Hi Mark,
Boy oh boy does this bring back lots of memories! I'd get so excited
looking at Topo USA thinking of the great site I found only to get there and
see that there was a great reason for the 200ft plus towers. I'll keep
searching and thank you in advance for doing the same.
73, Stan, KA1ZE
In a message dated 9/3/2002 4:47:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time, mugs@intac.com
writes:
> Folks,
>
> We got off to a late start, about 2 pm from northern NJ. Based on this, we
> decided
> to go to the Riansares Mountain site and work our way south, hopefully
> winding up
> at Blue Knob. We departed in rain and stayed in it almost all the way to
> Rianeses
> where the rain stopped and all that was left was heavy fog.
>
> Riansares Mountain (FN11hb, 41.052006, -77.379639) is in a state park
> (didn't
> notice the name or the hours they are open) and is not too far off of I-80
> (old
> exit 27). There is a gravel road off Route 477 that runs all the way to the
> summit.
> At the summit, there are 3 or 4 large, free-standing towers (large > 200 ft
> high)
> with mostly high-band two-way equipment. Some low-band and some UHF
> antennas were
> noted also. When I reached the summit, the 146.52 FM radio squelch opened
> up on
> some carrier and stayed open. At the summit, there are these towers, a
> house of
> sorts and trees all around. The summit is not clear in any direction. Thus,
> it is
> ng for microwaves.
>
> However, about a quarter of a mile before you get to the summit (41.05332,
> -77.37727), there is an overlook, similar to what you find on the Blue Ridge
> Parkway. It is called "Penny Hill Vista". This spot is clear towards the
> north (I
> think - it was too foggy to see anything) and should be useful for
> microwaves. Most
> of the garbage heard on the summit was gone. The only thing I heard at the
> overlook
> was VE3 /B from Toronto in FN03 on 6 meters.
>
> Bottom line: The site looks to be useful, especially for microwaves. Keep
> away from
> the summit and its qrm.
>
> We then headed towards Big Poe Mountain (FN10ft, 40.81367, -77.52111). Big
> Poe
> Mountain, although it was not on our list of anticipated stops, is a site we
> identified from the maps as possibly being useful.
>
> Big Poe Mountain is located in Bald Eagle State Forest, and is only
> approachable
> via oil-topped dirt roads. When we got there, the gate to the lookout tower
> was
> locked. While parked outside the gate, I talked to WA2FGK on 6 meters and
> heard the
> W3VD beacon on 6 meters.
>
> Bottom line: The site may be useful for someone who enjoys hiking. It is
> well off
> any decent roads and takes a long time to get there. And, with the gate
> locked to
> the summit, don't expect to drive there at all.
>
> After dinner at Big Poe Mountain, we headed off for Broad Mountain
> (FN10dq,40.68142,-77.73861). However, an hour and a half later, we found
> Route 322
> closed northbound which kept us from getting to Broad Mountain. Since this
> is the
> same route we would take during the contest, this site is now crossed off
> the list.
>
> Bottom line: Don't know anything about the site - can't get there from here!
>
> After finding this road block, we got something to drink and headed home,
> arriving
> back in NJ about 2:30 am.
>
> Other sites we want to check out in FN10 some day:
>
> Prayer Rock (FN10cn, 40.54442, -77.75626), and a pair of other sites near
> Harrisburg, both FN10ni: 40.34538, -76.86901, and 40.36613, -76.91000.
>
> Results for the day:
>
> 1 site looks to be good
> 1 site to stay away from
> 1 site unreachable for now
>
> Bottom line: it was a worthwhile trip. One site is a keeper - it will stay
> on our
> route list. We were able to scratch off one site from our prospectives list
> and
> were able to determine that one planned site is unreachable. This will give
> us time
> to replan our route in time for the contest.
>
> 73, Mark, N2MH and Karen
> The Lighthouse Rover
> IRLP Node 474
>
>
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