My Labrador Adventure

Blog activity has been below average due to other priorities and activities. In particular, I was travelling. But what a wonderful trip! This was my first visit to Labrador. The purpose of the trip was directly related to amateur radio and contesting. Vlad VE3JM and I drove to Happy Valley-Goose Bay (FO93) with Chris VO2AC/VE3FU to help him prepare his new remote station.

One of the astonishing aspects of the trip was that it could be driven. It wasn't so long ago that the vast expanse of land was only accessible by canoe or float plane. Once you head north from the St. Lawrence River the population density falls precipitously. There is no cell service; those that work in the vast spaces between towns rely on satellite services. Settlements in the northern interior exist to support mining and hydroelectric power generation. There are few roads; railroads and transmission lines carry the land's bounty south.

That's me standing at the western end of the Trans-Labrador Highway, between Fermont (QC) and Labrador City (NL). The more than 500 km to Happy Valley-Goose Bay is paved. There is still about 150 km of road on the Quebec side that isn't. That expensive job is an ongoing multi-year project. Chris regaled us with stories of the bumpy unpaved road his family had to navigate when he was young.

This is the hydro-electric dam at Manic 5, one of the largest of its kind in the world. It's a lot bigger than it looks in the picture, which you only appreciate when you drive close to the dam. Chris gave us a closer view of the installation at Churchill Falls, Labrador where he once lived and worked. Even from the outside the scale is impressive, as you'd expect from a facility that generates more than 5000 MW of power. That'll drive a few amplifiers.

We also had the opportunity to watch, from a distance, mining of iron ore and other minerals in the vicinity of Fermont, Quebec (Fermont translates to iron mountain). I have pictures but I'll spare you those and return to amateur radio.

Our trip was delayed for a week due to the wildfires that came within a few kilometers of Labrador City and nearby Wabush. Both communities were evacuated, with many temporarily sheltered in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Happily both communities were unharmed and the evacuees returned. During the drive we saw the effects of previous fires and recently constructed firebreaks.

One of the evacuees was Naz VO2NS. I took this picture of him at the Labrador City club station when we passed through after everyone moved back. Driving around town everything looked so ordinary that it was hard to believe it was empty a few day earlier. There are fewer than 30,000 people living in Labrador so there are not many hams. Only a few of them are active on HF. Naz is one.

We continued east to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Chris's parents and family friends hosted us during our stay. Labrador (and Newfoundland) hospitality is really something. All I can say is that we were treated very well and fed sumptuously. We had to watch ourselves not to overdo it -- that would have impacted our ability to work and climb.

When we arrived the new tower was nearly complete. He transported and planted the Trylon tower on two previous trips. We topped the tower, constructed and tuned the yagis then raised them. Low band wires and 40 meter vertical were raised, tested and tuned. By the time we left he had antennas for 160 through 6 meters. His remote station with SO2R capability was previously built and installed, and only needed reconfiguration to use the new antennas.

There were numerous difficulties along the way. With three experienced hams and tower climbers we resolved almost all of them. We had to be self-sufficient with parts and tools since only ordinary construction material and hardware could be bought locally.

With just the one tower there are inevitable interactions to be dealt with. We did the best we could when faced with space constraints. The picture shows the installation partially constructed, with Chris working to the left of the tower.

There were two difficulties more difficult to overcome: heat and flies. The temperature was far in excess of the normal 21° C for late July. The first day broke records with 33°, and a couple of later days were nearly as hot. The black flies for which Labrador is infamous were constantly swarming. Bug dope helps but is unpleasant. I chose to cover up as much as the heat allowed. 

The carnivorous pests soon covered our exposed skin with tiny scabs from their innumerable bites. I've always liked this song which expresses the experience pretty well:

And the black flies, the little black flies

Always the black fly, no matter where you go

I'll die with the black fly a-picking my bones

In North On-tar-i-o-i-o, in North On-tar-i-o

An eastern view with the JK tri-bander raised but not yet attached to the mast shows a little of the town and the Churchill River in the near distance. The 6 meter yagi was placed on the mast before it was raised to its final height and the rotator installed. Although the mast is strong it is not suitable for climbing, and therefore unsuitable for raising yagis to the top after the mast is in place, which I typically do for my own large towers and antennas.

Acting as tour guide, Chris showed us the numerous points of interest in and around town. On the adjacent Goose Bay AFB is one site of the SuperDARN network for ionospheric research. I counted 16 LPDA in the array. The photo of a section of the array shows Vlad VE3JM (left) and Chris VO2AC.

In the end...

...was it worth it? It was a week and a half of my time, working up to 10 hours a day and a grueling 4000 km on the road. I'm not young anymore. 

I find that as I age and mellow out that my urge to help others grows. It's a great feeling to see another ham smiling when their station dream is fulfilled and they begin their new journey. Chris was eager enough that he operated (remote, as usual) for an hour in NAQP CW from the hotel where we stayed overnight on the drive home. There is more work to be done, but with what was accomplished on this trip he'll be able to do the rest by himself during future trips. I think it is fair to say that you can expect a larger presence from Labrador and zone 2 in upcoming contests.

We didn't come home empty handed. Some of that Heliax followed us home. Scroungers gonna scrounge.