When you have activated the same park nearly 160 times, it starts to get a bit routine. Certainly, any day that you’re alive and able to participate in ham radio is a day to be thankful for, but I have to admit that lately I’ve gotten rather bored with activating from the Presidio of San Francisco US-7889.
What could I do to spice things up a little bit? Recently, the W6CSN shack welcomed a new member into the QRP radio lineup, the venerable Heathkit HW-8. This got me to thinking about the days when the HW-8 was new, QRP was a niche part of the hobby, and the Internet was something that connected mainframes at universities.
That’s an idea! Try to activate a park for POTA without using the internet tools on which we’ve come to rely. The rules are: no self spotting on the POTA website and no looking at the POTA spots page to find stations to hunt. If you want to hunt, you’re going to have tune around and listen for stations calling CQ.
The HW-8 would not debut on this activation as it’s waiting on a power cord and we haven’t really gotten to know each other yet. Instead, the trusty KH1 would be the radio choice today, coupled to a quarter wave vertical on 20 meters and sending via the Bencher BY-1.
I set up camp on 14.059 MHz and began calling CQ POTA with no prescheduled activation, no spot on pota.app, not even looking at my phone to see what the propagation numbers were saying. In fact, I only used my phone as a camera to take pictures for this field report.
Within a few minutes I got my first call, from Ken VE7HI. The next 40 minutes were spent calling CQ and hunting other stations until I had six contacts in the log. Then came the long, desolate hour of calling with no responses and being unable to break through any of the “pileups” around other activators. The drought ended with a P2P with NR1D/0 at Barr Lake State Park in Colorado and 15 minutes later the activation was complete with K6BBQ coming through for QSO number 11.
While the internet certainly makes it so much easier, this activation proves that the QRPer can be successful in POTA with just a 5 watt radio and a half decent antenna. If you are looking to spice up your POTA routine, why not give an “offline” activation a try?
72 de W6CSN
Thaks Matt – sorry for not being on so much lately tween eye surguries and solar crap its been rough — as for ur comment about cell and net – come on up north here – no cell no net – my first 2 activations ever this fall were fly by the seat of ur pants lol – thanks for sharing 73 dit dit
Nice to hear from you Brian. Hope to see you on the air again soon.
ubetchya
I started off with an HW8 many many many years ago. My antenna was a Barker&Williamson apartment antenna. Still use the HW8 to this day, better antenna system now. 72….
Fred/KA4RUR
Ah yes, the B&W Apartment Antenna- that’s what I started out with as a Novice in the 1980s using a loaner TS-520. Good times!
I still have the coils, but the whip and mounting bracket seem to have gone their own way.
Impressive! Congratulations!
Off line is the way it used to be. I returned to amateur radio recently and the information instantly available now is amazing.
It’s great to be back.
72,
Chuck WD9EGW
Hi Matt,
nice view that remembered me beeing there in 1994.
My first Flora Fauna activations in 2017 I’d done also without any internet on 40m.
The most exciting experience at that activation was as someome spotted me. It was a real pileup.
I like QRP for that moments.
72,
Jens/DH1AKY
FB Jens, I’m sure the Presidio looks a lot different since you were here last. Maybe you’ll get to visit again someday.
Brings back memories of my Novice HW-16 — I built it myself — and calling CQ over and over until someone found me and I FOUND THEM. We were “rock bound” (crystal controlled) back in those days so it was like feeling our way in the dark to find one another. Taught me how to really “operate” on the air and we also got to know those radios! Thanks for reminding me. You’re right, today is so much easier, yet boredom does set in. Great idea for breaking that cycle!
73, Paul
N4FTD
Rockbound AND offline, now that would be a real challenge!
YEP, my first “rig” was an old AM-FM-SW portable radio with another radio near it acting like a BFO; separate transmitter (Heathkit HW1 bought at my first hamfest for $10, aided by my Elmer, if memory serves. I was a sophomore in high school, still wet behind the ears). First contact was FL to TX, CW. I can still remember the thrill of actually making a contact with that setup. Ground-mounted 10-80m trapped vertical, and I had no idea about the need to tune it it, much less HOW to tune it. I really worked for those first Novice QSOs. That HW-16 was a “modern” rig in comparison!
Was a pleasure to work you, Matt. Activated Barr Lake with the KX2 before catching the plane to go home (how convenient this park is from the airport! hi hi)
73,
Kent
NR1D
Great to get you in the log, a couple of times this month, Kent.
Great idea! I’ve long been more interested in P2P contacts than other aspects of POTA, so now that I have my KH1 I usually just go to a park, connect the 45 inch whip, and start hunting. In fact, I’ve found that the KH1 has enabled me to do more 2fers and 3fers because I can go to trails where there’s really no place to set up, you just have to stand and/or walk. A couple of months ago I was excited to reach 500 P2Ps, but thanks to the KH1 I managed to add another 100 in less than two months and just reached 600 P2Ps.
And the HW-8? I built mine in 1980 and still use it occasionally. I recently bought a tiny keyer to use with it. I’ve kind of thought about taking it out for an activation — perhaps I will!
That’s the way I do it. Hats off to you!!!!!
What is the brand name and where did you find the stainless-steel pipe mount for your antenna? It looks exactly what I need.
Thank,
Jerry/k5sop
Hi Jerry, it’s a Workman QRCS3 quick release mirror mount. It doesn’t come with the 3/8×24 to UHF ground insulated adapter. I found both on Amazon.com.
great idea Matt! ty
de k8zfj
I have done a number of “offline” activations as you describe. 4w and crossed fingers. I will hunt as much as I can and call cq to get the activation completed if necessary. Sometimes, I don’t even mention I’m in a park, and the activators get a nice surprise when new p2p appear in their log.
Sometimes it’s really relaxing to just go back to basics and just do radio the old-fashioned way.
Thank you for your post reminding me of this and encouraging in us to drop the phone and do radio for just doing radio.
This is a great idea! There is a certain skill developed by learning to connect “the old fashioned way,” as well as the satisfaction of doing so. I LOVE turning the dial and listening for a station with whom I can connect.
QRP rag chewing is challenging at times, but also both doable and rewarding.
Worked DXCC with an HW8, a modified HW7, and an inverted v, during personal time/off hours at work along Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, in the early 1980’s. Making ham radio fun.
Taking a radio on a real hike not just an activation is more like the old days. Two 6v lantern batteries and a HW 8 with a 40 meter dipole was how I started qrping. Wes Hayward’s crystal controlled direct conversion half watt Micromountaineer was hard core in the day. Smaller radios with better receive and 5 watts with and end fed make it more practical and a lot easier on the pack weight.
I thought of you when KO6BTY and I were at the Presidio on Saturday, November 2nd. I believe I made one QSO. There was a contest that was crushing my efforts. When I cranked the keyer up to 25 wpm the rig finally was able to be heard on the RBN when the QRO stations took a moment to breathe. Still though, we had fun getting to explore and found a great place to setup our antenna. Which!
Project TouCans finally has a vertical antenna option. Like all things TouCans it doesn’t work quite the way it should, but actually works really well. The mast is carbon fiber. The antenna is resonant anyway. We were using Bay water as a ground, but I recently discovered the antenna works better with the counterpoise out of the water. Go figure. Anyway, we have a lot more locations available to us at this point!
I’m toying with ideas of an early morning activation of the Presidio or the Maritime Park tomorrow morning (11/6) before the sun comes up.
Great to hear what you’re up to these days!
I tried to get you on your US-7889 attempt. I scuttled up to the roof of my building with the KH1 but sweepstakes traffic gave me none chance of working you.
Where in the Presidio did you set up?
We tried Torpedo Wharf first, but vertical antenna wasn’t having it due to the mast being a few feet too short, and then the internal RF out wire came disconnected from one of the antenna out terminals. We did however see a very cute sea lion swimming below us twice.
From there, we wandered down to a structure that looks like it might have started life as a breakwater for the NOAA station at
37.80656966303135, -122.46635053508382
I laid TouCans on its side on the lower beam of the wooden wall and taped the antenna to the carbon fiber mast so that I could wedge the handle of the pole between a piling and the wooden plank next to it. Everything was working great, and then! A sweepstakes station turned on right on top of us. Still, we’d proven the concept! 🙂
Last night, I activated Juan Bautista trail at CCSF in 23 minutes!