Istanbul from the Pemigewasset
March 2010
It's absolute magic to walk into the
middle of nowhere, throw a wire into a
tree and talk to Istanbul. Who would
believe it possible? Yesterday I hiked in
old Hill Village again and worked a Ukrainian
ship in Algeria. Today I went down to the
Pemigewasset River on the Sanbornton side
and worked TA1C in Turkey.
It was nearly 55 F yesterday, and I spent the
afternoon wandering through the fields
in old Hill Village. I didn't bring my camera,
but I sat down under a maple tree and in
45 minutes or so worked Algeria, Poland, Russia,
the Netherlands, and Hungary. I doubt if
heaven could be more fun than this.
Weeks Brook flows into the Pemigewasset
Today, Hanz W1JSB and I went down to the
River on the Sanbornton side and played radio.
The walk in was fantastic. There are still some
snowy places on the trail, but Weeks Brook is
running clear, and there are some wonderful
patches of green moss and green shoots
appearing at the edge of the brook.
About a mile in we found a small field clear
of snow. It extends down toward the river
and has some trees that are high enough
for a half wave wire on 20 meters. Hanz was
there with his camera to capture the antenna
launching.
It looks a bit like I'm trying to jump into the
tree myself. But that's not the case. In the
next photo, you can actually see the water
bottle floating over the tree top.
We operated on 20 meters using a half wave
wire and the Par Electronics matchbox. I used
the HB-1A at 4 watts.
The band was fairly active and the first station
I heard was TA1C/2. Metin gave me a 449. I didn't
ask his QTH and didn't find out until I returned
home that I had worked Istanbul.
Istanbul from the Pemigewasset River with 4 watts - pure magic!
Next I answered a call from PJ5NA in St. Eustatius in the
Leeward Islands. Jim gave me a 559. He was a strong
599. Then I turned the rig over to Hanz. Right away he
worked K9UIY in Illinois. Vic gave Hanz a 559 and they
chatted for a while. As Hanz tuned up the band ON4UN
in Belgium came booming in. Hanz gave him a call and
received a 579. John was clearly the strongest station
on the band. "UR 4 watts FB signal," he sent back.
We're likely to get more snow before spring really comes
to New Hampshire. But this week with temperatures in
the 50s has been a welcomed respite from the long winter.
Thanks to Hanz W1JSB for these photos
-end-