2004 Arctic Grid Expedition
K9MU/VE4 EO15at


Aurora pictures from the EO15 radio site
Expedition Announcement


Comments/Reports found on the 50 Mhz Prop Logger:

Jan04 04:46 K9MU/VE4 53a 50.125 SSB Justin in EO-15 Got Him!! de VA6SZ
Jan04 07:07 k9mu/ve4 eo15 scatter>en84 de n8cjk, wrked
Jan06 02:31 k0awu en37 57a into en19 50.125 from ve4amu en19
Jan06 02:34 strong aurora 4 to 5 beacons comming in heads up de ve4amu en19
Jan06 02:43 VE4AMU EN19 5-9 and W0OSP EN17 5-7A 50.125 K0AWU EN37ed
Jan07 05:41 Working Dan WB9WHQ EN45 5-2A 50.125 SSB ........ K0AWU EN37ed
Jan07 06:06 VE8BY/b & VE4ARM/b loud into DO33 de VA6DX
Jan07 06:15 K9MU/VE4 EO15 > BP64 wking AL7OC 55 qsb 50.125 de KL7NO
Jan07 06:16 K9MU/VE4 EO15 -> DO33 de VA6DX
Jan07 06:34 VE6JW DO33 5-2A 50.150 into EN37ed ..... K0AWU
Jan07 06:36 KG0VL/VE4 EO26 5-1A 50.150 SSB ..... K0AWU EN37ed
Jan07 07:23 KL0RG CO45 > BP54 & 64 59 50.125 ssb de KL7NO
Jan08 03:09 K9MU/VE4 EO15 into EN52 weak but solid W9RM
Jan08 03:10 ..not AU W9RM
Jan08 03:12 K9MU/VE4 what freq????? dn74 K7TNT Wy
Jan08 03:29 I copied KG0VL/VE4 on .125 cw... KØHA EN10
Jan08 03:50 VE4/K9MU now CQing .125 cw -- KØHA EN10
Jan08 04:14 Scatter from K9MU/VE4 .125 de W1IPL DN62
Jan09 07:31 VE4/KG0VL EO26 & VE4/K9MU EO15 > BP54 57/59 50.125 ssb de KL7NO
Jan10 03:54 KG0VL/VE4 Jeffery in EO-15 53a de VA6SZ do33
Jan10 04:16 va5sam 50.12 cw calling kg0vl/ve4 va5sam 51a de ve4amu en19
Jan10 04:30 Hearing VE6?? CW on 50.125 K0AWU EN37ed
Jan10 04:31 k0mn 50.125 cw 53a calling k9mu/ve4 de ve4amu en19
Jan10 04:32 k0awu 50.125 cw 55a into en19 de ve4amu rick winnipeg
Jan10 04:37 va5sam calling k0awu cw 50.125 k0awu 56a building de ve4amu en19
Jan10 04:38 K0AWU EN37 Aurora .125 into EN58 de VE3KRP
Jan10 04:46 K0RPT EN19 50.125 SSB 5-2A ..... K0AWU EN37ed
Jan10 05:08 KG0VL nor K9MU have NOT been heard tonight here ..... K0AWU
Jan10 05:07 AU now gone in EN37 ... nothing heard on .130 and KG0VL nor K9MU (VE4) have been heard here tonight .... K0AWU EN37ed
Jan10 08:11 k0ha en10 5/4 au>en84 de n8cjk

Memorable sound clips

(Volume varies between sound clips... watch your speaker volume)

VA6SZ DO33 - mp3 - My first 6M QSO from EO15! This is a multipart sound clip. The first half is a SSB QSO with VA6SZ and the second half is a clip of the VE8BY/B FP53. 1 min. 50 sec. (107kb)

Short Es opening to WI/MN - mp3 - WOW... I couldn't believe this, I actually got an Es opening!! This opening lasted about 10 minutes and I worked many friends from back home. This sound clip starts with the K9MU/B (EN44) blasting in S9 while I’m shouting into the tape recorder that I just got a new tape in (Sadly, my first QSO’s were lost due to a tape failure). I then quickly tune to 50.125 and give out a quick call where Bill, K9OW, in La Crosse, WI answers. I then proceed to work KB9POI and N0AKC, both good friends and neighbors. The stations that break in are KB9PJL and K0MN. They were relaying some information… thanks guys! QSO’s lost due to audio tape failure include W9RPM, K0MN, W9RM, KB9PJL, W9RAY, and KA9OMY. 3min. 14sec. (189kb)

KL7NO BP54 - mp3 - This is a must hear for those of you who have never heard doppler on a propagated signal. This Auroral E (CW) clip starts out with KL7NO sending signal reports to Jeffrey, KG0VL/VE4. Jeffrey then sends his 73's and I quickly break in to get my QSO with Al! 2 min. 56 sec. (172kb)

KG0VL/VE4 EO26 - mp3 - Here is a short clip of Jeffrey CQ'ing. He is 59A with a meteor burst followed by a short period of stong attenuation. 26 sec. (26kb)

VE7POI and VE7DUB CO88 - mp3 - I just got done speaking with Jeffrey on 6M and started to load more film into my 35mm camera when I heard VE7POI calling. Rod caught me off guard and I kind of stumbled though the first part of our QSO. My good friend Reg, VE7DUB, also breaks in halfway though this clip. Both Rod and Reg were 59 on auroral E. 3 min. 48 sec. (220kb)

VE4SPT/B EO26 - mp3 - Here is a short auroral clip of the VE4SPT/B. This beacon was situated about 20 miles from KG0VL/VE4 in Gillam, Mb. 21 sec. (21kb)

W9RPM EN43 - mp3 - I managed to scotch tape my broken audio cassette together and found only a single QSO with W9RPM. John was my first QSO during the short Es opening and I was his 500th grid! 47 sec. (47kb)

KM0A EM48 - mp3 - Another one of those freak short Es openings. I was hearing some weak T9 signals on 50.125 so I ran outside and turned the north facing yagi toward the midwest. I gave a quick call on CW and surprisingly KM0A answered my call! K0VUY is also heard (probably working KG0VL/VE4). 1 min. 45 sec. (103kb)

VE6EMU/B DO33 - mp3 - The VE6EMU/B was heard regularly and was a very effective tool for detecting the presence of AU/Es. 26 sec. (26kb)

VE6JW DO33 - mp3 - Here is a SSB clip of VE6JW (Johnny Walker!) with VE4/KG0VL. Both are highly auroral. 59 sec. (59kb)

TF3SIX/B - mp3 - Recorded by Jeffrey VE4/KG0VL EO26 40 sec. (39kb)

Origins

After working Jeffrey (KG0VL) on many of his arctic grid expeditions I soon stumbled upon his website and read about his exciting arctic adventures. I became intrigued and decided to contact him regarding future trips to VE4. Through the process of emailing and our occasional radio contacts we became friends, and I was invited to travel with him to the great white north! Our destination was northern Manitoba. We were to travel over 1200 miles north to the “end of the road”.

Day 1

We met at noon in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN on New Years Day. We set off toward Winnipeg in separate vehicles and we were able to communicate via 2M SSB. Jeffrey and I arrived in Winnipeg at 6:30 pm and met with VE4MA, VE4CCW, and VE4AJB to exchange contact information and throw back a couple 807’s. We departed early the next morning and begun our nine-hour journey to Thompson. Roads conditions were marginal with light snow and freezing fog. Local radio stations were forecasting clear skies and cold temperatures (-30s) throughout the week. We arrived in the small town of Grand Rapids, Mb at around 1:30 pm and filled up our vehicles at the local ESSO station. We safely arrived in Thompson at about 6:00pm and checked into our “motel”. Watching a bit of arctic television killed some time and around 9:00 pm Jeffrey and I anxiously headed north of town in hopes of catching a glimpse of the aurora. After we found a suitable location to park the vehicle we began to stare into the dark arctic sky. After an hours wait, the dark midnight ocean soon began to ripple. The faint ripple instantly exploded into a glimmering aqua rainbow. We gazed in silence, which was occasionally broken by static from the Icom 706 as we desperately tuned around the band looking for signals. All we had was a whip antenna but we still listened intently… anxiously awaiting for the eerie signal of the VE8BY beacon to suddenly pop in.

Day 2

Jeffrey and I left the “motel” early the next morning in search of an operating locale for me. I planned to operate from one of the many “pull-off” locations along the “highway”, but because of the deep snow many of the “pull-offs” were inaccessible. My original intent was to operate from EO16 but after driving around for a couple hours without any luck we decided EO15 would do. So we headed back south a found a nice locale about 30 minutes from Thompson. My EO15 site was plowed and supported trees, which would allow me to hang my G5RV and hide me from the occasional car that would pass by. Jeffrey and I immediately began to construct the antennas. The temperature was about –36°C, which made antenna construction very difficult.....

more to come!