OX/W5FKX

30 Aug - 4 Sep, 2000

An invitation to present the results of some scientific research on fish oil and heart disease among the Inuit (Eskimo) of Greenland led to the opportunity to also do a bit of hamming from the world's largest island, Greenland, NA-018. Earlier preparations had secured an invitation to use the Nuuk ARC station antennas, as I was bringing my IC-706MkII. Below are a few pictures from the trip - I hope that they will convey some of the flavor of a great experience. Very special thanks to Aksel/OX3PI, Brian/OX3IO, and Rene/OX3HX, for all of their help and efforts to make my Greenland ham experience a memorable one ... Tak!

Don - W5FKX

Our first stop in Greenland: Kangerlussuaq,which is above the Arctic Circle and formerly known by its Danish name of Sondre Stromfjord.	A short (200mi) hop south from Kangerlussuaq brought us to Nuuk (population 13,000), the capitol city of Greenland.
Of course, the first order of business was the license approval!	Aksel, OX3PI, who was my gracious host at the Nuuk ARC station.
The Nuuk ARC station is housed near the top of a hill, within walking distance (about a mile) from the Hotel Hans Egede. To see what it looks like in winter, visit the OX3NUK website.	The HF operating position, including a venerable FT-902DM. Although an amplifier was available, all operation was barefoot, into a FD4 (Windom) wire antenna. During my 6 days in Greenland, I was able to get on the air on 3 occasions, for a total operating time of a little over 3 hrs, accumulating about 200 contacts with NA, SA, EU, and AS.
A 4 hour trip by boat took us about 60 miles up through the fjords near Nuuk to a small settlement called Kapisilik (pop. 150).	Along the way, numerous icebergs were encountered. This was a small, but distinctive one.
On the boat trip, we also spotted a pod of humpback whales. These two posed for us ...	... then made a hasty retreat as the boat got a bit close!

The QSL:

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