I was supposed to visit my brother on Friday, March 10, 2010, but things didn't work out, and since I was in the mood for a trip, I decided to spend a long weekend in Winnemucca, Nevada, as I love the high desert, the rural atmosphere, and the "Nevada mentality."  Plus, in all the years of hamming that I've done, I've NEVER operated from anywhere but the state of California - can you believe that?  ... and I wanted a chance to operated portable seven.  So I made reservations for three nights at a motel in Winnemucca, packed up the truck, and after enjoying a delicious breakfast with a group of friends known as the Sacramento Breakfast Club, I headed east on Interstate 80, and six hours later, I found myself in the beautiful Nevada town of Winnemucca.

Photo:  Operating 75 meter SSB from the motel parking lot.  That's Winnemucca Mountain in the background, which sports quite a few antennas, which seems to be a popular repeater site from Humboldt County and other users.

At around 1745 local time that evening, I went out to the truck, screwed on the 75-meter resonator to my Hustler vertical antenna, fired up my MFJ-9475, 75 -meter SSB rig, tuned to 3906 KHz, and heard the friendly voices of folks that I've come to know, who check in frequently into one of the best nets on the West Coast, the California Traffic Net.  When it was my turn to check in, I asked for a signal report, and was rewarded with a 5 by 7 signal report from net control, which wasn't bad, considering that I was running 12 watts to a truck-mounted vertical antenna.

I didn't use my Yaesu FT-817ND to check into the net, as I wanted all the power that I could get, as I really wanted to make my voice heard on the net.  The MFJ-9475 is an outstanding little rig, and I've used it many times for mobile and portable operations.  I attribute my good signal report to a great rig, and the fact that a couple of days before I left for this trip, I took the time to re-tune my antenna, and obtain a 1:2:1 SWR reading at the net frequency.  But the bottom line is that it was quite a thrill to sit in the parking lot, outside the motel, and check into the traffic net.  Not to mention that I had the opportunity to identify myself as "Whiskey Sierra Six, Portable Seven."

Photo:  Note that the dial of my MFJ-9475 points to 3906 KHz, the frequency of the California Traffic Net.  It's 1833 local time, and I've just checked into the net, and received a 5 by 7 signal report.

Next morning, Saturday, March 6, 2010, I got up early, enjoyed a complimentary breakfast of a couple of bowls of cereal at the motel, and headed north on U.S. 95 to the small Nevada town of McDermitt, crossed into Oregon and drove about 30 miles north to the Whitehorse Ranch Road and turned west.  Whitehorse Ranch Road is a major county road, that crosses from Malheur County into Harney County, but in eastern Oregon, a major county road means it's a reasonably smooth dirt road, that is occasionally graded, and is usually passable by most vehicles unless there is a heavy snow storm in progress. There was plenty of snow on the ground, the temperature was about 30 degrees, but the road was very passable, albeit very muddy, and I didn't get to use my four wheel drive. Before leaving the pavement, I unscrewed the 75-meter resonator and attached the 40-meter resonator, as I planned to check into the Jefferson Noon Net, on 7204 KHz, of which I'm a member.

Not far from U.S. 95, I found scenic place to park, and waited for the net to begin.  For 40 meters, I planned to use the 817, as the vertical antenna is slightly more efficient on 40 meters, due to the shorter wavelength, and the 817 is the only portable rig that I own that covers 40 meters.  At noon the net began, and when check-ins for the state of Oregon was called, I announced my call sign, WS6L portable 7, and K6SOJ, net control, immediately came back to me and gave me a 5 by 7 signal report.  Not bad considering that I was only running 5 watts from a truck-mounted vertical antenna.

Photo:  I'm stopped on Whitehorse Ranch Road and am getting ready to check into the 40-meter Jefferson Noon Net.

Photo:  My 817 is tuned to 7.204 MHz, which is the frequency of the net.  Note the paddle keyer attached to the rig, which I use for CW - the 817 has a built-in keyer.  That's a Garmin GPS next to the rig, and the truck is stopped, pointing to the southwest on Whitehorse Ranch Road, in Malhuer County, Oregon.

When the net was finished, I drove a few miles west, found a scenic place to park, removed the 40-meter resonator and attached the 20-meter resonator, and proceeded to work 20-meter CW, as the band was open and the signals were coming loud and clear.  I didn't work any spectacular DX, but in the couple of hours I operated portable CW from the Whitehorse Ranch Road, I worked a VE6, K0, W4, a couple of W5s, and had lots of fun. After all, isn't that what ham radio is all about?

Photo:  Looking southwest on Whitehorse Ranch Road, with the Red Mountains in the distance.  This was quite a pleasant place to work QRP 20-meter CW, and I think if I'd stayed around for another couple of hours, I probably could have worked a JA or two.

Back at the Super 8 Motel parking lot in Winnemucca, true to form, at 1800 local time, I was back on the California Traffic Net, checking in, using the MFJ rig, and again, I received an excellent signal report.

This was a fun trip, as I got to explore portions of the Nevada and Oregon "Outback," do a bit of four wheeling, get my truck dirty, and operate high frequency, portable seven.  I can't wait to do it again!

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