KC4AAA

One of the coolest experiences I've had at the South Pole was operating the Ham Radio station. Back in the states, my call sign is KJ4ZMQ, but while operating here at the South Pole I use the call sign KC4AAA (The call sign designated for the station). There are currently three ham radio operators here on station.

Ham Radio and Emergency HF Communications Equipment

In the Ham Radio world, one of the goals is to see how far your equipment can reach. When that’s the goal, reaching the South Pole from anywhere in North America ranks pretty high on the list of stations to contact. When the South Pole station gets on the air it’s what’s known as a “pile up.” Everyone is trying desperately to make contact so they can add it to their log book.

QSL Card: Stations exchange these to confirm contact was made via radio

One of my goals this season was to get my father (KC2ZDC) a contact with Antarctica. While calling out on New Year's Eve, I made a special effort to make sure I made contact with him. The second time I made a specific call out for his call sign I hear a faint voice that I recognized. While I couldn’t make out a full message, I could tell that he could hear me and he was listening with my Mom and Ollie (My Dog). It’s mind blowing that with a dipole antenna made of wire and a radio sitting on the desk, we were able to communicate between New York and the South Pole.

While on the radio today I was able to make contact with the following States:

Texas, West Virginia, Alabama, Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, Virginia, New York, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Utah, California, South Carolina, Maryland, Massachusets, Ohio, Washington, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, Lousiana, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas, Nebraska, Mississippi

About 33 States Total.

In other news, January 21st is scheduled to be my last day at pole.  There is a slight chance I'll make it to New Zeland on the 23rd and I might even make it back to the states by the 25th.  That all depends on weather and the mechanical status of the LC-130s.