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Bob Cunnings NW8L
This year I returned to South Sandia Peak in the Sandia
Wilderness Area, overlooking Albuquerque, NM. The location was atop the
long north/south ridge a few hundred yards south of the summit, at
approx. 9600 ft. elevation. This is a nice location, with the terrain
dropping off sharply to the east and west, but requires a good 4 hour
hike to reach. The antenna was a dipole with balanced feedline,
supported by two 16 foot telescoping fiberglass poles. The "shack" was
in a nice sheltered depression in the limestone just below the ridgeline
to the west, with a tarp providing shade. I used my 20/30/40 KX1 with
autotuner. It was powered from a pack of 8 AA cells.
I managed a total of 34 qso's - 23 BB and 11 home stations, all
on 20 meters. Big signals heard included N7OU/BB, N6GA/BB and KF0UR/BB.
Signals from eastern US were very weak, I only managed WV, PA, GA and
IL. Heard N4BP(FL)and VE3OBU/BB repeatedly but couldn't work them.
Thanks to all for another great FOBB, especially the home stations who
answered my calls - it can't be easy!
The KX1 setup
The KX1 is connected to the AA battery pack, and runs perhaps
perhaps 3 watts out. I use a little self-powered speaker that plugs
right in to the headphone jack.
The antenna
The antenna a 64 foot long 40/30/20 dipole with jumpers between
sections for band selection. Sloping down to the right is the feedline,
made of 18 gauge speaker wire used as a balanced line and connected
directly to the KX1. The idea this year was to try a horizontal dipole
(not an inverted vee) running along the ridge line. It's only 12 feet
high but the ground falls away so quickly on either side that I hoped it
would result in some decent low angle radiation. The feedpoint is
supported by one pole, and the right half of the dipole gets additional
support using another pole. The other half of the dipole is tied off
directly to a conveniently located tree about 16 feet tall out of view
to the left.
The radio shack
Here's the radio shack, under a Noah's Tarp in a sheltered cleft
in the limestone. It got warm but steady breezes helped to make it
pretty comfortable.
The view to the Southwest
Looking to the southwest from the ridge we see Kirtland AFB and the
Rio Grande valley.
The view to the North
Looking North along the ridge South Sandia Peak is seen a few
hundred yards away. It was pretty green up there this year.
IThe view to the East images/E_view2009.jpg
To the east are the San Pedro "mountains". Although cloudy and hazy,
the usual afternoon thunderstorms kindly held off until FOBB was over.
The Grover Cleveland Tree Medallion
Taking the CCC trail back down, I snapped photos of some medallions that
have been nailed to trees. This must have been a labor of love for someone,
but I have never discovered just who. The medallions bear an approximate
date of germination for the tree, and a historical reference of some sort.
Here we have Grover Cleveland 22nd President, 1885.
The Grover Cleveland Tree
You can see old blaze marks in the Grover Cleveland tree. The CCC trail was
supposedly used by Civilian Conservation Corp work parties in the 1930s.
The Leonardo Tree Medallion
On another tree is the Leonardo da Vinci Birth 1452 medallion.
This one is caulked with silicone.
The Leonardo Tree
The Leonardo da Vinci tree is a very gnarly old pinon pine, long dead.
I suppose DD~1943 means 'death date' approx. 1943?
The End Holy Roman Empire Tree Medallion
On another tree is the End Holy Roman Empire 1806 (date of dissolution of
the Empire by Francis II) medallion. TB6, TB~1951? What's 'TB'?
The End Holy Roman Empire Tree
The End Holy Roman Empire tree is a small ponderosa pine. If the germination
date is correct it's over 200 years old, but trees grow slowly here.
I'm told there are many more of these scattered around the trails
of the Sandia Wilderness, I'll bet I've walked past some more than a
few times without ever spotting them!
See you next year!
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