Those of you who’ve been following my field reports for a few years might have noticed something different:  I haven’t been activating some of my favorite POTA sites as often.  Here’s the reason why, and how I’m working to get back on the air at these special locations:

Most notably:

• Lake James SP (US-2739),
• South Mountains SP (US-2753),
• Lake Norman (US-2740),
• Fort Dobbs (US-6839),
• and Tuttle Educational State Forest (US-4861)

These parks are all in or around Hickory, NC, where I used to travel weekly to care for my mom and take her to oncology appointments.

Sadly, she passed away in January. Since my sister has moved in with my dad, my trips to Hickory are now often day trips with the family, squeezed into busy afternoons.  Unfortunately, that hasn’t left much time for radio activations.

I’ve been longing to return to these parks! As an activator, you get attached to familiar spots–at least, I do–they become a home-away-from-home. These parks have definitely been calling me.

Two weeks ago, however, I started driving to Hickory again daily. My father was hospitalized, and I needed to be there for him. Thankfully, he’s much more stable now, in physical therapy rehab, and making progress.

These trips back to Hickory have allowed me to fit in some “radio therapy” at my favorite POTA sites.

On Thursday, April 25, 2024, I finally returned to the one I miss most: Tuttle Educational State Forest (US-4861).

Tuttle is an ideal POTA site: plenty of setup spots, a two-mile loop trail, and incredibly supportive staff. They’ve encouraged me to put up any antenna I want, as long as it doesn’t interfere with other visitors. Plus, Tuttle is usually quiet, which I also love.

It was nice to see Tuttle’s entrance sign again!

Once on-site, I picked out a picnic site with shade. It was a sunny spring day and I forgot to bring my wide-brimmed hat (it was in the other car!).

It wasn’t a problem, though, as most of the picnic area at Tuttle is shaded.

That morning, I loaded one of my radio packs with gear and packed my Index Labs QRP Plus.

I was eager to put my Index Labs QRP Plus back on the air at a park. This radio holds sentimental value, taking me back to visiting my first amateur radio field activity in 1997! I paired it with my MM0OPX End-Fed Half-Wave for multi-band operation (40, 20, 15, and 10 meters).

I decided to pair the QRP Plus with an End-Fed Half-Wave which would give me 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters without needing an external ATU (I had packed my Elecraft T1 as well, but I really didn’t need it).

I had a little over an hour to perform this activation, then head back to the QTH to be with my wife and daughters. It was “Star Trek” night, so I couldn’t be late (priorities–!).

Gear

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• Index Labs QRP Plus
  
• High Visibility Jacket ABR240-UF with PL-259s and 5 Ferrites (Use Coupon Code ABR10QRPER for 10% Discount!)
• MM0OPX QRP EFHW (Contact Colin for Availability)
• Bioenno 3 Ah LiFePo Battery (Model BLF-1203AB)
• VK3IL Pressure Paddle V2
• Weaver arborist throw line/weight and storage bag
• Tom Bihn Large Travel Tray
• GraphGear 0.9mm 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil
• Rite In The Rain Top Spiral Notebook
• Camera: DJI OSMO 4 action camera with Sensyne Phone Tripod
• Leatherman Signal Multitool

On The Air

Even though propagation has been very unstable lately, I’ve gotten some surprising openings on the higher bands, so I decided to start this activation on 10 meters, then work my way down the band until I hit activity.

I called CQ POTA on 10 meters and eventually worked one station: WA7BRL in Washington State. Not bad! There was no other activity on 10 meters, so after a while I moved down to 15 meters.

After spotting myself on 15 meters, I worked a little rush of four hunters, two in California and two in Texas. If you look at the QSO Map below, it’s interesting to see how the band opened to the same part of both states.

Finally, I moved down to the 20 meter band which was actually pretty healthy.

On 20 meters, I worked a total of 21 stations in 21 minutes. Many thanks to K5LE for that Park-To-Park!

I eventually had to call QRT and pack up as it was time to head back to the QTH.

Here are my logs:

QSO Map

Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map:

Activation Video

Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation.  As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.

Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Camping

This summer, I hope to do some camping during my Hickory visits.  That should give me ample time to really enjoy Lake James, South Mountains, Lake Norman, and nearby POTA/SOTA sites.

Fingers crossed the plan works out!

Curious if any readers have plans to combine POTA/SOTa and camping this summer? Please comment!

Thank you

Thank you for joining me during this activation! It was a lot of fun.

I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them!

Of course, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon, and the Coffee Fund. While not a requirement, as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo makes it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me! Have a brilliant week ahead!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)