[RTTY] North Dakota was missing in the ARRL RTTY Round Up

[Brian Kassel]

Hi Don:

   I live in western SD, about 2 hours from the ND border.  I have 
considered many times to run up to a town just the other side of the 
SD/ND border for a contests.  Problem is the WX.   The contest season 
begins just as the snow begins to fly up there.  I have a complete 
little hard sided camper that has a killer heater, antenna ports, a High 
Sierra screw driver type mobile antenna, lot's of notebook PC's etc.  I 
have indeed run counties from  ND on CW mobile, but only in the Spring 
and summer months.  I do have 4WD, but towing a camper through the snow 
in the middle of nowhere can be a real problem for an old guy like me. 
;)  You may have no idea how remote the road is from here to there. ;)  
I have done extensive mountain top operating from snow capped mountains, 
but again, only in the warmer months, when  getting to the base of the 
mountain was not an issue.  And of course, I was a few years younger too. ;)

  North Dakota has a lot of great folks, and a  surprising number of 
hams, but  very few contest types I am afraid.     I attend regularly 
the Peace Gardens Ham Fest and meet many ND Hams.  I have asked time and 
time again if I could use anyone's station for a contests, but have 
never gotten a reply, I guess maybe I am not forceful enough, and hate 
to ask for such a favor.  Still, I am not ruling out a little DXpedition 
up there for any RTTY or Digital mode event.  I have a campground all 
picked out in Bowman ND from which to operate, but it is closed during 
the RU contest.  No gates or anything, but I would no doubt have to run 
off of a generator, which I also have BTW.  Plans for a trip like that 
can change in hours as unexpected WX can roll in quite unpredictable in 
those parts.  Here in the Black Hills the WX is much more moderate, but 
still throws the forecasters for a loop now and again. ;)

  I think that you will find the most consistently hard to work state in 
any contest is ND right now.  That may change if a contest type person 
moves in, or an existing ham finds the world of contesting interesting 
enough to jump in. 


Brian K7RE