On 08/10/2024, Calvin (KE0DIT), Ed, (K9QW), and myself (N8PIC) activated US-1024 as WJ9UNK, our club. We made a total of 239 contacts over FT8 and SSB on 15m, 20m, and 40m HF. Weather was 75 °F with very light cloud coverage.
We operated FT8 using a QRP-Labs QDX (5W) and a Kenwood TS-140S with Signalink (20-50W). Our 2 EFHW antennas were positioned perpendicular to each other. Later on in the evening, we made some SSB contacts with the Kenwood (100W).
We started around 09:00 local time, and conditions were less than optimal in the morning. 15m and 20m seemed to get the most activity, although our QSOs were mostly “local” in the continental US. Towards 16:00 local time, 40m started to open up. we started making contacts on 20m & 40m with the continental US and Europe.
All of us realized that we brought WAY too much stuff. As this was our first activation, we brought all the extra provisions we could possibly think of; extra rope, feed line, hookup wire, tools, baluns, batteries, etc. Our goal for future activations is to reduce the gear we bring to just the necessities, hopefully fitting everything in a single backpack.
The 12 hour day was a raging success. In fact, we are now in 2nd place at US-1024 for the most QSOs in a single activation. Our goal for next time is to be 1st on that leaderboard.
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.
