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Ski Shelters on the Air – #1 Nordeen
The past couple of months have not been very radioactive. The weather in the Pacific Northwest has been … unusual this winter. We had an unseasonably dry and warm early winter followed by a vicious cold snap and a heck of a snow storm making getting outside difficult. However, this week the temperatures rose into…
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Activation Report: W7O/CE-208 – Pine Ridge, OR | October 2023
I have a goal of activating all the summits in the Crooked River National Grassland before the end of 2023. The journey started back in January with Juniper Butte [W7O/CE-223] on the Western edge of the Grassland. In March, Tim-N7KOM and I hit Gray Butte [W7O/CE-180] and Sister’s View [W7O/CE-303] on a blustery spring day…
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Activation Report: W7O/CS-038 – Wizard Island, OR | September 2023
Wizard Island is a volcanic cinder cone which forms an island at the west end of Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. The top of the island reaches 6,933 feet (2,113 m) above sea level, about 755 feet (230 m) above the average surface of the lake. The cone is capped by a volcanic crater about 500 feet (150 m) wide and 100 feet (30 m) deep.…
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Activation Report: W7O/CM-007 – Ball Butte, OR | September 2023
Ball Butte is a volcanic mountain of the Cascades in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States.[1] Its summit has an elevation of 8,091 feet and is located southeast of Broken Top KK7HJL, N7KOM, Lance the dog and XYL DF joined me on this outing to Ball Butte on a fine September morning. There is no established trail to the butte but it is relatively easy to…
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First Activation: W7O/CE-317 – East Butte, OR
First used for fire detection in 1932 with a 30′ pole L-4, a replica of this original tower was constructed in 1995. Staffed in the summer, it is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register. East Butte is approximately 45 SE of Bend, OR and is easily accessible by any passenger car via FS-23/25 (paved)…
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Activation Report: W7O/CE-078 – Quartz Mountain, OR | August 2023
Quartz Mountain was our 2nd activation of the day. We were prepared for a walk but it turned out to be a very short 1/4 mile from the road to the summit as we were able to drive up the entire way. Its only about 3 miles as the crow flies from Fox Butte but…
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Activation Report: W7O/CE-091 – Fox Butte, OR | August 2023
“This 80′ steel Aermotor tower, built in 1933, also had cabin living quarters. An L-4 ground house was moved to the summit from Sixteen Butte in 1948. Although the lookout is on emergency standby status, it was staffed full-time during the reconstruction of East Butte Lookout in 1995. The tower is on the National Historic Lookout Register.”…
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Activation Report: W7O/CM-152 First Activation of “7032” | August 2023
“Originally, Todd Lake was called “Lost Lake” because it was difficult for people to find. In the early 20th century, citizens of Bend, Oregon, asked that the name of the lake be changed to avoid confusion with several other Oregon lakes with the same name. In 1922, the name of the lake was officially changed to Todd…
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Activation Report: W7O/CS-004 – Mt Bailey, OR | July 2023
Mount Bailey is a relatively young tephra cone and shield volcano in the Cascade Range, located on the opposite side of Diamond Lake from Mount Thielsen in southern Oregon, United States. Bailey consists of a 2,000-foot (610 m)-high main cone on top of an old basaltic andesite shield volcano. With a volume of 8 to 9 km3 (1.9 to 2.2 cu mi), Mount Bailey is slightly smaller than neighboring Diamond Peak.[5] Mount Bailey is a popular…
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Activation Report: W7O/CE-030 [Walker Mtn] and W7O/CE-093 [Skookum Butte]
On the way down to Diamond Lake for the 2023 W7O SOTA Campout, I teamed up with Tim-N7KOM to do a couple of drive up activations. Both Walker Mtn and Skookum Butte are drive ups, or nearly so, located in the Fremont-Winema National Forest in Central Oregon, just north of Chemult. Access to both is…
W7MTB: Amateur Radio Notes
Notes on operating Summits on the Air
W7MTB: Amateur Radio Notes 