Bob Cunnings NW8L
       
       This year I operated near South Sandia Peak (in the Sandia 
       Wilderness Area, overlooking Albuquerque). 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 "coupled resonator" 40/20 meter 
       inverted vee with balanced feedline. The apex at approx. 20 feet, 
       supported by a 32 ft. telescoping fiberglass pole lashed to a small tree
       at the top of the ridge. 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 2 AH gel cell, charged by a 10 watt solar cell.
       
       I managed a total of 28 qso's - 21 BB and 7 home stations, all on
       20 meters, bees were heard buzzing despite rough conditions. After 3 
       hours a line of thunderstorms arrived from the west and I was forced to 
       pack up and start back down since lightning makes operation impossible 
       in such an exposed place, even if sheltered from the rain. Signals from 
       the western states were reasonably strong at first, but I heard few 
       stations east of the Mississippi. My only east coast QSO was with 
       N3AO/BB in VA, but also worked K8DDB in MI and K4KO/BB in TN. Thanks 
       all, it was a great time!
       
       This year I brought along a camera, and had time to shoot a few pix 
       after setting up...
       
 (IMG) The KX1 setup
       
       This is the rig, connected to the gel cell/solar charge controller combo.
       I like using the little self-powered speaker that plugs right in to 
       the headphone jack.
       
 (IMG) The solar panel
       
       The solar panel was placed up above. The day started out with
       lots of sunshine. I'm told the limestone is courtesy of the 
       Pennsylvanian Era inland sea.
       
 (IMG) The antenna
       
       The antenna is made from 64 feet of 450 ohm balanced line. One 
       conductor is opened at the center and connected to the 300 ohm feedline,
       and serves as directly driven 40 meter dipole. The other conductor is 
       notched out 15 feet in from each end to form a 20 meter dipole centered 
       at the feedpoint, but not connected (the "coupled resonator"). The 
       feedline is 40 feet long and connected directly to KX1, which finds a 
       good match on 30 meters as well as 20 and 40.
       
 (IMG) The radio shack
       
       The shack was pretty cozy. Yes, it's well worth it to pack in the
       lawn chair - it's not that heavy anyway, compared to the water I had to
       bring up (there's more in the backpack).
       
 (IMG) The view to the South
       
       Looking South, in the direction of the Middle Rio iGrande Valley,
       towards Soccorro. Albuquerque is to the right, several thousand feet down
       in the valley.
       
 (IMG) The view to the North
       
       Looking northward, the summit of South Sandia Peak looms nearby.
       The tarp served me well when the thunderstorms arrived. The aspen 
       woods to the left, at the bottom of the limestone bluff, are the haunt 
       of mule deer.
       
 (IMG) A waterfall along the trail
       
       One of the few waterfalls in the Sandias is found along the trail 
       to South Peak.
       
       See you next year!