ANTARCTICA 13

KC4AAA   ANTARTICA   17M SSB

DP0GVN    2012-10-20   20M Phone    ANTARCTICA
DP0GVN    2012-10-05   20M Phone    ANTARCTICA

KC4AAA  2012-02-05  20M  Phone    ANTARCTICA

2012-02-05 - Rod was operating the station based at Palmer Station, Anvers island AN-012 when I discovered his general CQ.  His signal was a strong 57, with a touch of flutter.  Since my antenna is manually rotated, it wasn't possible to discern if this was short or long path propagation.

All that aside - he placed my call in a que, hoping he'd hear me through a pile-up on 14mHz.  To my surprise, we had a pleasant chat just before he wrapped up contacts for the day.

Palmer Station, on Anvers Island, is Antarctica's only US station north of the Antarctic Circle. Initial construction of the station finished in 1968. The station, like the other US Antarctic stations, is operated by the United States Antarctic Program.

The station is named for Nathaniel B. Palmer, usually recognized as the first American to see Antarctica. The maximum population that Palmer Station can accommodate is 46 people. The normal austral summer contingent varies but is generally around 40 people. Palmer is staffed year-round, however, and the population drops to between 15 and 20 people for the winter maintenance after the conclusion of the summer research season. There are science labs located in the Bio-Lab building (pictured), as well as a pier and a helicopter pad.

The facility is the second Palmer Station; "Old Palmer" was about a mile to the northwest adjacent to the site of the British Antarctic Survey "Base N",[1] built in the mid fifties. The site is on what is now known as Amsler Island. Old Palmer was built about 1965, and served as a base for those building "new" Palmer, which opened in 1968. Old Palmer was designated as an emergency refuge for the new station in case of disaster, though this perceived need disappeared over time. It was dismantled and removed from the Antarctic as part of the National Science Foundation's environmental cleanup efforts in the early 1990s.

Most of the station's personnel are seasonal employees of the US Antarctic Program's main support contractor, Raytheon Polar Services. The summer support staff is usually 23 people. Previous main support contractors were Holmes and Narver of Orange CA, ITT Antarctic Services of Paramus NJ, and Antarctic Support Associates of Englewood CO. Over time many support staff have worked for two or more of these firms.

What a great surprise QSO for this time of the night!  There was a cool flutter to the signal which endured throughout all of KC4AAA's transmissions (for more than twenty minutes).  Space Weather and Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks predicted quiet aural activity.

KC4AAA  2012-02-05  05:36 UTC  20M  USB   57/59