Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the following field report:

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Activating Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

August 21, 2024

By: Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH

I recently took an overnight trip from Connecticut to Philadelphia via Amtrak and before I left, I checked to see what parks in Philly I might be able to activate. Conveniently, Independence National Historical Park (US-0738) was a short 15 minute walk from the hotel. So, along with a change of clothes and my toothbrush, my Elecraft KX2 transceiver and AX1 antenna went into the backpack. This is my preferred equipment when I need to travel light.

Equipment List

• Elecraft KX2
• External 12v Lithium Ion Battery Talentcell – YB1203000-USB [QRPer.com affiliate link]
• Elecraft AX1 with Tripod
• Elecraft CIV and audio cables
• Sabrent USB external sound card adapter
• Samsung Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha 2 in 1 Laptop with Outdoor mode

Independence National Historical Park is actually a series of attractions that are managed and run by the National Park Service, including Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, The Benjamin Franklin Museum and Washington Square. Looking at the map of the location I decided to use a bench in Washington Square to activate from. The yellow highlight in the map below is where I set up.

I was able to set my AX1 up using the tripod on the grass behind the bench, keeping the RF wire and counterpoise out of the path of traffic.

I got all set up, spotted myself on the POTA page and pressed “Enable TX” on WSJT-X and the radio would not transmit. I checked everything…the CIV cable, the audio cables, the settings in WSJT-X, the windows audio settings, the com port…and I still couldn’t transmit. It was decoding fine.

I went to the Elecraft KX groups.io and searched, I searched Google and tried things people suggested and still, no transmit. I changed the CIV cable and the audio cables and interface, since I had spares and even that didn’t work. Thirty minutes later, ready to give up, I tried turning the KX2 off and then back on again and yes, you guessed it, a reboot solved the problem. I’ll try that first next time. I’ve never had that happen before, but you live and learn.

So, I re-spotted myself, got on the air and knocked out 10 contacts pretty fast once I could transmit. I made two additional QSO’s for good measure for a total of 12. Here’s my coverage map…I was running FT8 on 20 meters and I was surprised to make it to Florida to get Matthew, N4MRD. Clint, W9AV also hunted me…that should be a familiar call sign to many activators.

Once I was done and packed up, I took some extra time and checked off a bucket list item. I walked another block North past Independence Hall and visited the Liberty Bell Center to see the historic bell in person. Admission to see the Liberty Bell is free.

If you ever head to Philadelphia, this is an easy city site to activate so I recommend bringing your radio to activate the park.

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