QRP in the Mountaineer State By Edward R. Breneiser, WA3WSJ On June 11 th, 2017, three hams jumped into a truck and headed to West Virginia. Little did we realize then what lied ahead for us. Three hams KB3SBC, KA3RMM and WA3WSJ would drive six plus hours to reach a destination that few hams have ever operated from until now. We would see things many amateur radio operators only see in the movies! West Virginia is located entirely within the Appalachian Region, and the state is almost entirely mountainous, giving reason to the nickname The Mountain State and the "Mountaineers are always free". The elevations and ruggedness drop near large rivers like the Ohio River or Shenandoah River Though the relief is not high, the plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas. The average elevation of West Virginia is approximately 1,500 feet above sea level, which is the highest of any U.S. state east of the Mississippi River. On the eastern state line with Virginia, high peaks in the Monongahela National Forest region give rise to an island of colder climate and ecosystems similar to those of northern New England and eastern Canada. This cooler climate would feel really great as we hiked and operated from the Mountaineer State. We leave my home near Reading, PA around 3:30AM and yes I finally know there s actually a 3:30AM! I never rise early, but this trip proves to be the exception. Little did I know this trip would provide many firsts for me. We have a reservation on the Cass Scenic Railroad at 11:45am so we drive to meet the Steam Train that will take us up the mountain. The mountain is called Bald Knob and it s the highest summit of Back Allegheny Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia and is part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. At an altitude of 4,843 feet (1,476 m) above sea level, Bald Knob is the third-highest point in West Virginia and the Allegheny Mountains. Yes, we plan to ride the steam locomotive eleven miles up the mountain to Bald Knob Summit. We plan to activate Bald Knob as a POTA KFF-1808 and hike to a nearby SOTA Summit W8V/PH-002 and also activate it. We had to receive permission from the Green Bank Observatory to operate from Bald Knob as its located in The National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) that was established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Docket No. 11745 (November 19, 1958) and by the Inter-department Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC) in Document 3867/2 (March 26, 1958) to minimize possible harmful interference to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV and the radio receiving facilities for the United States Navy in Sugar Grove, WV. The NRQZ is bounded by NAD-83 meridians of longitude at 78d 29m 59.0s W and 80d 29m 59.2s W and latitudes of 37d 30m 0.4s N and 39d 15m 0.4s N, and encloses a land area of approximately 13,000 square miles near the state border between Virginia and West Virginia. After a few phone calls and talking to a ham who works there, we get permission to operate atop Bald Knob, but no more than five watts and we must stay below 30mhz. Founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. Cass was built as a company town to serve the needs of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P. At one time, the sawmill at Cass was the largest double-band sawmill in the world. It processed an estimated 1.25 billion board feet of lumber during its lifetime. We arrive in the Town of Cass, WV around 10:30AM and start to move our gear from the truck to a train platform for loading on the steam train. Today, visitors ride on historic converted log cars pushed along by a powerful geared logging locomotive. Traveling on 11 miles of 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gauge T Former company houses have been refurbished and are available for rent through Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. A small cabin on Bald Knob is also available for rent, and cabooses can be reserved for private use as well. Town and shop tours are available daily to visitors who would like to learn more about the town and its lumber industry, and see how the rare geared locomotives are maintained by the Cass shop crew.
Depot 1900s Depot 2017 A tour of a recreated logging camp is available at Whittaker.Rack laid in 1901 by immigrant workers, the line traverses the steep grades of Back Allegheny Mountain. The railroad owns eight Shay locomotives, one Heisler locomotive, and one Climax locomotive, which is being restored by volunteers of the Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association. The Heisler and the Climax, both made in Pennsylvania, and were competition to Shay's geared locomotive design. We will be riding on Shay Locomotive Number 2 which is 93 tons - builder #3320 The ride up the mountain in a semi-open car was beyond my wildest imagination. I mean we are riding a steam locomotive up a steep grade for eleven miles with huge clouds of black smoke billowing from the Shay Engine! It s another first for me as I have never experienced anything close to this in my lifetime! In fact, we had to stop half way up the mountain to get water as the Shay locomotive uses six tons of coal to get to the summit! Once on the summit, we unload our gear and walk over to our home for the next three days. It s a red caboose on the track and yes on the summit of Bald Knob. We re really excited by now and hurry over to the caboose. I open the door and I m really impressed by our lodging. Nothing fancy, but it s nice. The caboose as a complete solar system to provide visitors with a few items like a small refrigerator, LED lights, etc.
We really didn t need to take batteries etc with us as the caboose has a 12vdc/200ahr battery as part of the solar system. No running water, but the park provides water for drinking etc in the form of ten gallon bottles with a pump. Bill, KA3RMM and Walt, KB3SBC setup their radios and antennas to operate. Both use an antenna that is multi-band, quick to setup, doesn t require trees etc to hang and I call it our Up and Outter Vertical. It s actually an inverted L and you use a tuner for all bands from 80m to 6M. Walt and Bill operate from the caboose, but I operate as WA3WSJ/pm or pedestrian mobile with my HFpack. During my stay on Bald Knob, I make over thirty QSOs operating my HFpack with five watts or QRP. Operating only CW mode. I really wasn t on the air much as I hiked all over the mountain to take in the views. Bald Knob View from Camp
It s our third day on Bald Knob and we now have to pack up for the ride back down. We need to leave Cass by 4pm to get to the Green Bank Observatory that is located only a few miles from Cass, WV. In fact, the radio telescope is so big that we could see the radio telescope from Bald Knob! Green Bank Telescope from Miles Away Bald Knob, WV We arrive at the Green Bank Observatory just after 4:30pm so we tour the facility and we get to see the radio telescope up close it s huge! This thing is 485 feet tall, weighs in at 17 million pounds which is like twenty fully loaded Boeing 747s! The dish surface has 2004 metal panels and is almost 2.3 acres or two football fields in size. Yet another first for me as I have never seen any antenna this size!
On the fourth day we decide to stop at Luray Caverns to see the cave. After about a 1.5 hour drive north, we arrive at the site. This cave is huge and has many really cool things to see. After the tour, we are now headed home from what was a great trip. I experienced many firsts on this trip. But, the one item that sticks in head more than the others is all the beauty of the mountains of West Virginia.
I had deer almost touch my hand, sat around a campfire atop Bald Knob at almost 5,000 feet ASL, slept in an old time caboose, operated QRP pedestrian mobile from a SOTA Summit and a POTA Park, rode an old time steam locomotive up and down a mountain and did it all with not only other hams, but with guys I consider friends. Does it get any better than this? Maybe, but I ll take this as a fantastic adventure that I will never forget.
On our home we hit one of our favorite eating holes Nana s Irish Pub! This place was a bank, but now has been converted in to a pub. The food is just great and the beer flows very nicely! Life is Short So Enjoy! 72, Ed, WA3WSJ