KH9/KH7AL - Wake Island

[4L5A]

KH7AL/KH9 News
Just before 2000z on 20 January, I got my radio affairs in order at my new favorite spot to operate from called Pirates Cove. Happy with the SWR on the meter I turned on the radio and like normal I scanned the band for any signs that it was open. I only heard one other station chatting away but not booming in. I found a nice vacant spot at the bottom of the voice band and listened. Once I knew the coast was clear I put out my call and within no time, K7YK caught me, and quickly spotted me. Off to the races it went. Within a minute the calls were lining up so I switched to operating split and started filling the log. KH7AL/KH9.

[4L5A]

KH7AL/KH9 News
After last week's 10m marathon I thought I had reached the top. However, the 12 meter band schooled me. Again, I am humbled by the number of stations looking to contact Wake Island after logging a personal record number of contacts between my morning and evening sessions on the air.

For the past several weeks I have received many questions about bands and modes people would like me to operate on. 12m was by far the most requested band. Naively I tuned up my radio Tuesday morning thinking this would be just another busy day sitting near the ocean with the luxury of being able to also play ham radio and get a bunch of contacts. I underestimated my understanding of "busy". The firehose was officially turned on full blast this day as contacts came flooding in. Thankfully I didn't drown in the cascade of calls as the past two months of operating on Wake have helped me get ready for a truly busy day like this one.

Just before 2000z on 20 January, I got my radio affairs in order at my new favorite spot to operate from called Pirates Cove. Happy with the SWR on the meter I turned on the radio and like normal I scanned the band for any signs that it was open. I only heard one other station chatting away but not booming in. I found a nice vacant spot at the bottom of the voice band and listened. Once I knew the coast was clear I put out my call and within no time, K7YK caught me, and quickly spotted me. Off to the races it went. Within a minute the calls were lining up so I switched to operating split and started filling the log.

Even with the sheer volume of new callsigns I've been able to meet, I have started recognizing a few repeat visitors. That part of ham radio I truly enjoy, the community. KL7KK and AL7KC, way in the middle of somewhere (Bethel) Alaska, are great examples. Partly because I got my first call sign while stationed in Alaska, those prefixes jump out to me and I tend to pull them out of the mix quicker. Additionally, it's amazing to me that the sound of a familiar voice through the chaos stands out so clearly. Nearing the end of my morning radio run, I distinctly heard Rob, AE7AP, calling from my hometown of Helena, Montana. He has a unique way he announces his call, as I'm sure we all do, that is distinct and personal and is transported via the ionosphere to my far off location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

As the calls kept coming in, time just flew by. I only seemed to notice when I wrote down when the hours rolled over, one, two, three... In my past operations, the bands will typically fade away after a few hours. 12m showed now sign of stopping and I only pulled the plug after four hours as it was about lunch time and my brain was thoroughly exhausted. Standing up was a chore as I had been hunched over the radio, tensed up, and nearly affixed to my chair for those four hours. Funny, flying more than two hours and I'm ready to climb the walls with boredom. Put me in front of a radio and voila. Time disappears.

After lunch I spent several hours logging all 498 contacts, and finished just in time to dash to the dining hall for dinner, eat quickly, and get back out to the beach for my 0700z showing of, "Making (Electromagnetic) Waves on Wake". This time though, 12m finally did show signs of mortality and began fading around 0900z. Although the evening wasn't as strong as the morning to the east, I heard stations from all over Europe and logged about 240 contacts.

All in, I spent about 6.5 hours on the radio, and logged nearly 740 contacts. The next morning I felt a bit hungover, without having drank a drop the day before. Is radio-aholic a thing? 73, AL KH7AL/KH9

PS - Thanks again to several of you who have donated a few spare dollars to help me offset QSL costs and upgrade my antenna situation here on Wake. I hope to get QSL cards printed and begin mailing returns by the end of February with the help of my family back home.

[4L5A]

KH7AL/KH9 News
Hello everyone,
I have several updates for you so let's get to it.

1) 12 meters was absolutely crazy the other day. I logged nearly 740 contacts between my morning and evening radio sessions. You can read about it on my Activations Blog, at the link below.

2) I am quickly approaching an impasse. Google Gmail only allows sending BCC emails up to 500 people. To my amazement, I am quickly approaching my limit as you all have signed up this for and shared my link for updates with your friends. I am looking to start using the service 'MailChimp' to help keep things professional and allow information to continue to flow freely. So if you see that change in the next week or so, don't be alarmed.

3) I am also working on a new website with a domain name I recently purchased. You all will be the first to know when that goes LIVE.

4) Lastly, my operating plan for 27 January is in flux due to potential work commitments. Right now I am planning for an afternoon (early morning UTC) radio time on 20m. As that gets closer I will have a better idea. I will do my best to update my 'Upcoming' page on my site for any changes.

Thanks to everyone for making my time on Wake an absolute blast!

73 and good DX!

Allen Le Vie
KH7AL/KH9

[4L5A]

KH7AL/KH9 Wake Island News
26 January ~ 0700z, 12m SSB.
27 January ~ 0330z, 20m SSB **Changed**
**Subject to change due to sudden tropical downpours, typhoons, pestering birds, spooky noises in the dark, QRM, big spiders, rogue waves, hermit crab rebel uprisings, and of course, …work.

Donations are appreciated and will be used to offset the costs for QSL services and improving my antenna situation here so I can make even more contacts! I hope to be able to offer you customer designed /KH9 inspired hats and t-shirts later in 2025 as well.

[4L5A]

KH7AL/KH9 Wake Island News
Over 4,000 Contacts Logged, and Counting…


Hello Everyone,
Between last night’s 12m sprint and today’s 20m leisurely stoll, I have passed 4,000 contacts made from KH9 in the two months I have been here. Not too bad for a one-man show who also works 6-days a week.

I have posted two new blog posts about last night’s adventure and this afternoon’s experience on 20m. You can check them out on my Blog page of my website and learn about how I made over 170 contacts on 20W last night by accident...

All the contacts from those have been uploaded to LoTW, POTA, QRZ, and Clublog.

Lastly, I have updated next week’s operating schedule on my Upcoming Activity page. 12m and 10m are on deck.

Note ** Many people have asked how long I will be here so they don’t miss out on the chance to get a QSO. The short answer is I work a rotating schedule. Here for a few months, home for a month. On this trip I will be here until the later part of March before heading home for a break. Then I’ll be back out here again in April for another few months.

Thanks for the contacts!!! 73, Allen ~ KH7AL/

[4L5A]

KH9/KH7AL Wake Island News
KH9 Activity Reminder

Hello fellow friends of Wake Island,
It was a busy week with work so not much radio activity. I did spend several hours this week after work to start building my new DX Commander vertical. I made enough progress to set it up in the field for initial SWR checks. It will take a little tuning so it won’t be ready for this week’s radio time. Instead I will rely on my tried and true dipoles, set up on the north side of the island.

While I am optimistic a lower take-off angle with the vertical will help improve my reach to many of you, I have signed up for the wait list to get a hexbeam from Buddipole. Their website states there is currently a 60-day wait but it may be sooner than that.

The decision to go the route of investing in a hexbeam antenna was made much easier thanks to the generous donations I have received from many of you to my PayPal link. I hope to be pointing 8 dB of gain your way very soon.

Lastly, the following week we be devoted to CW. Fair warning, I am not an CW expert. While I have a lot of experience operating CW from mountain tops and micro piles (compared to Wake Island), I am still comfortabe at 17 wpm so please go easy on me. I do have faith that my skills will improve quickly by jumping in with both feet here. Until then, QRS pse. If you are new to CW, don’t be shy. Give that key a try as I would love to meet you on the air.

Upcoming Activity page.
2 Feb ~ 20:00z, 10m SSB.
3 Feb ~ 07:30z, 12m SSB
17 Feb ~ 07:30z, 12m CW
17 Feb ~ 19:30z, 10m CW (tentative, if I have the day off)

Thanks for the contacts!!! 73, Allen ~ KH7AL/KH9

[4L5A]

KH7AL/KH9 Wake Island News 8 February 2025.
Hello fellow friends of Wake Island,
Last evening I tested out a new antenna (VDA) for 10 meters and I wrote up a summary on my Blog Page. I was pleasantly surprised at the increased gain over my typical dipoles. I still need to dial in the center frequency but the initial test is very promising to help boost my signal from Wake, and help me hear some weaker stations even better. My plan to check the SWR and get a few signal reports turned into 100 QSOs with me sitting rather uncomfortably on the coral rock “beach”. All in the name of experimentation and being a good ham ambassador.

The final push for me to try out this VDA antenna came from Greg, KP4PK, who pointed me to Vincent’s, F4BKV website, that has details on how to build one. He states these are ideal for near the ocean, and I have a lot of that to go around. I am already formulating plans to make a 15 meter version.

Below are the officially scheduled activities for the following week. I do need to use my one day off this week to work on some personal stuff. When I commit to doing ham radio on my day off, it is a full-day effort. However, if I find some time and build that 15m VDA I will likely be looking for some friends to give me a signal report, hi hi. Stay tuned.

Upcoming Activity page.
17 Feb ~ 07:30z, 12m CW
17 Feb ~ 19:30z, 10m CW (tentative, if I have the day off)

Thanks for the contacts!!!
73 and good DX,
Allen ~ KH7AL/KH9

[4L5A]

Hello fellow friends of Wake Island,
Last Monday I actually took my day off from work and relaxed for a change. The past several weeks have been non-stop busy. I needed a day for some rest and relaxation to enjoy Wake Island a little. Thanks for understanding and letting me give the radio a break.
Well, I didn’t sit around and do nothing. I did work on some upgrades to my 10 meter VDA last Monday morning to make it a little more rugged. After that I went for a walk down the shore and found some interesting artifacts along the way. I just posted a short blog article about it, along with some photos to share life on Wake.
The rest of this week I was very busy with work so it feels like I have been off the radio for too long. In my limited spare time I did settle on a QSL card design and put those on order. I hope to start returning paper QSLs no later than the end of March. I also received some antenna making supplies and hope to put those parts to use here soon.

Here are my ham radio plans for the next couple of weeks:

Upcoming Activity page.
17 Feb ~ 07:30z, 12m CW (QRS pse)
17 Feb ~ 19:30z, 10m CW

23 Feb ~ 07:30z, 10m CW
23 Feb ~ 19:30z, 12m CW

I hope to catch you on the air in the near future.

Thanks for the contacts!!!
73 and good DX,
Allen ~ KH7AL/KH9

[4L5A]

KH9/KH7AL from Wake Island on 21340 now.

[4L5A]

KH9/KH7AL Wake Island News
Hello fellow friends of Wake Island,
Last evening here on Wake was a blast on 12m CW (Blog link here). I think I am starting to get the hang of this on the paddle. To change things up, I will be on 15m SSB tonight for a while. Then, switching up the batting order from last week between 10m and 12m. We will see how 10m fairs tomorrow evening Wake time.
Additionally, one of the most commonly asked questions I get is, “how long are you going to be on Wake?” Well, the short answer is for about another month on this rotation. Then I will be home for a month, and then back for about three more months on Wake. I am enjoying my time and work here so as long as my family supports my absence I will stay with this position.
I will keep you posted when I will be off island. If you want to keep in touch, I will likely find myself on a Montana mountain in April, calling “CQ SOTA.” Until then, I hope to make many more contacts from Wake. I recently passed the 5,000 QSO mark thanks to you!

Upcoming Activity page.
22 Feb ~ 07:15z, 15m SSB
23 Feb ~ 07:30z, 10m CW
23 Feb ~ 19:30z, 12m CW

I hope to catch you on the air in the near future.

Thanks for the contacts and happy trails!!!
73 and good DX,
Allen ~ KH7AL/KH9