FW: DL88 trip report, K7BWH
ba...@k7bwh.com
Here’s a wrap-up of my big grid expedition with Ed N7PHY to Big Bend National Park.
I think this gives a good flavor of how it went. Fortunately, I had no equipment failures (except a flakey fridge power cord) or medical issues.
4,414 miles of driving. Great trip! But I’ll never go back there again, lol.
73 Barry K7BWH
From: ba...@k7bwh.com <ba...@k7bwh.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 4, 2025 9:26 PM
To: FF...@groups.io
Subject: DL88 trip report, K7BWH
Two years ago, Jim WM5L asked around for a DL88 expedition partner. I volunteered from Seattle, as he didn’t have any local takers. Jim and I made all our preparations, and, at the last minute, he was unable to go and I got deeply involved in remodeling my kitchen. Trip cancelled. Then six months ago, another Seattle ham and VHF rover, Ed N7PHY, joined me and we prepared for a May 12th departure. The date was chosen for favorable moon conditions, hopefully early enough before the worst of hot season and late enough to catch the start of the E-skip season.
Ed N7PHY and I drove together from Seattle to Big Bend NP, Texas, 2,200 highway miles.
Barry K7BWH at Panther Junction Visitor Center, Big Bend National Park
We stopped in Midland, Texas, where our generous host Robert W5AJ provided a rest day and lodging. Alan N5NA loaned me PowerPole repair tools to fix a flakey fridge connection before we departed. Later, after almost a week in the heat, Mike WA5POK and Cheryl came way out into DL88 to bring us soft drinks and ice (best thing ever!). They made dinner and margaritas, camped overnight, and made breakfast. After I left DL88, they provided a rest day so I could repack for the long trip home.
On this expedition, my most desired target was Hal N7NW, back in Seattle, to provide his final 488th grid square. Hal has been waiting 3 years for a good chance at this grid.
To prepare for this trip, I upgraded my rover van with an EME-capable station: 7-el LFA, LNA, kilowatt amplifier, and batteries charged by solar (park rules). The solar power worked well; it turns out that 800 watts of solar panels were great for all-day high-power operation and left the batteries fully charged at nightfall. Thanks to Ed’s StarLink connection, we had internet access and social media to help arrange contacts.
Operating position for Barry K7BWH
On our first day on site, Hal and I attempted an EME contact. In my low-noise desert location, I could hear him but couldn’t hear me on the moon. No contact. Although there was E-skip to other places, it didn’t include our path from Texas to Seattle; the 1650-mile distance is difficult on 50 MHz. We both spent a considerable amount of time aiming and calling. A few one-and-done decodes occurred but still no contact.
On our second day, without notice from maps or spotting networks, I received “CQ N7NW CN87”. I responded on the next cycle, and to our utter amazement, the path remained open exactly long enough from one complete contact starting with CQ and ending with a single 73. We can exactly measure the time: Hal sent two CQs and I received only the second one at 2058z. I finished with two 73s and Hal only received the first one at 2059z. Two minutes. That’s all we had, but we were prepared and that’s all we needed. Contact complete.
K7BWH is aiming at Seattle at sunset, 5/20/2025
I never got another opening to Seattle on this trip. In fact, by the end of the trip, I never did work any other stations in the entire CN-field. Hal and I are extremely pleased to have finished this miracle contact and his FFMA chase.
On my third day, I attempted an EME contact with Tac JA7QVI. After an hour and twenty minutes, we finally completed the QSO. This was my first EME contact. Although I intended to have more EME schedules that week, it was simply too hot to be outside tracking the moon with the antenna.
I made friends with a rock. That is, my antenna had a steering rope, and I initially was tying it off to my various stakes in the ground. I soon discovered it was easier to tie the steering rope to a rock and carry the rock back and forth. It worked great every morning until the rock got too hot to pick up, so I found a way to lift and move the rock using only the steering rope. I really liked that rock; it’s still there and I hope the next rover finds it useful.
On our eighth day, a big thunderstorm appeared with characteristics that could form flash floods or tornadoes. We made the snap decision to pack everything quickly and make a hasty exit. I worked almost 300 stations and contacted both Hal and Tac so I was very pleased with the expedition. We had planned to leave the next day anyway.
Ed N7PHY looks at a thunderstorm containing mammatus clouds and shear winds. Time to leave.
We chose the Glen Springs road as our exit route, as it goes to higher ground than the River Road. Glen Springs provides hours of off-road driving with just about every type of geologic formation imaginable – it is spectacular. Some of the twisted rocks strongly reminded us of the Road Runner cartoons; although we did see actual road runner birds, we never saw any wily coyotes.
An ocotillo framing the Chisos Mtns, one of many sights on Talley Road and Glen Springs Road of Big Bend NP.
I’d especially like to thank Ed N7PHY for this trip. I can’t imagine a better-prepared wingman or a more capable and easy-going guy for the long drive and difficult conditions in the hot, windy Chihuahua Desert. My daily indoor temperatures in the van were 105-115F. Soil surface temperatures measured by an IR gun were 130F. There was no shade except what we brought. Sometimes I found myself suddenly feeling thirsty while drinking a mug of water. With the wind and low humidity, I found myself drinking at least two gallons of water daily.
Many thanks to everyone who sent a PayPal donation. They are extremely helpful, and I deeply appreciate them.
73 Barry K7BWH
Doyle Byford
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