N7RR

Bruce Prior, N7RR, loves to operate SOTA in Washington State’s great outdoors where he has cataloged for SOTA all of the available mountain peaks in the state.  I had the great pleasure of spending an afternoon last week with Bruce in Washington, activating Mt. Walker in Washington’s  Olympic Mountain range.  My first SOTA activation where I learned the basics of SOTA activation.  This was a great opportunity to get to know my guest in this week’s QSO Today.

Hometown: Bellevue, WA
XYL: Margaret, K7MWP

First License: Age 13, 1957 Novice

First License: General Class, KL7HLC

First Rig: 
Heathkit AR3 Communications Receiver

Favorite Operating Mode: CW

Current Rig
Elecraft K3 HF Transceiver
HF Dipole Antennas
SOTA Rig: 
Elecraft KX2 Portable HF Transceiver
End-Fed wire antenna with counterpoise

Terms
Linfield College, Liberal Arts, German Language
Harvard Divinity School
Persian Language
Peace Corp
Harvard Yard
Nathan Pusy, President of Harvard
Krister Stendahl, Dean of Harvard Divinity School
Simon Fraser University, PHD Geography
New Testament Greek
Pashto Language
Foreign Service Exam
Tajikastain
Mayo Clinic 
Dr. Scott Wright, K0MD
Boy Scouts of America, First Class Rank
Morse Code
BFO – Beat Frequency Oscillator
Begali Keys
SOTA Goat
Backpacking with a Pocket-sized Shortwave Radio
Backcountry Communicating, by Bruce Prior
10 Essentials of Backpacking
Fox40 Whistle
Signal Mirror
Dilly Dally Trail
Hypothermia 
Pitt Lake, Fraser River
Ten-Tec Argonaut Transceiver
QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo called;  Goodbye RST – Hello Copy Ability & Strength
RST – Readability, Strength, Tone
ARRL International Digital Contest
Maidenhead Grid 4 Character
Washington State Traffic Net
CSP6 Sixth Conference of States Parties
Pacific Northwest Trail Association
Hipstar, Rochester, NY
Copy Ability and Strength Signal Reporting System, By Bruce Prior N7RR
Mylar Party Balloon
General Class Amateur Radio License (USA) = Basic with Honors Amateur Radio License (Canada)
Middle School Math Champs

Excited most by: working with high school kids on a near space balloon projects

Advice to new or returning hams: think outside of the box, not necessarily the regular stuff.