09/14/2004 | KE7V KE7V and K7MDL operated at 3000ft. from North Point Lookoput in CN78. The weather had conspired against me (K7MDL) for a Mt. Pilchuck mountain backback operation, and Johnny's (KE7V) invitation to put CN78 on the air was a great alternative. Besides putting a rarely heard grid on the air I got to help Johnny put up/take down his monster 50ft boom 6M beam in the driving rain. Fortunately the fire lookout we perched at was built on a rock outcropping and offered a nice cliff to hang the antenna boom over easing the job (somewhat) of raising and lowering the mast without bending the elements too much.

The rain eased off Saturday night, and by Sunday morning we had sunshine in spots on and off. I took several pictures of the fire lookout, the views, the nearby repeater site, and sunrise beaming down the valley below. I will post some of the pictures to my website soon.

The road to the top was freshly graded since they buried electrical service to the repeater site. With all the rain, it made for some really muddy roads and walking area. The adjacent out-house was a nice touch, and it was in nice condition and well maintained also. The trailhead information sign structure provided a shelter for the generator. Despite the Fire lookout building, we operated from within our vehicles for heat and the truck was my rotator. In practice I found there was usually only 1 direction east that seemed to work. The secret to that hotspot was to point directly through a large metal out-house vent pipe. I think it offered some "ducting" with a new form of signal enhancement I won't go into here.

The site is at 3000ft, the repeater is at 3300 ft and are close enough to see each other. There is about a 300 degree view with east looking through some thin trees, and south wide open.

Johnny operated 6M and I covered 2M, 222, 432, 903, and 1296. My 1296 antenna has seen one too many roves and was useless with 8watts forward and 3 watts reflected. It resisted all forms of repair attempts hours before the contest.

Made 3 903 contacts to W7GLF, K3UHF/R, and KB7DQH/R in CN87 and CN88.

The big news for us on 2M was working K7YO after much effort to find a path down the coastline to Portland. With a reliable 2M connection established, we then worked 432 whcih was much tougher but it is now in the logbook. We tried 223.5 FM and 25W watts was not enough. 100W was if only both ends had that much. Eric in DN08 was an easy shot.

There is a large RF shadow from North Point south of Seattle. I think most Seattle area stations worked us best with the antennas pointed north to reflect off some mountains.

My thanks to Johnny for scouting this location and the invite to operate with him. It was enjoyable. -- K7MDL