Click
on the photos for a larger image.The Net Manager
Brenda Plessinger, call sign AL7LX, is net manager for the Alaska-Pacific Net. She first became net manager in the early 1990s, took a hiatus for a few years, and then returned to the manager position in April 2003. Brenda states that during her times as manager, she has had the pleasure of working with some of the finest amateur radio operators on 20 meters.
Click
on the photos for a larger image.
Brenda was first licensed in 1989 as NL7QX, and then changed her call to AL7LX after earning her Extra Class License. She and husband Larry, AL7LW, who Brenda says is the technical “brains” behind her radio operations, live in Nikiski, Alaska.
AL7LX is also active as a net control operator for the Alaska Snipers Net, formerly a “group” moderator for the Motley Group in Alaska, net manager for the Alaska Bush Net, and ARRL Section Traffic Manager for Alaska.
One of the things that helps to make a great net manager is having a strong signal; Brenda and Larry accomplish this by using an Icom IC-735 transceiver, driving a 4-1000 tube amplifier that Larry designed and built. On 20 meters, they use a 4 element cubical quad on a 70' tower.
Here is the 4-1000 amp.
Looking up the tower to at the quad.
When traveling, they operate a “mobile” using a modified 23-foot Texas Bug Catcher, an Icom-735, and a 500-watt mobile amplifier.