allen (al) Le Vie KH7AL
Photo by Zhaun Paddock AI7BM
Al’s passion for amateur radio was born the day he fired up his dad’s old HeathKit, devised a simple antenna, and made his first HF contacts. The second one was in New Zealand, 7000 miles away. He immediately knew that this was what he wanted to do.
Al’s dad, KY7K/SK, had a 40-foot tower and a great big Yagi. When he transmitted CW, it blurred the reception on the family TV. So, Al grew up around ham radio and went down to his dad’s shack to mess around with it occasionally. But he did not get really interested until much later. In fact, it was 2011, Al was in the Air Force and stationed in Alaska. He worked in Meteorological and Navigation Systems, which became Airfield Systems. He maintained RF systems/electronics on the airfield that pilots use to find the runway in inclement weather, the radios used by ATC, and weather monitoring systems. His friend Tom Mayhan, NL7RR, pushed him to take up ham radio, and Al knew it would support the work he was already doing. He passed the Technician exam that same year, and General a month later. His brother mailed the HeathKit to him in Alaska, and it arrived in salvageable condition. He started building better antennas when he was stationed in Hawaii, and that is when he got interested in Summits on the Air (SOTA.) The SOTA organization informed Al that there was no association in Hawaii, but he would be welcome to start one. He did. He set up and managed the Hawaii SOTA regional association, and in 2013 made his first activation. He has now hiked 95 summits and is over halfway to the coveted Mountain Goat award, with close to 600 points. Almost 80 of those points are winter bonus points. When Al was stationed in Korea, he obtained a Korean call sign and joined SOTA there. An ex-pat friend living in Korea, Jason Vlasak HL4ZFA, knew the area and helped him access the mountains. Next Al was stationed at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado and activated the summits in the Pikes Peak Area. He encountered many remains of Colorado’s gold mining history in those mountains. Finally, the Air Force sent him to Ogden, Utah, and from there he retired, having served 23 years in the Air Force. Over his career, he was stationed at 10 U.S. bases, plus Korea and Syria. When asked about his most challenging climb, he reminisced about the time he looked at two Colorado peaks on a topographical map and decided they were close enough together to activate both in one day. As it turned out, the Forest Service had changed the trail since the map had been published, and he ended up hiking about 15 miles between peaks. Although he usually hikes alone, he keeps his family well-informed. They track him on APRS, and SOTA chasers always know where he is. About his radios, Al says, “My go-to HF radio is an Elecraft KX-3. At home for the KX3 I use a horizontal loop antenna in my attic. For SOTA I either use an End Fed Half-Wave for 40-10M, or a SOTA beams linked dipole for 40-30-20M. For 2M I have a Kenwood TH-D-72 (HT) and a Kenwood TM-281 in my vehicle. I was also gifted a Mountain Topper Tri-band HF, CW only, radio that runs on a 9V battery = ~2.5W output. I have also built a couple HF radio kits for fun.” Helena has proved to be a good retirement choice, with a very active SOTA association and many peaks within range. Al and his wife moved here after his retirement with their three sons, ages 15, 13, and 9 plus a niece and nephew, ages 7 and 9. He recently became the sales manager for Deals on Wheels. Al’s goal is to activate at least one peak a month. He says that climbing is his personal reset. Perhaps seeing two continents from mountaintops will do that. February 2021 |
Al and family at his retirement, May 2020
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Al and friend the day they did a double activation of two 13000+ foot peaks in Colorado.
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Summit approach in Hawaii. Note the hikers in the lower left corner.
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