All posts by Thomas Witherspoon

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

Lake Norman: An amazing hike followed by a POTA activation with the TEN-TEC R4020

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Somedays, I just need to stretch my legs with a good hike and Tuesday (June 6, 2023) was one of those days!

I had the afternoon wide open to do a POTA activation or two and since I was visiting my folks in Catawba County, I thought about hitting Fort Dobbs State Park and Lake Norman State Park. It would make for a fun two-park rove and would be very doable that afternoon.

Then it hit me that what I really wanted to do that afternoon was to take a nice, long, leisurely hike–fitting in both parks wouldn’t allow enough time for a proper hike.Thus, I ditched the idea of hitting both parks and chose to activate only Lake Norman because it has an amazing six mile “Lakeshore” loop trail that I love.

I arrived at the park a little after noon, parked at the spot where I planned to do my activation later, then walked to the trailhead and started my hike.

It was a gorgeous day–fairly hot and humid (we’re talking June in the Piedmont of NC) but still perfect for a hike.

The trail follows the winding lake shore and is a very easy hike. I’m used to taking more mountainous trails, so to hike along a lakeshore is just pure fun.

I hiked at a decent clip and by the time I made it back to my car, I was pretty darn sweaty. The humidity made sure of that!


Still: the hike was just what the doctor ordered!

Lake Norman State Park (K-2740)

I grabbed my radio gear from the car and found a picnic table under the shade of trees. Continue reading Lake Norman: An amazing hike followed by a POTA activation with the TEN-TEC R4020 →

Accessories, Articles, Field Radio Kits, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRPers

KO4WFP: The Final Countdown and an Innovative Solution for My Nova Scotia Trip

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Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:

The Final Countdown and an Innovative Solution for My Nova Scotia Trip

by Teri (KO4WFP)

As I finalize preparations for my trip to Nova Scotia, during which I plan to activate six or seven parks, I ask myself “How the heck did I get here?” Those of you who read my first field report in this series know that Thomas Witherspoon’s decision to activate parks in Canada last year was my motivation. I admit it is gutsy of a relatively new op to believe I can undertake such a venture.

The necessity of traveling to Nova Scotia by plane drove the decision of what equipment to take. QRP became the name of the game, a great option for a CW op. I purchased the Elecraft KX2, a rig with a great reputation. Once it arrived in early May, I spent the next month and a half acquiring the necessary accessories and skills for this adventure. The final step before I leave is ensuring I have what I need and the room for it. Given others might want to undertake a similar venture, I will share what equipment I have chosen to take and how I am packing it.

I know most people prefer a roll-on suitcase, but after a trip to New York City last summer, I had enough of schlepping wheeled suitcases up and down the many flights of stairs we  traversed. Upon my return to Savannah, I immediately purchased an Osprey Fairview 55 pack. The Fairview pack can be carried as a suitcase by a handle on its side or as a backpack (my preference). As for its size, it meets airline carry-on dimension requirements for domestic flights and has a few points to attach items you might carry if actually using it for hiking. And, best of all, it is made for YLs!

Included with and attached to the front of the pack is a smaller backpack that can be used as a daypack. I figured this would be perfect for most of my ham equipment and proceeded to find a way to fit everything in it. The larger Fairview pack would serve as my carry-on and the smaller daypack as my personal item for the flight.

As you can see, the daypack has a fair amount of room. In the main compartment I have the gorillapod tripod for mounting the AX1 on top of the rental car or a picnic table, the carrying case for Craig, my KX2, and his accompanying items, and two Tom Bihn travel bins. There are two additional compartments inside the daypack – a mesh, zippered pouch and a slot for a laptop or iPad.

When I first began CW POTA activations, I used a notepad to track contacts. However, to save time, I switched to a refurbished laptop with N3FJP loaded to log contacts in real-time. Juggling it and the key didn’t prove as difficult as I originally thought. Also in the laptop slot are documents I don’t want bent like my license (not pictured), band plan, UTC conversion chart, and call sign prefixes for European countries. I am also taking a small steno notepad as a backup for logging contacts as well as making notes for the trip reports I’ll write afterwards.

In the zippered, mesh pocket are the Elecraft manual that came with the rig and my two longer lengths of RG-316, one 25’ and the other 50’. Continue reading KO4WFP: The Final Countdown and an Innovative Solution for My Nova Scotia Trip →

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, SOTA, Videos

POTA & SOTA at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, Alabama!

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I had some big POTA plans for Alabama this summer.

After returning home from Hamvention, I had about three days to prepare my truck, our small travel trailer/caravan, and pack for one week of camping in Huntsville, Alabama.

We had a great excuse for hanging around Huntsville: my daughter was attending Advanced Space Academy (Space Camp) at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

The drive to Huntsville is about five hours and we decided that it would fun to go camping with not a whole lot to do for a week. Proper relaxation!

I looked at the POTA map in advance and plotted out at least four or five parks I could activate without driving too far. I planned to fit in activations on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday, we planned to spend the full day at the Space and Rocket Center and Friday was my daughter’s graduation.

My truck, though, had other plans!

About half way on our journey to Huntsville, my 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 started to have issues. Without going into too much detail here, there seemed to be a problem with the accelerator.

We drove to Huntsville on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, so not an ideal time to have mechanical issues. I limped to truck to Alabama and waited for a diesel shop in Huntsville to open on Tuesday morning.

In the meantime, I was able to hunt POTA and SOTA stations from our campsite which overlooked the Space Camp model rocket launching station. No kidding: we probably witnessed some 300 model rocket launches during the day that week and it was an absolute blast (pun intended).

I never got tired of seeing a full scale Saturn V model above the tree line on our evening walks!

Fortunately, the diesel shop was able to sort out the issue and fix it in one day–I was super pleased with that. However, that only left Wednesday to play POTA–we’d already plotted out a visit to Monte Sano State Park. That was fine by me because, turns out, almost the entirety of Monte Sano State Park is also within a SOTA activation zone! A SOTA/POTA two-fer! Continue reading POTA & SOTA at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, Alabama! →

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Part 2: N2YCH and K1PCN’s Dayton Hamvention Trip QRP POTA Rove

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Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the first of a three-part field report series outlining his 2023 Hamvention rove with Peter (K1PCN). Click here for Part 1, and look for Part 3 next week!

Part 2: Dayton Hamvention Trip QRP POTA Rove

By Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH

Pennsylvania

Welcome to part two of three of the Hamvention QRP POTA Rove. If you missed part one, you can find that installment here.

Early on Thursday morning, May 18, 2023, Peter, K1PCN and I headed from Morgantown, West Virginia north to Pennsylvania to activate K-8920, the PA 223, Pennsylvania State Game Lands. While the park covered a large geographical area, we were able to find a parking lot not far off the highway that made it easy for us to get to and activate.

Peter spotted a nearby gazebo which was also a viewing area and hiked over to it to activate. If you look closely in the photo below, you can see it in the distance behind the sign and my antenna.  I stayed with the Jeep and set up on the tailgate using the Buddipole vertical.

Since it was early in the day, we used our frequency strategy of Peter on 40 meters and me on 20 meters. My QSO map here shows some decent DX for QRP on 20 meters at 8am ET.

Ohio

We traveled North towards Pittsburgh on Interstate 79 and then West on Interstate 70, passing through West Virginia again and then stopped at K-1934, Barkcamp State Park in Ohio.

I tuned my antenna for 17 meters and Peter activated on 20 meters.

I managed to activate the park, but it was slow going for me on 17, so when Peter finished up on 20, I changed to 20 meters and got a few more on that band just for good measure. Thinking that the slow QSO’s could have been the radio, I did switch to the IC-705 here, but that did not make any difference. It could have been conditions or our location. I did have better luck on 20 meters than 17. And I don’t know about you, but I can never go for just ten QSO’s. I feel like I need a few extra ones just in case. Here is a photo of me set up at a picnic table next to my antenna. Continue reading Part 2: N2YCH and K1PCN’s Dayton Hamvention Trip QRP POTA Rove →

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

This seven hour road trip calls for a QRP POTA break at Yatesville Lake State Park!

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On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, I had one main goal in mind: drive from my buddy Eric’s QTH in Athens, Ohio, back to my QTH in Swannanoa, NC.

This was the final leg of my one week Hamvention journey and I was ready to get back home and rest up before yet another road and camping trip only a few days later.

Before leaving WD8RIF’s QTH that morning, I consulted him about possible POTA sites I could easily activate on my journey.

On the return trip, I chose to drive through Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, then North Carolina.

Eric knows regional parks very well because he’s activated nearly all of them. He suggested Yatesville Lake State Park as it was an easy detour off of Highway 23 in Louisa, Kentucky.

Before leaving Eric’s house, I scheduled the activation and put the address in my car’s GPS/Sat Nav.

Yatesville Lake State Park (K-1272)

I arrived at the Yatesville Lake around 10:45 AM EDT and drove to the campground entrance where I met the campground host. I introduced myself and told her I was looking for a picnic spot to do a POTA activation (explaining to her, of course, what POTA is).

She couldn’t have been more helpful. She pointed out a roadside picnic spot beside us at the campground entrance, she also noted some covered picnic shelters nearby (that seemed to be in use), and even told me I could drive into the campground, find an empty camping spot and just set up there! A very generous offer, but I opted for the roadside picnic table next to me at the campground entrance since I was already parked in the right spot.

There wasn’t much to this particular site; just a picnic table and corn hole game next to the road in full sun. I had my sun gear on (wide brimmed hat and long sleeve lightweight hiking shirt) so the lack of shade wasn’t an issue.

There were plenty of trees on the perimeter of the site, but none would be an easy snag for my throw line because there were no branches overhanging the perimeter. Still, I knew if I launched the throw weight as close as I could to the tree line, I should be able to snag a small branch without having to search in the woods for the end of the line.

As long as I could suspend my mostly homemade 40 meter end-fed half-wave, I’d be a happy activator. Continue reading This seven hour road trip calls for a QRP POTA break at Yatesville Lake State Park! →

Antennas, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

A New Skill and Antenna Leads to Success at Wormsloe K-3725

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Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:

A New Skill and Antenna Leads to Success at Wormsloe K-3725

by Teri (KO4WFP)

If you read my field report for Wheeler NWR K-0161, the trap dipole I used vastly outperformed the AX1 that particular day. I originally opted for the AX1 because, for my upcoming trip to Nova Scotia, my family and I will fly so space for ham equipment is limited. But the Wheeler activation convinced me to add an end-fed antenna to my kit for the trip, something several hams recommended. I chose the Tufteln EFRW QRP antenna.

Ham radio has taught me many things, one of them being I tend to procrastinate when I feel intimidated by a project. Case in point – the Pacific Antenna 2040 trap dipole I used in my last activation. My local radio club recommended it for POTA. (They were correct by the way – that antenna works well!) The project sat on my shelf for nine months before I got up the courage to work on it.

The same thing happened when I ordered a Morserino kit. I knew it would be a great learning opportunity due to my limited experience with electronics. Well, it took me three months to get up the courage to tackle that project. So, for whatever reason, getting antennas into trees fell into the same category in my mind. Now, having to use an end-fed antenna for POTA, I needed to learn the skill but had no idea where to begin.

Thankfully Thomas came to the rescue! I found his July 3rd, 2022 post discussing the various iterations of throwing equipment he used and on what he settled. Soon I acquired a Weaver 10 oz. weight, a spool of Marlow 2mm throw line, and a Tom Bihn small travel tray.

I next found Thomas’ Sept. 8th, 2020 post as to how to prepare the line (you tie it to a tree and tug hard on it several times to remove any kinks in the line), flake the line into a cube or bag, tie a slip knot to attach the weight, and then use one of two techniques for launching the line over a branch.

In my HOA, there is a wooded area that offered privacy and the perfect live oak branch, about 15 feet high, for my initial practice session. I opted for what is called the “granny toss”. Heck, if it was good enough for the arborist whose video Thomas featured in his September 8th post, it was good enough for me, no matter how ridiculous it might look. And guess what? Success on the third throw! OK. This skill was not proving to be nearly as daunting as I had assumed.

Now it was time to put this newly-acquired skill to use. Tuesday June 13th, I chose to return to Butter Bean Beach at Wormsloe (K-3725), partially to further my kilo pursuit for this park but also because I knew hams from my local club had used end-fed antennas there.

The drive to Butter Bean Beach from my home is a favorite. I take Ferguson Avenue which has a live oak canopy stretched over the road. The trees are dripping with Spanish moss and look like old Grand Dames swathed in grey boas.

Along the road is Bethesda Academy which used to be an orphanage for boys. The institution was established in 1740 by evangelist George Whitefield. Today Bethesda is a private boarding and day school for boys. The academy has a dairy and I often slow down to look at the cows with their calves in the pastures. You never know what you might see – I’ve actually pulled over to watch a newborn calf take its first steps. (How cool is that!) Today the cows and their calves were lounging in the afternoon shade of one of those Grand Dames. Continue reading A New Skill and Antenna Leads to Success at Wormsloe K-3725 →

Antennas, Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

Beating the POTA propagation blues at Stonelick State Park!

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As mentioned in my previous POTA field report, I had the great pleasure of playing POTA on May 21, 2023 with a number of friends. We all played hooky on the final day of Hamvention. The first two activations of the day were with Vince (VE6LK/AI7LK), Charlie (NJ7V), Eric (WD8RIF), and Miles (KD8KNC).

Charlie and Vince had to leave us after the second activation of the day because both of them had travels in store that afternoon.

Eric, Miles, and I grabbed lunch at a nearby town, then made our way to our final park of the day.

Stonelick State Park (K-1993)

We pulled into Stonelick State Park a little after 3:00 PM and found the best open area to set up our stations. This park was a new one for me and, I believe, for Eric as well. (FYI: Miles didn’t hop on the air that day, but helped his dad set up his POTA station.)

Eric’s station

Eric set up his station on a bench overlooking Stonelick Lake. He supported his 28.5 foot vertical wire antenna on a 31′ Jackite fiberglass telescoping pole which he strapped to the bench. His transceiver of choice was the Elecraft KX3.

Note that Eric writes detailed field reports for all of his activations and field activities on his website.

For more details on this activation from Eric’s perspective, click here!

Working with poor propagation

Instead of using a vertical, I opted to deploy my recently cannibalized 40 meter end-fed half-wave. I felt a full 40M EFHW, properly deployed, would increase my chances of logging stations on a day where contacts were few and far between. Continue reading Beating the POTA propagation blues at Stonelick State Park! →

Digital Modes, Field Reports, FT8, Hams, News, Portable, POTA, SSB

Part 1: N2YCH and K1PCN’s Dayton Hamvention Trip QRP POTA Rove

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Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the first of a three-part field report series outlining his 2023 Hamvention rove with Peter (K1PCN). Look for Part 2 next week!

Part 1: Dayton Hamvention Trip QRP POTA Rove

By Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH

Peter, K1PCN and I are both avid Parks On The Air activators here in Connecticut and neither of us has ever been to the Dayton Hamvention in Xenia, Ohio. At the urging of others who have attended in the past, we made the decision to attend this year and while we were making the trek out, we wanted to activate parks along the way to add to our activated US states award. We originally planned to activate six states and ended up with one bonus state for a total of seven. This is how things looked before and after the trip.

 

I would like to begin by saying that attending the Hamvention was a great experience. If you have not been to it, I would like to encourage you to attend if you can.

You may have heard about the flea market, the vendor booths, the forum sessions or the food trucks, which are all good, but the best part for me was being in the presence of other hams with similar interests. I struck up conversations and shared stories with many other hams. Everyone was very nice and willing to share their experiences, which is a great way to pick up some good tips.

I am extremely glad I went. If you are on the fence about going, I would recommend you plan to go next year. Oh, and I got to meet this guy in person….

Now on to the rove…

I planned the trip to get as many states as possible. Both Peter and I had already activated CT, NY and NJ, so we did not need to stop in those states as we passed through. I had scoped out some parks near the Delaware and Maryland border, so I looked at those first.

My main criteria on park selection was to pick parks that would be easy-off/easy-on to the main highways we would be traveling to save time on driving. Here is the route map we followed.

We strategized on how we would activate the parks when we got to each one. Peter is an SSB activator, and I am a digital activator. We would not be colliding on the mode of operation. We did need to be on different frequencies though.

In the mornings, Peter took 40 meters and I used 20 meters. Later in the day when the bands opened up, Peter moved up to 20 meters and I bumped up to 17 or 15 meters. Using this strategy, we had no problems getting our minimum ten QSO’s to activate while operating at the same time. Peter also reminded me to bring a handheld and we did park to park QSO’s on 2 meters and 70cm.

As for equipment, I used my Elecraft KX3 transceiver, but I did bring an IC-705 as a backup.

On the first stop in Delaware, I used an Elecraft AX1 antenna but for the rest of the trip I used a Buddipole tripod equipped with a Versa-T with a 17’ MFJ whip tuned to the frequency I was operating on with 50’ cable and an above the ground counterpoise. Continue reading Part 1: N2YCH and K1PCN’s Dayton Hamvention Trip QRP POTA Rove →

Antennas, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

KO4WFP: The Dipole Does It for Wheeler NWR

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Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:

The Dipole Does It for Wheeler NWR (K-0161)

by Teri (KO4WFP) 

After my last activation, I was hankering to try the AX1 and Pacific Antenna 2040 trap dipole during the same activation for a comparison. Now, I know some of you are saying, “Well Teri, there would be no contest!” Yes, however, in the interest of learning first-hand, I headed to K-0161, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge while visiting a friend, Glenn W4YES, and his wife in Decatur, Alabama.

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 as a wintering area for ducks, geese, and other migratory birds. It is a 35,000 acre refuge located along the Tennessee River near Decatur, Alabama. Today, the refuge attracts thousands of wintering waterfowl and cranes each year and is a winter home to the endangered whooping crane who first arrived in 2004.

I opted to set up in a parking lot on the north side of US Highway 67 which runs through a small portion of the refuge. As there were no picnic tables present, I chose a spot where the trees would shade me from the early morning sun while sitting in my Subaru Crosstrek. Since the last activation, I had given some thought as to how to set up better in the car. My code buddy Caryn KD2GUT sits in the backseat for POTA with one seat flipped down providing a ready-made table for equipment. Even better, I discovered the back of the rear seat in the Crosstrek has a rubber surface and I could secure the key to it with fun-tak!

Since the last activation, the more I worked with the Mini Palm Paddle, the more I realized I did not like it. It just felt too “squishy” for my taste and I had difficulty feeling the characters. Glenn has a solid state CW paddle by 9A5N he was not using. I worked with it a bit and really liked the stiffer feel. He removed the heavy base in which it was mounted and built a lighter base out of the back of a old diskette so I could take the key with me to Nova Scotia. (True ham radio – making use of whatever we have on hand to solve a problem!) I find the more I use this key, the more I like the feel of it.

This was Glenn’s first POTA activation and I was happy to have him along. We arrived around 8:05 AM and began setting up, first putting the AX1 on the roof of the car and then the trap dipole on a mast on a hitch mount given to me by Jack NW4TF of my local club. Continue reading KO4WFP: The Dipole Does It for Wheeler NWR →

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QRP POTA with Friends: Two Park Activations with VE6LK, NJ7V, WD8RIF, and KD8KNC!

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Sunday, May 21, 2023, was the final day of Hamvention.

I traveled to Hamvention with my buddies Eric (WD8RIF) and his son Miles (KD8KNC). We decided in advance that instead of attending Hamvention that Sunday (after having spent all day Friday and Saturday there) we’d opt for a relaxing day playing POTA near Dayton/Xenia.

We weren’t, in fact, the only ones who skipped Hamvention that Sunday–our friends Vince (VE6LK or AI7LK State-side) and Charlie (NJ7V) did as well, so we decided to play POTA together!

Both Charlie and Vince were leaving the Dayton area that afternoon, so they needed to finish up their activations by noon at the latest. We decided we could fit in two activations that morning before Charlie and Vince headed back, then Eric, Miles, and I would hit a third park in the afternoon. Actually, Miles never planned to hop on the air, but he was both our ride and valuable POTA support!

Vince and Charlie in the rear view mirror!

Charlie and Vince met us at our hotel around 9:00 AM and we drove to the first of two parks we’d activate together.

Cowan Lake State Park (K-1943)

Charlie (NJ7V) and Vince (VE6LK/AI7LK) ready to deploy their gear.

The weather was beautiful that day, but the space weather, much less so. We knew in advance that it would be a struggle based on the propagation forecast and numerous reports from other activators.

Vince set up his Elecraft KX3-based station in the trunk/boot of his rental car.

He deployed his “low-slung” wire antenna (read more about that here) and hit the air.

Vince’s low-slung antenna

Eric described the POTA station he deployed in his field report on WD8RIF.com:

Eric found a shady, level spot near the parking lot, strapped his 31′ Jackite telescoping fiberglass pole to his folding camp-chair, deployed his 28½’ wire vertical on the pole, set up his Elecraft KX3 on the camp-chair’s flip-up table, and was on the air at 1412 UTC. Eric began his operation with a lovely touch-paddle which he had unexpectedly been given as a gift from the builder, Brian Manley, K3ES. 

Eric’s station

Note that Eric carefully documents each and every one of his field activations and field contests on his website. His field reports date back to Field Day in 1995!

I found a spot to set up next to the lake under the shade of a large tree. I deployed my Tufteln no-transformer 28.5 foot end-fed random wire.  This antenna is simply two lengths of 28.5′ wire: one wire for the radiator and one for the counterpoise. The KX2’s internal ATU does all of the heavy lifting. Continue reading QRP POTA with Friends: Two Park Activations with VE6LK, NJ7V, WD8RIF, and KD8KNC! →