up in a tree. It is a total wreck. The H frame on top has been ripped apart along with the four 17B2 144 MHz yagis. The famous LVA, an array of 16 x 5 element yagis spaced along one tower leg, was also on the tower and has been destroyed. I was in the process of re aligning the LVA to aim towards ND0B in N. Dakota in an attempt to give him his last state on 144.  Now there is nothing left. As the yagis fell through the foliage canopy, the elements have been cleaned off or severely bent.  Many booms are ripped apart or bent. There is nothing salvageable from the quad array of 17B2s. They are all destroyed. The H frame is destroyed as well.

“I was not here when the storm came through, but witnesses said it was very frightening and the winds came from many directions.  My neighbor has about 40 uprooted trees.  I suspect a microburst from the direction that I see fallen trees. My wife arrived home just after the storm and called me. By the time, I arrived, it was just after 9 PM and getting quite dark. I knew something was wrong when I could not see towers on the hill while driving south along the lake. Normally the towers are very visible.  I could not sleep all night, and, at dawn, armed with a big chainsaw,  I drove the truck up to the VHF shack. The scene is sickening, with the entire tower laid over the trees and bent like a pretzel. It is being held up on one end by a guy wire from another tower that somehow managed to stay up! That guy is under tremendous pressure.  I am not sure how to fix all the damage, and save tower #2.”

Dave K1WHS

K2K, New Hampshire 13 Colonies Special Event, July 1-7, 2021

2028 K2K QSL cardThe 13 Colonies Special Event is being held from July 1st – July 7th, 2020. Stations in New Hampshire will operate using the call sign K2K to commemorate event.

QSL information for the K2K Stations in New Hampshire can be found on the QRZ page. Please see the 13 Colonies Special Event website for more details on the event and for certificate information. Also when requesting a QSL card, please include your callsign on the front of your return SASE.

K2C, Rhode Island 13 Colonies Special Event Operation, July 1-7, 2021

K2C QSL card for 2021 13 ColoniesK2C

This Years Event Dates / July 1, – 9AM EST to July 7, – Midnight EST
                          July 1, -1300 UTC to July 8, -0400 UTC
QSL: Direct to W1KMA, S.A.S.E, NO BURO.   LOTW, EQSL.  Logs will
uploaded after the event.
                                      QSL Manager W1KMA
Certificate Requests and info go to Ken, KU2US QRZ.COM

SPOTTING:  If you work a colony station, you are encouraged to spot it
for others.

We suggest:     http://www.cwfun.org/funspots/us13/frames.html.
                                             http://www.dxsummit.fi/#/

Special Event Stations Commemorate 100th Anniversary of WBZ, September 17-19, 2021

WBZ 100 Year Anniversary logoWBZ radio 1030 kHz in Boston is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2021. It is the oldest broadcast station in New England, and one of the oldest stations in the United States.

The Billerica Amateur Radio Society and the Hampden County Radio Association in Springfield, will help commemorate this anniversary by sponsoring a special operating event starting at 1300z/9:00 am EDT September 17 and ending at 0400z/12 am EDT on September 19. Amateurs from across New England will operate W1W, W1B, W1Z, and WB1Z on various bands and modes. A special QSL card will be sent to anyone who contacts one or more of the special event stations. A historical sheet will also be available for download. The card will feature historical photos of WBZ over the years as well as a special 100th Anniversary WBZ logo. 

For updated information, please visit https://nediv.arrl.org/wbz100.

“Impromptu Fox Hunt” Solves Repeater Lock-Up on the RASON (CT) Repeater

RASON website screenshotChuck Newman, NA1CN, reported that the Radio Amateur Society of Norwich (RASON) club repeater input was receiving a signal locking up 146.730 on the evening of June 21.  Dave Thackston, K1DCT, identified the signal near his neighborhood on  Route 2, between Norwich and Foxwoods.  NA1CN called for an impromptu fox hunt on the input frequency of 146.130. The fox hunters coordinated their hunt on the 147.060 Salem repeater.

Kevin Harkins, KA6PDG, reported via the club mailing list two hours later that the problem was resolved and was “accidental in nature.”  He thanked those amateurs who assisted in locating the source, acknowledging assistance from:  Dave, K1DCT; Chuck, NA1CN; Dave, WA1IKN; Tim, KC1TWR; Jerry, NT1O; Jeremy, KC1NBY; John, WF1C; Joe, K1IKE.

RASON maintains an well-organized and attractive website at: <https://rason.org/>.