IOTA

Igloos on the Air

Operating the 2016 ARRL DX CW contest from inside an igloo at the summit of Witt Hill in Norway, Maine.

You can see the dipole feedline entering the air hole near the top right of the igloo – in the above photo.

Inside the igloo, the rig is balanced on a board, supported by plastic storage containers. I ran full power, 100 watts, from an IC-7300, using Bioenno LiFePo batteries. The temperature inside stays a few degrees above zero Celsius. I thought the rig would help heat up the igloo, but instead had to rely on wool blankets.

All of the gear was pulled up on sleds using human power.

About 3 feet of snow fell in the week before the contest.

Results: KA1IS – 40 meters SOSB LP claimed score: 86,286 (394 QSO’s + 73 countries)