Many thanks to Micah (N4MJL) who shares the following guest post:
Activating W7U/SL-022 on a Layover
by Micah (N4MJL)
As an airline pilot, I’m always on the lookout for POTA/SOTA sites that are near me when I have long layovers in different cities across the country. Salt Lake City, Utah is no exception. I always carry a modest assortment of ham radio gear with me when I travel.
I jumped at the chance to knock out a SOTA and POTA activation when a 23 hour layover showed up on my schedule for Salt Lake City. A month earlier, I was in Salt Lake City on a shorter overnight, and I had scouted out a SOTA activation for W7U/SL-022 which is located just to the east of Salt Lake City inside the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, which happens to be POTA US-4398.
I plotted my route on Gaia GPS–a free app that I highly recommend.
My route to the summit started at the Natural History Museum of Utah and would be a 5.6 mile one way ruck up to the summit with 2,800+ ft Ascent. I would leave the museum heading towards the Living Room trail head, but then branch off towards Mount Wire.
Mount Wire has an elevation of 7,110ft MSL and provides incredible views of Salt Lake City. Once you make it to the fire tower located at Mount Wire your ascent is almost over. However you still have another 3.1 miles traversing the ridge line before reaching the real summit located at 7,500ft MSL. The activation zone is very easy to determine since it is at the very end of the ridge line.
Sunday morning (11 August 2024) I got up at 0700 and packed up my REI Flash 22 day pack. I was taking with me a full 2 liter hydration pack along with 2 more 1 liter water bottles (4L water total), along with assorted snacks and electrolyte additives.
I scheduled an action for both SOTA and POTA on their websites. I knew from my previous trip here that I would have cell reception to at least Mount Wire, but I wasn’t taking any chances that I may not have cell reception on the summit. I would be depending on the reverse beacon network to get me spotted.
I also made sure I sent my wife and my captain my planned route, and when I should be back in contact with them. After all, this was going to be a solo 12 mile ish round trip with some modest elevation gain. I am an experienced backpacker, and I am not going to take unnecessary risks without a backup plan.
It was a beautiful day to go hiking. It was forecast to be 93F in Salt Lake City that afternoon. I live in Virginia where the humidity is absolutely gross when it’s 93F, but out here, there is essentially no humidity which makes it very pleasant.
Not to mention up in the mountains it’s typically about 15 degrees cooler. Rucking up the gully, there is some shade on the way up the Living Room trail, but once you get out of the gully heading up to Mount Wire you will be in direct sun for the majority of the ruck.
Mount Wire has amazing 360 view of the area at 7,110ft MSL. The fire watch tower is a favorite location for some “extra curricular activities” from the local college kids. It affords amazing views of the city. The tower also represents the end of the strenuous elevation gain for this hike. The picture above shows the ridge that I will now follow for the next 3.1 miles to the real summit of 7,500ft MSL. Continue reading Maximizing a Layover: From the cockpit to the summit of W7U/SL-022→
Many thank to Bob (K4RLC) who shares the following guest post:
Marconi Revived – Activating the Marconi sites in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia
by Bob K4RLC VE1/K4RLC
Alanna K4AAC and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was a bucket list trip. One goal was to visit and activate the two Marconi sites in Glace Bay. Then, we would drive the Cabot Trail around the Island, hiking and activating various provincial parks and lighthouses. Cape Breton Island is incredibly beautiful, with mountains coming right to the sea. The seafood is great (freshly caught lobster) and the people are relaxed and friendly.
The Marconi National Historic Site at Table Head Glace Bay is on the site of Marconi’s transmitting station from 1902 where the first successful trans Atlantic contact was made with the Poldhu Cornwall England station. Now, there is a small, but very Informative Parks Canada Museum, which also happens to have an active amateur radio station on site. I had arranged by e-mail with members of the local Sydney (NS) Amateur Radio Society to meet the control operators there.
Marconi National Historic Site (Parks Canada) with Beam and Dipole visible & Alanna VE1/K4AAC
The station is only open two months of the year–July & August–and the control Ops are there only for a short time each day. We met Jim and Michael VE1CYO, a former CW operator in the British Royal Navy. Not only did Mike know the history of the Marconi site, he was very gracious in letting me operate the station. They have a Kenwood TS-590, a Mosley 3 element beam, as well as a 40 through 10 dipole.
Mike VE1CYO (right) Control Op for station; Bob VE1/K4RLC leftAlanna K4AAC (right) & Bob K4RLC at operating position for VE1VAS
It was one of those days with very bad solar conditions. Mike was doubtful I would make any contacts. However, I had pre spotted on the POTA site, as the station is also a POTA site: CA-4842. The Kenwood and beam worked well on 20 meters CW.
The first contact was Gary, AE4GS, a friend in Tennessee. Then, Rich N4EX back in Raleigh. As Mike did not know, I explained to him about the POTA system, and how there were many hams who would want to work the Marconi station VE1VAS, named after the commercial Marconi call sign of VAS (standing for “Voice of the Atlantic Seaboard”).
After working all the stations we could hear, and talking with Mike about his Royal Navy history, he left for the afternoon. As my KX2 was in the shop, Rhett KB4HG had graciously lent me his for our trip. I went out to the original Marconi antenna field by the ocean and set up the KX2.
It was a lovely afternoon, clear skies, nice breeze and being on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Conditions were not great for QRP, but there were several families visiting with young children who were very curious about ham radio, Morse code, and Marconi. Alanna and I were happy to talk with the families and children. After showing the KX2 to a very inquisitive 6 year old boy from Montreal, he told his Mom: “ I want one!”
Operating the KX2 with MP1& Whiterook Key in the original antenna field in Glace Bay1902 Photo of antenna field
After driving the island via the Cabot Trail loop for several days, we spent the last morning at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, also a POTA site (Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site). Bell was an incredible inventor, not just of the telephone, but of scientific and medical experiments. He developed a device to send voice over a beam of light. And he predicted cell phones!
For the last afternoon, we returned to Glace Bay and wanted to find the old Marconi House. We followed Mike’s directions to a place appropriately called Marconi Tower Road.
And a gravel driveway where several power lines made an abrupt turn up a long driveway.
This was indeed the original Marconi House from 1905, which is also a Canadian National Historic Site but is privately owned. A old sign that said “Guard dog – Do Not Enter” was still there and we had been told the current owner did not like visitors.
But it also was a POTA site (CA-5830) that had NEVER been activated. So, I was standing at the end of the driveway with the Elecraft KH1 when a car came down from the house. I was very apprehensive. But when it stopped, the driver rolled down the window, looked at me curiously and said “hello”.
I said “hello” back and explained that I was a ham radio operator and hoped he didn’t mind if I stood on his driveway and operated. He smiled and said he could tell I was a ham. Then he said he had to run an errand but he would be back in 5 minutes and I could follow him back to the house!
This was Barry, grandson of Russell who bought the house from Marconi in 1946. This turned into a wonderful visit with Barry. He initially took us on the outside of the house but said we couldn’t come in. We said that was fine.
K4AAC & K4RLC in front yard of Marconi House with KH1
Then he took us for a long hike back in the woods to the original Marconi transmitter building. Unfortunately, it had been mostly consumed in a terrible fire, so hot that all the insulators, ceramics and transformers had burst. Barry was extremely helpful, digging through the rubble to find original insulator pieces for me.
Barry & Bob at VAS Transmitter siteBarry dug thru debris to find meters & insulators
Barry and I hit it off really well. As we walked back to the house, he invited us inside. Alanna stayed in the kitchen and talked with his very nice wife, Brenda, a First grade school teacher. Barry took me down in the basement and showed me Marconi’s workshop.
There were a lot of old Volt & Amp meters from the early 1900’s. Barry had dug through the debris of the VAS Transmitter station fire to find me old insulators, shattered by the fire. In the basement, he went to a dark section in the back, under the stairs and found a unbroken ceramic insulator that he gave to me! We went in the various rooms where Marconi had stayed. It was a dream come true.
Insulators from Marconi Transmitting station VAS
I only made a few CW contacts with the handheld KH1 in the front yard, as Barry and I spent a few hours talking about Marconi and Barry’s family, including his grandparents, who were buried in the back, near one of the massive antenna mounts.
Just wonder what Marconi would have thought about the KH1 with a 4 foot whip antenna, given that he had four 200 foot antenna towers with an Inverted pyramid configuration of wires, 2200 feet in diameter, spread across 80 acres of land. Wow! I wished that antenna was there to load up with the KH1.
I was running about 3 watts on 20 CW while Marconi’s station had coal-fired boilers driving steam engines pushing generators in series producing 15,000 volts that powered the Spark transmitters on 8000 Meters. There were train tracks into the station to deliver the coal to this station at Marconi Towers. It maintained in service until 1945 giving long range communications to ships in the North Atlantic and marine weather information using the call sign VAS.
Model of 1902 Antenna field at Glace Bay in Marconi NHS at Glace Bay
It was a bucket list dream come true. I felt honored to both meet Mike, the former Royal Navy CW Op, and Barry and his family who graciously let Alanna and me come into their private house (and hear their teenage daughter Vivian play the classical piano in one of Marconi’s former sitting rooms). I hope the photos do justice.
73 de K4RLC Bob & VE1/K4RLC
Thanks to Mike VE1CYO for many of the details on VAS;
Black & White photos courtesy of the Cape Breton Wireless Heritage Society www.cbwireless.ednet.ns.ca/cbwirelessp3.html for photos of the original Glace Bay sites and detailed information about the Marconi sites in Nova Scotia
Equipment List
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On Saturday, August 3, 2024, my wife and daughters drove to Edneyville, North Carolina, for an annual family get-together/reunion. It’s always a lot of fun catching up with my wife’s extended family. And, I must say, the food is always spectacular. I’m talking every amazing Southern dish you can dream of!
After the gathering, my wife and I dropped off our daughters with some of their friends for the afternoon. We’d planned to head back home and catch up on a few things, but I (fortunately) glanced at Google Maps and saw that I-40 was closed west-bound which meant that instead of a 30-minute drive home, we were staring at 70+ minutes. It was a busy weekend, with a lot of tourists in town, and traffic was at a standstill.
Lemons to Lemonade
I proposed to my wife that we go in the opposite direction of everyone else–up the very winding 151 to Mount Pisgah. She looked at me and knew I had activating on the brain. She happily agreed.
I knew hiking to the summit of Mount Pisgah for a SOTA (Summits on the Air) activation was unrealistic because we didn’t bring hiking gear and, frankly, the weather was a little too dodgy with pop-up thunderstorms forming.
Instead, I had the Mount Pisgah Picnic Area in mind. It’s a brilliant spot with numerous options for setting up a POTA station. It took us all of 35 minutes to drive there.
Hazel was happy to jump out of the car.
I’m sure she was on bear alert because the last time we were here, she spotted a black bear. She never forgets a bear but she always forgets how small she is compared to them.
There are numerous spots to set up a station at this particular parkway picnic site. We found a table off to the side where I had easy access to trees (i.e., wire antenna supports) if needed.
Based on all of the recent reports I’d been receiving from other POTA and SOTA activators, I knew such a modest antenna might make things challenging (foreshadowing alert), but by not deploying a wire antenna, I could pack up super quickly should we get caught in a downpour or thunderstorm.
I set up the KH1, prepared my logs, and got ready to hop on the air!
Gear:
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On Friday afternoon (August 16, 2024), after dropping off one daughter at her volunteer job and the other at Shakespeare class, my wife and I had about 90 minutes of free time before the next scheduled activity.
We opted to visit the Sycamore Flats Picnic Area in Pisgah National Forest (US-4510) so that I could fit in a POTA activation while my wife caught up on a project she’d been working on.
The picnic area was bustling with activity–the busiest I’d seen it in a while. No doubt, everyone was out enjoying the beautiful weather and the last hurrah before many local kids head back to school. Nevertheless, we found a nice picnic table to set up and play radio.
I did not have all of my camera gear with me, so opted not to film this activation with my phone.
Since there’d be no video, it meant that I could operate with earphones and a minimal amount of extra gear. It’s nice to do this every so often!
On the way out the door, earlier that day, I grabbed my Mountain Topper MTR-3B field kit. The goal was to put it on the air since it had been a few months since I last used it. I like rotating out radios regularly so I don’t forget nuances of operating them while in the field.
The previous day, I also charged the two Li-Ion rechargeable batteries[affiliate link] that are stored in the MTR-3B Pelican case. At least I thought I charged them!
When I checked the batteries, they were both completely dead. Turns out, the USB charging station I’d connected them to the previous day was not plugged into an AC outlet. Doh!
This presented a little problem because the only other battery I had in my GR1 rucksack was a 3Ah LiFePo4 battery which likely pushed about 13.2VDC. The MTR-3B doesn’t care for voltages much higher than 12VDC–at least, if you are higher than 12V, you need to make darn sure you’ve got a great SWR match.
I was a bit bummed because I hadn’t packed a backup radio in the GR1 and I wasn’t driving the Subaru which has a Venus SW3B headrest field kit.
Hang on…
Then it hit me…I’ve got my EDC (Everyday Carry) radio with me: the Elecraft KH1! Woo hoo!
I went back to the car and grabbed my Trakke EDC bag.
Our chosen destination, as a halfway point for both of us, was (again) Canavese in Piedmont, where we had identified Lake Candia (IT-0737), a Natura 2000 reserve we had been eyeing for some time but had never activated.
We reached the reserve (exit on the A5 for both of us at San Giorgio Canavese, then towards Caluso, and finally the Provincial Road 84, which runs right along the lake’s edge). We soon realized that on Sundays, the area is quite popular with locals seeking a cool spot (the lake is also suitable for swimming). A restaurant and a beach are the first things you encounter, but we had something less crowded in mind.
We stopped by a patch of vegetation, with tall trees that offered much-needed shade on a 30°C Sunday (though with some insects as a price to pay, but we brought repellent spray). For the antenna, we used the tried and tested quarter-wave Chinese whip, which had proven crucial in our recent German activations.
We started the activation on 20 meters, and it was clear from the beginning that propagation was only partially favorable (a minor solar flare in progress, but we’ve lost count at this point).
Many signals started strong but faded quickly, almost disappearing after the second pass. Almost all contacts were POTA enthusiasts, recognizable by their calls, a testament to the program’s growing popularity.
We managed two “park to park” contacts: one in Germany and the other in the UK. Other stations appeared on the cluster, but we couldn’t hear them. After about half an hour, we reached the milestone of 10 QSOs, making the activation valid. The rate indicated a challenging Sunday, as it seemed right from the start: few stations responded, but curiously, those that did came in with solid signals.
We attributed this to well-set-up home stations and decided to switch bands. 10 and 12 meters were closed, but we heard some QSOs on 15 meters and started calling. The response that made the activation worthwhile came from Marvin Ward “Lee” KI5MM (who, we later discovered, was transmitting from a place in Texas called Italy—perhaps it was fate). He gave us a 3/3 report, but we couldn’t have been happier: we were using a KX-3 at 10 watts with a ground-planted vertical antenna.
Another colleague from Sweden also came in on 15 meters, but nothing else in the next ten minutes. We wrapped up with fourteen contacts and headed back to the initial restaurant for a refreshing beer by the lake.
If every activation has a lesson, this one was that while propagation may be poor, taking care of your antenna setup (the quarter-wave being the most natural form) guarantees results. There’s already a lot of talk about this antenna, but I’m sure the more people try it, the more it will be discussed.
Thanks to everyone who connected with us, and until next time!
My buddy Jonathan (KM4CFT) made a big announcement this morning.
He’s been working tirelessly since the start of the year, designing and testing a brand-new field-portable CW transceiver he’s dubbed the CFT1.
As of this morning, you can purchase the transceiver kit on HamGadgets.com.
A little backstory
Jonathan first mentioned his plans to design a CW transceiver back when we were doing a joint POTA activation at the end of December 2023. At the time, it was just an idea. When he said he planned to have it ready for sale in 2024, I was skeptical. I mean, he had a day job and had never designed a radio before. How could he pull that off in such a short timeframe?
Fast forward to Four Days in May/Hamvention in May 2024, and wouldn’t you know it, Jonathan had a working prototype on display! I was blown away. Within a couple of weeks, he was contacting us beta testers, eager to get revision one units into our hands.
I got my CFT1 in June and immediately put it through its paces in the shack. Even in beta, this little radio was rock solid – I was seriously impressed!
I thoroughly tested the CFT1 in the shack, both on a dummy load and with my QTH antenna. If you’re into SOTA or POTA and I worked you in June, chances are it was with the CFT1.
Vlado (N3CZ) making field day contacts.
I even took the CFT1 out for a spin on Field Day. Vlado (N3CZ) and I were both impressed with how well it performed in that crazy RF environment. Remember, this isn’t a contest radio, but it didn’t seem to overload at all. Impressive!
When I heard Jonathan was launching the CFT1 today, I figured I’d do a quick POTA activation to showcase this awesome little radio.
The Blue Ridge Parkway (US-3378)
Yesterday morning, I was heading to Mission Hospital in Asheville to visit a family member who had just been admitted. I realized I had enough time for a quick activation at the Folk Art Center on the way.
I arrived at the parking lot around 8:30 AM. It was pretty empty except for the grounds crew. I set up at my usual picnic table.
I paired the CFT1 with my KM4CFT End-Fed Half-Wave, trimmed for 30M with a 40M linked extension. I was hoping for some 40-meter action early in the morning. Setup was a breeze. My throw line cooperated beautifully – the 40M EFHW was practically vertical!
Naturally, I filmed the whole process: setup, activation, and pack-up. Before I started the activation, I spent a few minutes talking about the CFT1 – its design philosophy and what I like about it. Hopefully, this will help you decide if it’s the right radio for you.
Gear:
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Somedays, I just need a little POTA and radio-active therapy to energize the day. And this was one of those days.
On Thursday, July 18, 2024, I woke up still feeling quite tired because I had been out the entire day before helping my sister with a move–my wife and I didn’t get back home until midnight.
I was exhausted!
That Thursday, though, I still needed to hit the road again fairly early to help my sister with her home closing and then bring my dad home (finally) from the skilled nursing facility where he’d spent the previous 2.5 months!
It was a big day, and I was feeling pretty low on the energy reserves even after the morning coffee. We’ve all been there, right?
I didn’t think I would have time to fit in a POTA activation, but my father’s nursing facility contacted me and asked if I could pick him up after lunch instead of before. All of a sudden, I had a two-hour chunk of time, so, of course, I was going to get radio-active!
Fortunately, I had my GoRuck GR1 in the car, after my trip to the NC coast, packed with the KX2 and a few antenna options!
Looking at the time, I knew Tuttle Educational State Forest would be my best bet for a quick activation. Accounting for travel time and lunch, I would have about a one-hour window to operate.
Tuttle Educational State Forest (US-4861)
I arrived at Tuttle and wasn’t surprised to find the place nearly empty. Tuttle caters to school groups, and since schools were still in summer break, I didn’t expect to see any school buses or large groups.
My plan was to attempt this activation using the AX1 antenna–just to keep things simple.
I chose a picnic table in the shade and set up my gear in short order!
Gear
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Many thanks to Rand (W7UDT) for sharing this short field report:
Eiffel Tower QRP (Failed) “Activation”
by Rand (W7UDT/FR)
Earlier this Spring, my wife & I went on a ten day vacation to Paris. What a beautiful city, and a memorable time we had! Amongst our many excursions, was a visit to the Eiffel Tower.
As an iconic Paris structure, it has few rivals, save perhaps the Great Wall, or Pyramids of Giza. Gustave Eiffel and just 200 or so men, assembled this pre-fabricated masterpiece, with 2.5 million hot rivets, in around two and one half years. And no one died! Imagine that, all 1,000 feet or so, built in the 1890’s. Wow!
The Eiffel Tower is truly an amazing structure, and soooo… (In the spirit of Eiffel), I had an idea. Why not stealthily activate its summit, and send out a beacon signal, just to see what propagation may be achieved.
My unsent beacon message… (In two Parts) “Test Test de W7UDT W7UDT/FR Liberte’ Egalite’ Fraternite!” “Vive la France! de W7UDT/FR Eiffel Tower Paris Test Test”
But alas, the crowds, the anti-suicide/base jumping (faraday) cage at its summit, and my wife, all served to dissuade me from extending the whip, and sending out the beacon. So sadly, no attempt was made.
I personally would love to have some relative of Ol’ Gustave do it, and activate the summit. Why not? He’d intended its heights to be used as scientific platform, and to be admired by all who visited.
Many thanks to Anthony (M7TAW) who shares the following guest post:
A first timer’s POTA activation at the Devil’s Punch Bowl!
Anthony (M7TAW)
Introduction
Let me start with the confession that I am an amateur radio operator born out of the Covid lockdown. With the switch to remote examinations by the RSGB in 2020, and a lot of free time on my hands, I thought why not get myself on the air! However, it wasn’t until this year, and a nice birthday gift from the fiancée, that I finally managed to reach into the HF bands with a (tr)uSDX.
This 5W QRP multiband and multi(ish) mode transceiver was going to be my first serious foray into what I deemed “proper radio”. So, I endeavoured to try and learn and maximise every bit of usage I could out of it. Like many newcomers to radio, I started with getting an EFHW strung out my window and got onto digital modes with FT8 on 20m just to confirm that I could in fact be heard. I also managed to SSB over to Italy at one point, though the in-built microphone gave me a 337 RST. At this point though, I was buzzing to be heard!
That’s USB covered, but what is this CW mode I can select?
As a graduate in history, there’s something about “old timey” technology and methods that intrigue me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a technophile at heart (you kind of have to be a data scientist), but there’s something about post-industrial mechanical and electrical advancements that amazes me still!
Of course, morse code was going to be next on the list of things to explore then it seemed!
I ordered a cheap but decent key from our favourite Chinese marketplace, and started cramming LCWO, Morse Mania, and Morsle as much as I could, and getting that muscle memory rhythm with practicing sending the alphabet and my name. Luckily, the (tr)uSDX has a practice mode and a decent decoder in-built so I can just power the radio from a USB connection and practice away!
No better setup than practicing on the sofa in your pyjamas.
Naturally, the YouTube algorithm decided that if you’re learning about CW, you might also be interested in this POTA thing. A few K4SWL videos, a dash of K2EJT, and a splash of newcomer-encouraging KI7QCF, I was hooked. I could combine what I’d started learning, with equipment in the field, and also a slight competitive (I’m eyeing that top spot) and award-based activity.
I started obsessively watching POTA spots on Gridtracker to make sure I could hunt FT8 contacts, and also kept my eye on the spots for any CW contacts that I thought I’d be able to hear. Finally I did it; about 25 days after I seriously started learning CW, and with a bit of a crutch with the morse decoder on the radio, I finally made a POTA hunter CW QSO – DC5LY (pota.app) thank you very much.
As fun as hunting is, I had to follow the YouTubers I’d been watching and actually get out there for an activation. However, actually getting out there – shudders – in public and getting my antenna up seemed a daunting task. Add in the fact that I was determined to not rely on digital only to get an activation, but also CW.
I started to plan…
Firstly, I looked for sites that had decent parking, but were also probably big enough that I could tuck away uninterrupted (something to take the nerves away). Luckily for me, about 20 minutes up the road is a large stunning National Trust area known as The Devil’s Punch Bowl – the legend has it that the Devil scooped up a handful of earth and hurled it at Thor, God of Thunder, the depression that remained is the Devil’s Punch Bowl. Also, unluckily for me, I had to take a day off work to visit the dentist, so why not mitigate that by trying out my first activation!
Wealden Heaths SPA – Devil’s Punch Bowl Site of Significant Scientific Interest (GB-0243)
When planning for this little adventure, I thought to myself that I’d likely panic if I had to combine putting up a mast for an EFHW or trying to throw a wire in the tree for the first time. Coupled with the fact that the (tr)uSDX doesn’t come with an ATU, I thought why not invest in a quick and easy vertical. After a bit of research, and another visit to our favourite Chinese marketplace, I opted for a JPC-12 vertical antenna along with an investment in a NanoVNA.
The (tr)uSDX comes with an inbuilt SWR meter but I wasn’t sure how reliable it was, and I’d have a hard time tuning with it. I grabbed some 18650 batteries and the stage was set! Helpfully, the JPC-12 antenna comes with a nice little carry case with supplementary space, and the compact size of the (tr)uSDX means I could just throw everything in there.
I was up bright and early on a Friday morning, and headed over to the park slightly nervous, but also excited!
As a nervy POTA first timer, my original plan was to maybe just activate from the car park and hide my antenna behind my car. However, when I got there, it became very clear that there was nowhere to hide, and frankly there weren’t many great spots to plant a vertical in the ground.
I’d have to suck it up, and venture deeper into the park! After grabbing my backpack, and trotting down a marked route, I chose to go left onto a track that bikes weren’t allowed in the hope that it’d be quieter. Albeit the path was quite dense with overgrown bushes and plants. I was beginning to think I’d not have a clearing to even sit in, let alone mount the antenna.
What a view.
However, a couple of minutes later I chanced up a bench and table that was nestled slightly into the trees with a bit of a clearing! It was like the POTA gods had answered my calls for a perfect location. I quickly plonked my backpack on the table, claimed the spot, and started unpacking the gear. You can see below how efficient I’d been in packing, and I was surprised myself how I could get this antenna and all the equipment I’d need neatly into my bag.
Can’t recommend this antenna enough (with my limited experience)
A few minutes later, the vertical was up, and I’d got it tuned to 40m like I’d practiced at home. Helpfully, the loading coil has marked points which correspond to the bands, and all I had to do was slightly adjust the length of the whip whilst keeping an eye on the NanoVNA. I got it down to 1:1.18 around the CW bands for 40m in Europe (7000-7040MHz) – couldn’t be happier!
What a find for a first-time location!
On The Air
Part 1 – A job half done
Now came the exciting part! Finally getting on the air portable for the first time and POTA for the first time! I thought I’d settle my nerves by starting with the familiar FT8. I booted up FT8CN, and plugged the (tr)uSDX into the phone. A few firmware updates ago, the (tr)uSDX got audio over USB, and being able to plug it directly into the phone with a single cable and receive and send FT8 seems like magic to me. Continue reading Code, Contacts, and a Stunning View: A POTA First-Timer’s Experience at the Devil’s Punch Bowl→
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Mount Wire has an elevation of 7,110ft MSL and provides incredible views of Salt Lake City. Once you make it to the fire tower located at Mount Wire your ascent is almost over. However you still have another 3.1 miles traversing the ridge line before reaching the real summit located at 7,500ft MSL. The activation zone is very easy to determine since it is at the very end of the ridge line.
