CLOUD BURNING: DESOLATION CANYON NVIS ADVENTURE

Although the challenges and responsibilities involved with an expedition of this nature did not allow much time for amateur radio Bob and I did manage one very good NVIS QSO when the FoF2 MUF reached just above 7 MHz on June 7. The previous evenings we had both been on frequency but with solid rock walls between us there was absolutely no ground wave possible and conditions were not right for NVIS on 40 meters. This night though was magic and the contact was classic NVIS. When I first heard Bob calling he was about 339 and within 5 minutes he had come up to a good 579 as the FoF2 rose above our 40 meter operating frequency. We were in QSO for about 10 minutes and then the signal faded as quickly as it had risen. At this point in the solar cycle we undoubtedly would have done much better with this mode had we been able to use 60 or 80 meters or set a schedule for earlier in the day – but we had made it!

In addition to this NVIS QSO I was also able to make very solid 559 - 579 20+ minute 40 meter QSOs with Ed, W2ZEP in Phoenix (400 miles), John, W0CGV in Aurora (300 miles) and Lee, K7QD in Boise (450 miles) from the deepest portions of the canyon using the K1 at 3 watts to a half wave end fed 40 meter antenna at approximately 15 feet.
The resulting high angle take off cleared the canyon walls and got me very reliable coverage at the first hop. A QSO with Ron, KB0TWH from a thousand miles away in Missouri was the icing on the cake and although QRN and QRM finally ended our QSO I'm willing to bet we could have toughed it out in the event of an emergency.

Our QSOs attracted great interest from fellow paddlers as I had set up a second headset and several came to listen in and ponder for a few moments on how we could communicate so readily via a low power Morse code rig while they studied solid rock walls towering well over 1,000 feet and watched their cell phones report “no signal” day after day.

As it turned out, we had a wonderful trip with no injuries or swims despite running over 50 class I-IV rapids in canoes loaded with hundreds of pounds of gear and water. However, the knowledge that we could get a message to the outside world in case of emergency added immensely to the group's sense of security in running this remote section of the Green River in open canoes.

My conclusion is that even at the lower portions of the solar cycle, 40 meters will provide reliable emergency communication for group support from rivers deep in canyon country using low antennas for high angle take off. Deso is deeper than the Grand Canyon, so if it'll work here it should work anywhere. NVIS communication at the low end of the solar cycle is probably better suited for 60 or 80 meters but provides a real opportunity for short-range communication out of deep canyons and I hope to do more experimenting with this mode soon. For more information on NVIS see:

http://home.comcast.net/~drake.t/w5tb/nvis.html

There are also additional photos of our trip and a full report written for our white water canoe club by KD5ZKU on the Web.
* * * * * * * * * *
T.E. “Doc” Drake, W5TB, is an avid low power operator from Arlington, TX. He has previously held callsigns: K7JOX, KR6JX, HL9WU, W2GSZ, and K4IKG. He enjoys operating while camping and canoeing.



	CLOUD BURNING: Desolation Canyon NVIS Adventure
		By T.E. "Doc" Drake, W5TB Special to The ARS Sojourner
"The canyon is very tortuous, the river very rapid, and many lateral canyons enter on either side. Crags and tower-shaped peaks are seen everywhere, and above them long lines of broken cliffs: beyond the cliffs are pine forests of which we obtain occasional glimpses as we look up through a vista of rocks. We are minded to call this the Canyon of Desolation." – Major John Wesley Powell 1869 Desolation is Utah's deepest and a real challenge to radio communications. This summer my paddling pal, Ron, KD5ZKU, and I headed for Utah and Desolation canyon for a six day trip on the Green River with 6 friends from the North Texas River Runner's club in Fort Worth. Having had good success with my K1 from the canyons of Utah's San Juan River the summer before I planned to once again bring the K1 along. As we prepared for the trip I started reading about a propagation technique called Near Vertical Incident Skywave (NVIS) which uses very low antennas to create high angles of radiation for communication out to around 350 miles with no dead zones. Given the fact that there are few trees at most campsites along Utah rivers and the canyon walls rise thousands of feet this sounded perfect! I contacted Dr. Bob Armstrong, N7XJ, an avid Adventure Radio Society member in Manti, Utah, about 120 miles from where I would be on the river. Bob regularly hikes the canyons of Utah and to my delight immediately said yes. We would try nightly at 7 pm local on 40 meters just above 040. Although the challenges and responsibilities involved with an expedition of this nature did not allow much time for amateur radio Bob and I did manage one very good NVIS QSO when the FoF2 MUF reached just above 7 MHz on June 7. The previous evenings we had both been on frequency but with solid rock walls between us there was absolutely no ground wave possible and conditions were not right for NVIS on 40 meters. This night though was magic and the contact was classic NVIS. When I first heard Bob calling he was about 339 and within 5 minutes he had come up to a good 579 as the FoF2 rose above our 40 meter operating frequency. We were in QSO for about 10 minutes and then the signal faded as quickly as it had risen. At this point in the solar cycle we undoubtedly would have done much better with this mode had we been able to use 60 or 80 meters or set a schedule for earlier in the day – but we had made it! In addition to this NVIS QSO I was also able to make very solid 559 - 579 20+ minute 40 meter QSOs with Ed, W2ZEP in Phoenix (400 miles), John, W0CGV in Aurora (300 miles) and Lee, K7QD in Boise (450 miles) from the deepest portions of the canyon using the K1 at 3 watts to a half wave end fed 40 meter antenna at approximately 15 feet. The resulting high angle take off cleared the canyon walls and got me very reliable coverage at the first hop. A QSO with Ron, KB0TWH from a thousand miles away in Missouri was the icing on the cake and although QRN and QRM finally ended our QSO I'm willing to bet we could have toughed it out in the event of an emergency. Our QSOs attracted great interest from fellow paddlers as I had set up a second headset and several came to listen in and ponder for a few moments on how we could communicate so readily via a low power Morse code rig while they studied solid rock walls towering well over 1,000 feet and watched their cell phones report “no signal” day after day. As it turned out, we had a wonderful trip with no injuries or swims despite running over 50 class I-IV rapids in canoes loaded with hundreds of pounds of gear and water. However, the knowledge that we could get a message to the outside world in case of emergency added immensely to the group's sense of security in running this remote section of the Green River in open canoes. My conclusion is that even at the lower portions of the solar cycle, 40 meters will provide reliable emergency communication for group support from rivers deep in canyon country using low antennas for high angle take off. Deso is deeper than the Grand Canyon, so if it'll work here it should work anywhere. NVIS communication at the low end of the solar cycle is probably better suited for 60 or 80 meters but provides a real opportunity for short-range communication out of deep canyons and I hope to do more experimenting with this mode soon. For more information on NVIS see: http://home.comcast.net/~drake.t/w5tb/nvis.html There are also additional photos of our trip and a full report written for our white water canoe club by KD5ZKU on the Web. * * * * * * * * * * T.E. “Doc” Drake, W5TB, is an avid low power operator from Arlington, TX. He has previously held callsigns: K7JOX, KR6JX, HL9WU, W2GSZ, and K4IKG. He enjoys operating while camping and canoeing.