Many thanks to Bob (K4RLC) who shares the following POTA field report from February 2023:
Dismal Swamp Activation – February 2023
by Bob (K4RLC)
The Dismal Swamp is a lovely place !
The goal for this winter was to activate the Dismal Swamp in northeastern North Carolina, both as it is a relatively rare area, and during the summer it is full of critters like snakes, gators, bears, and mosquitoes as big as birds. So, in February I did a three day trip.
First, I activated the Dismal Swamp State Park (K-2727) in Camden County North Carolina, off US Highway 17.
This state park contains some historically important lands to the US. In pre-revolutionary times, George Washington actually bought some of the swamp land and attempted to drain it to make it farmland. His plan failed, but there is still a marker for his house on the Virginia side. Indigenous people lived here 13,000 years ago, and flourished off the rich fish and animal life.
During the Civil War, the Dismal Swamp was an important part of the Underground Railroad, for those escaping from slavery in the South to freedom in the North. Some slaves used ancient Indian villages as the foundation for building communities deep in the swamp. There are still remnants of this rich history. Originally, the Great Dismal was over a million acres, but now is only half that size.
To make this activation more interesting, you first must go to the Gate Keeper and sign in with your name and give the model and color of your car before you can enter the park. This is to keep track of lost souls who might wander off the path in the swamp, never to be found.
The Gate Keeper also controls the bridge over the Dismal Swamp Canal, which is part of the Intercoastal Waterway up the East Coast of the United States, sometimes called a water way Interstate. This canal was also historically important for transporting materials in the 1800s.
During World War II, when German U-Boats torpedoed merchant ships off the coast of North Carolina, the Dismal Swamp Canal became an important waterway for military transport. Once you enter Dismal Swamp State Park, there are several hiking trails along the Canal and back into the Swamp. One even takes you by a Moonshine Still which unfortunately was not still operating.
I set up the trusty ICOM-706 MkIIG at a picnic table on 20 meters CW, and soon had a nice pile up going. Someone spotted me on the POTA site and RBN. Soon, I was getting emails to my cell phone asking for contacts. Little did I know how rare Camden County was, especially on the 40 and 20 CW bands.
I wish I had had more time to explore Dismal Swamp State Park, including walking the 20 mile path along the Canal, but I wanted to go to the Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (K-0566) which was over an hour’s drive away, with the entrance across the border in Virginia.
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
An Unexpected, Speedy Activation at Tuscumbia WMA in Mississippi
by Teri (KO4WFP)
Some of the best things in life are unexpected.
My family, after spending two days in Dallas, Texas visiting in-laws, headed back east on Wednesday, July 26. We originally planned to drive Interstate 20 through Louisiana and Mississippi with a stop in Alabama to visit with friends. However, early Wednesday morning, I Googled our route and realized a shorter route through Arkansas and Mississippi would save us thirty minutes. That doesn’t sound like much but when you spend nearly all day driving in a car, thirty fewer minutes feels like a big deal.
Before the trip, I planned an activation in and purchased a permit for Louisiana’s Russell Sage WMA (K-4076). Well, now I wouldn’t even go through Louisiana on our way back. I was loathe to not activate a park at all on the drive home. (Those who know me well, know I don’t give up easily at anything.) So I looked at the new route and the POTA website and endeavored to find a park that would work as well as we’d reach later in the day due to the hot weather. I settled on Tuscumbia Wildlife Management Area (K-7092) in Mississippi along US Route 72.
The 2,600 acre Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is located just outside Corinth, Mississippi and divided into two sections, one on either side of US 72. The section to the north of the highway is primarily swamp bottomland but the northeast corner of it is accessible to the public. The WMA is a great place for birding and I noted 104 species have been observed according to the website eBird. It was this northeast corner at which I would attempt my activation.
The weather during the day was hot! At the Arkansas welcome center, I noted the boat-tailed grackles in the parking lot panting to cool off in the heat. I planned to reach Tuscumbia WMA near the end of the day but whether it would still be too hot or not, I had no idea. Thankfully, as we reached the Mississippi state line out of Memphis, cloud cover appeared and I watched the temperature on the dashboard slowly descend from 99 degrees earlier in the day to a manageable 86 degrees.
The other potential wrinkle in my last-minute decision was whether accessing the park required a fee or not. I couldn’t tell from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks website. When we reached Memphis and had better cell service, I called one of their offices and spoke to a helpful employee who confirmed that yes, I would need a permit which I could purchase using their app. I also needed to use a second app to check in and out when actually at the park. Somehow I managed to get the apps downloaded, my account set up, and a one-year non-resident permit purchased during my husband’s turn at the wheel. Whew! One more hurdle surmounted.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. The last remaining wildcards were if I would arrive early enough before sunset and would I be able to find a place to set-up.
We arrived at the site a little before 7 PM. The most obvious place to activate, on the gravel pad next to the highway, had power lines running right above it as I had feared. There was no way to set up there. And I could not drive the car further into the property as gates prevented auto access. My only other option, with daylight running out, was to walk into the property, find a spot, and sit on the ground. To make space for our trip luggage, though, I left behind the bin in which I usually keep a tarp and other emergency supplies. (Note to self – next time keep at least a tarp in the car.) The only thing I could find for me to sit on was the windshield sunshade – not ideal but it would work.
I checked into the app, grabbed my POTA backpack, liberally applied bug spray for the gathering mosquitos, and headed past the gate to see with what I had to work. By the way, I’ve never seen mosquitos so large in size! They were at least three times bigger than the ones we have in Savannah, GA. Continue reading KO4WFP: An Unexpected, Speedy Activation at Tuscumbia WMA in Mississippi→
Many thanks to Barry (KU3X) for sharing the following review originally posted on his website:
Product Review: RigExpert AA-650 Zoom
by Barry G. Kery, KU3X
If you are building a ham radio station, whether it be a contest station, a station for working DX or just daily rag chewing, this may be the tool you need to help you maximize your signal.
The AA-650 Zoom is a very user friendly antenna analyzer. It is super easy to navigate through the menu to choose what task you want the analyzer to perform.
Let’s start with frequency range. This unit will cover from 100 kHz up to 650 MHz. To get accurate readings, you must enter three factors. You must enter, “Frequency, span and sampling points. “ Here is one of many areas where the AA-650 Zoom shines and that is, “Sampling Points.”
When you sweep a frequency range, whether it’s just the 20 meter band or maybe sweep from 7000 kHz to 30000 kHz, sampling points have a direct impact on the results.
Antenna analyzers do not take a reading one Hertz at a time. They take a reading at numerous points within your sweep range. You can select how many sampling points you want to use. The 650 Zoom gives you 5 options. They are 20, 50, 100, 250 and 500 sampling points.
Let’s say you want to sweep from 7000 kHz to 30000 kHz, like the usable frequency range of a 40 meter off center fed antenna. If you choose to use 50 sampling points, the 650 Zoom will take a reading at every 460 kHz in that range. Once the sweep is finished, the analyzer takes an average and fills in the display with an SWR curve. So it kind of guesses what’s between each point.
Now take that same frequency range but sweep it with 500 sampling points. The 650 Zoom now takes a reading at every 46 kHz. Remember one thing: the more sampling points you use, the slower the sweep but the higher the accuracy. For single band use, I like to use 100 sampling points.
Most of the time, that’s all you need. But let’s say the antenna you are testing has some quirk at a given frequency. If your sampling points are set too low, your sampling points may not be close enough to detect the problem. So now the analyzer will not know there’s an issue and fills in the display with an average reading.
There are two ways to setup the analyzer for a frequency and range. To the left shows where you can manually enter the center frequency and the span of the sweep. Press the, “Frequency key” on the keypad to access this feature. Within that display, to the far left you will see meter bands. If you press the, “F key” on the keypad, a band will be highlighted. Use the up / down arrow keys on the keypad to select your band of choice. When you let up on the, “F key” the analyzer will program that band with a predetermined span.
The picture on the right shows yet another super easy way to set up the analyzer. To access this screen, press and hold the, “F key” and then press the zero key on the keypad. The rest is easy. Pick a number that corresponds to the band you want to check.
Top picture shows an SWR curve of my 40 meter beam. This reading was taken from my shack. Take note of the bottom of the display. The analyzer lets you know what the minimum SWR is at a given frequency. On the top of graph, the SWR is shown in relation to the pointer.
The top right picture shows the SWR of my 20 meter beam at a given frequency. You may find this feature useful for adjusting a manually operated transmatch or adjusting the tuned inputs of your home brew amplifier. On the bottom of the display, it shows return loss at 14150 kHz.
When you sweep a frequency, you can save the SWR plot in any one of the 99 non-volatile memory slots so you can retrieve them at a later date.
If you want to check more than one frequency at a time, like on a tri band Yagi or an off center fed antenna, the AA-650 lets you pick up to 5 different frequencies to check at one time.
Shown below are return loss figures for a low power 4 to 1 Guanella Current Balun. The balun was designed to be used from 80 to 10 meters. The sweep is from 2 MHz to 30 MHz.
Let’s talk OSL Calibration…
Using Open, Short, Load calibration is a way to cancel out your transmission line so you can take a reading of your antenna like you are attaching the antenna analyzer to the feed point of the antenna. Let’s take a 100 foot length of RG-8X as our coax used for testing antennas. Hook the coax to the 650 Zoom and run OSL Calibration. Once you do that, it’s like the coax is transparent. Continue reading Barry reviews the RigExpert AA-650 Zoom→
Our family regularly enjoys a summer vacation in the mountains. There is no shortage of mountains along the Pacific Coast, but if you refer to “The Mountains” around our house everybody knows you are talking about 5500 feet up the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada along Highway 4 near the town of Arnold.
Summer Cabin
Last year’s trip to “the mountains” was my first foray into portable QRP operating and I successfully hunted a few Parks On The Air stations. In the year since, I’ve become much more involved with (some would say addicted to) POTA, especially as an activator.
The cabin sits on a small lake.
For the “base” operation of hunting other stations, I set up the FT-818 with an EFHW strung between the deck and some trees adjacent the nearby lake. The 26 ga polystealth wire antenna literally disappeared into the trees, the only giveaways being the 64:1 transformer floating in space off the deck rail and, more likely, the the bright orange arborist line used for the downhaul at the far end.
I made a few hunter QSOs during the morning hours from the cabin, but this location wasn’t hearing particularly well. Signals weren’t strong and I sent more than a few 229 reports. However, this “hunter mode”operation was secondary to my main objective of activating some new to me parks while on this trip.
Hunter QSOs from the cabin
On the first full day in the mountains we headed back down the hill a ways to visit Railtown State Historic Park in Jamestown, CA. After riding the excursion train and enjoying lunch by the roundhouse, I brought up the possibility of an activation. However, with the July heat well into the triple digits, the family wasn’t in the mood for dads radio obsession. Quite frankly, I wasn’t too excited about setting up the station in the heat, so it was an easy choice to put this one off for another time.
No activation attempt at Railtown this time
The next POTA activation opportunity came when we had made plans to head up for a day at Lake Alpine. We chose to go up to the lake around 10AM on Monday, hoping for smaller crowds. Also, we had plans to visit Calaveras Big Trees SP the following day.
This gave me an idea: I could make the short drive from the cabin up to Calaveras Big Trees (K-1134) in the morning while everyone was sleeping in and try to get the activation done before heading to Lake Alpine. This way the family visit to Big Trees wouldn’t be interrupted by dad playing radio. Continue reading Matt’s Summer Vacation Mountain POTA→
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
Braving the Heat at Spring Creek Forest Preserve in Texas
by Teri (KO4WFP)
The last week of July, my family and I visited my husband’s sister and brother-in-law who live in the Dallas, Texas area. Of course, as soon as the decision was made to make the trip, I immediately checked to see if there were any POTA sites nearby. And wouldn’t you know, there is one roughly 12 miles away – Spring Creek Forest Preserve (K-4423). This would be my chance to activate my first Texas park.
Spring Creek Forest Preserve is a city-owned nature preserve in Garland, Texas. The forest contains old growth trees and several rare and unique plants. Seven miles (four dirt and three paved) of trails traverse the property. The park is named for the creek that runs through it. Today, the creek was deceptively quiet and the water level low. However, given the sculpted chalk cliffs that run above the creek and the flood stage signage, the waterway obviously has its wilder moments.
The morning of July 25th, I headed out early for the easy forty-minute drive from my in-laws to the preserve. The weather forecast predicted a high of 101 degrees, easy to imagine as by the time I arrived at the park, around 8 AM, the temperature was already 80 degrees.
I scoped out the parking lot. It was mostly empty on this day. Having no idea how busy the park might become, I looked for a place less likely for people to encounter my antenna. At first I chose a tree on the edge of the parking lot. However, there was nowhere to park my car close by and I wanted to sit inside the car during the activation.
In the middle of the circular parking lot was a tree surrounded by weedy growth. I figured no one would choose to wander through those weeds and thus my antenna would be safe and not need to be flagged.
I soon discovered why no one would want to wander through the weeds – they were full of little oval-shaped stickers! Thankfully they didn’t have long needle-like spikes on them and instead of being painful, were just annoying. They ended up all over my socks, shoelaces, and the hem of my shorts.
It took several tries to get my arbor line successfully in the tree as its branches were mostly aimed upward rather than outward. But on the third throw, I successfully snagged a branch of sufficient height for my EFRW antenna to slope toward my car. Just as it took several tries to snag the right branch, it took several adjustments to get the right amount of tension in the antenna. Rather than retie the arbor line every time I adjusted it, I just tied another slip knot and as such it ended up looking a mess. But I finally got the amount of tension and height I wanted. (By the way, the weeds made for a mess untangling my arbor line after the activation, too!) Continue reading KO4WFP: Braving the Heat at Spring Creek Forest Preserve in Texas→
Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post:
Portable/Kite QRP Operation in Central Newfoundland Wilderness by Float Plane: Part 2 – Radio Gear and Portable/Kite Operation
by Scott Schillereff, VO1DR
Introduction
This is Part 2 of a two-part story of a portable QRP adventure with a kite antenna at Mount Sylvester in the Bay du Nord Wilderness Area in central Newfoundland by float plane.
Part 2 here describes radio stuff and some dramas with kite antenna operation. I hope you enjoy reading this.
Radio Gear
Given that our hike up Mount Sylvester would be relatively easy (about half an hour up a gentle bedrock slope), I chose to bring a fair bit of radio gear with lots of backups.
Figure 1 – My gear in porch. L to R: survival bag and day pack (described in Part 1), haversack with radio gear and kite (orange bag), and plastic ammo box (for IC705). Our Havanese dog Chico was overseeing packing.Figure 2 – Haversack (originally a free gift to mother-in-law; now pressed into radio service).Figure 3 – Contents of Radio bagFigure 4 – End-fed wire antennas (HB9EAJ designs; Standard (on winder), and Compact (coiled)). The Standard has a 56:1 coupler (white barrel) and in-line latching band switch (black tape). Zip bag is a GODSPC (good ol’ Dollar Store pencil case). Wire is AWG24 speaker wire.Figure 5 – 5.8 m (19 ft) telescoping fibreglass pole (repurposed from a discarded bird-scaring mast found by a nearby school); collapsed, it doubles as my 1.4 m (4. 5 ft) walking stick. Yellow 1.5 m (5 ft) rope is for tying off to a support (e.g., picnic table) and forms a grip for walking.Figure 6 – Detail at top of pole. Top fitting is from a broken fishing rod. I added a homemade pulley and split sheave (easy to insert and remove antenna wire).Figure 7 – Detail of bottom of pole. Black ABS plumbing fitting (plug) fits snugly over base of pole and is tack-glued with cyano-acrylate glue (can be be forced apart if needed). Hiking/achor tip is a filed down 6 mm (1/4 in) steel bolt threaded and glued into plug from inside.Figure 8 – DIY guy rope system for pole. Stakes are 18 cm/7 in aluminum gutter nails (excellent tent pegs). Red ring is made from the top of a pill bottle that snugly fits over top of pole. Stakes are driven equi-distantly around the pole and tightened with 2.5 mm nylon cordage for rigid support. Tip: I tied the guy cords with fixed knots (Constrictor Knot) at the stake heads and moved the tensioning knots up near the ring – less bending over and I can reach them all!Figure 9 – Back-up base-loaded whip antenna (DIY, modified from QRP Guys DS-1). I call it the “MiracleWhip” it works so well. Too windy to deploy on this trip. It all fits in a GODSPC.Figure 10 – Nylon ground tarp 2 m x 2 m (6.5 x 6.5 ft). DIY tarp/poncho based on a Russian plash palatka (design dates back to the 1700s). Keeps me dry when sitting on damp ground; many survival uses too.Figure 11 – Rite In The Rain notebook #363. Waterproof, lays flat, pencil fits in spirals.Figure 12 – Plastic ammo box for IC705 and my ATU. For this trip, I just looped a nylon strap through handle for carrying. I’ve since made a sling attached to both the hinge end and clasp end (more stable).Figure 13 – Ammo box open. IC-705 (in WindCamp exo-skeleton) is in blue bag snug in bottom. ICOM mic on right. ZM-4 style ATU in red bag (a cut-down GODSPC).Figure 14 – Detail of ATU. I built this modified from QRP Project ZM-4 ATU design to fit in an Altoids tin. I have submitted an article on this build to Sprat journal of G-QRP club.
Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post:
Portable/Kite QRP Operation in Central Newfoundland Wilderness by Float Plane: Part 1 – Gearing Up and Getting There
by Scott Schillereff, VO1DR
Introduction
I love getting out in the woods and wilds in Newfoundland for portable QRP operation. Lately, I have been trying kite-borne antennas. This is a two-part story of a portable QRP adventure with a kite antenna at Mount Sylvester in the Bay du Nord Wilderness Area in central Newfoundland by float plane. Part 1 describes the setting, history, geology, access, and outdoor/survival gear. Part 2 describes radio stuff and some dramas with getting a kite antenna aloft.
It is useful to describe the island of Newfoundland setting, since it is unique in North America. You can think of Newfoundland as a wild cousin of Nova Scotia – many similarities, but worlds apart. If you want to play radio in a well-developed, refined setting (where giant manicured lawns are a thing), then Nova Scotia is for you; if you want a wilder adventure with some risk and less people, come to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Central Newfoundland Setting
I live in St. John’s, the capital of the eastern-most Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), situated about equidistant between Boston and Ireland (Figure 1). This means QRP contacts to western Europe are as easy as those to eastern North America.
The island of Newfoundland is about the size of England but, with an island-portion population of only 479,105, we have less than 1/100th of the people in England. There is a lot of empty space here! Most of the people live in small towns and communities scattered along the coasts, originally to pursue various fisheries.
The principal highway (Trans-Canada Highway; Highway 1 on Figure 2) traverses an arc around the northern and western part of the island. The central area of Newfoundland is a vast sparsely-populated area, historically used by indigenous groups for hunting, fishing and gathering, and, since European contact and later occupation, mostly for logging, mining, recreation, and hydro power projects.
Figure 1 – Location of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve and Mount Sylvester
The Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve in southern Central Newfoundland (large green patch in Figure 2) was established by the Province in 1986, primarily to protect the Middle Ridge woodland caribou herd – the largest herd in the island of NL. This 2,895 km2 reserve includes ponds, rivers, bogs and fens, and forests, and is the last major unspoiled area on the island. There are no facilities, amenities, trail markers, or public buildings – just wilderness. This inland area has a cultural history of use by the Mi’kmaq indigenous peoples since the 18th century. The area was first described by European explorer (William Cormack) after his trans-island trek of 1822. Geologist James Howley was the first known person to travel the full length of the Bay du Nord River in 1887. A cairn he built atop Mount Sylvester as a surveying marker still stands today (see below).
Figure 2 – Eastern and Central Newfoundland showing Mount Sylvester within the Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve. Also showing the capital St. John’s (east edge) and Gander (north-northeast), where we started our flight.
Mount Sylvester (Figures 3 and 4) is an inselberg (German: island mountain) created by weathering and glaciation with top elevation of 365 m (1,198 ft) above sea level, and rising 154 m (505 ft) above the adjacent flat glaciated terrain (for more stats search: peakvisor.com). It was named after Sylvester Joe, a Mi’kmaq hunter and guide hired by Cormack for his travels. The yellow arrows on Figure 4 point to Howley’s cairn (about 2.5 m high) at the top, and huge fluted glacial scours along the sides and flanks.
Figure 3 – View of Mount Sylvester looking southFigure 4 – View of Mount Sylvester looking west, showing Howley’s cairn at the top and fluted glaciated scours along the flanks
Getting There
Mount Sylvester lies immediately adjacent to Diamond Lake, with a gentle glaciated bedrock slope to the summit. A perfect spot to land a float plane and walk to the top for a QRP adventure!
My companion Kerry, a distant relation in Gander, NL, owns a float plane and for years has been interested to land on Diamond Lake and walk to the top – but never had a second person to go (for safety). We were a match made in heaven! My wife and I and our two Havanese doggies drove our motor home to Gander (about 4 hr drive) and Kerry and I geared up for the flight and hike on June 24, 2023.
As luck would have it, hundreds of forest fires were (and are) burning in eastern Canada. Smoke from those fires has drifted over eastern Canada and most of NL producing a tan haze that can block out the full sun (Figure 5) and reduce visibility for flying. Since Kerry is only certified for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flying, it was touch-and-go whether we could fly at all.
Figure 5 – Forest fire smoke haze blocking sun, Gander, NL – June 23, 2023
On the morning of June 24, bright and early, we tried anyway. The smoke had shifted to form a layer above 1,500 ft altitude, but we could safely fly under it at 500-750 ft altitude. We were good to go! Kerry’s plane (C-FAVG) was the venerable Cessna 172 Skyhawk (Figure 6), among the most common small aircraft on earth. The C-FAVG airframe was produced in the 1970s and has been upgraded and certified ever since.
We drove to his float plane dock at Deadman’s Pond adjacent to Gander airport (this airport was the site of the massive commercial aircraft landings during 9/11/2001; the basis for the Come From Away musical). Kerry assured me not to worry about the name of the pond…
Figure 6 – Cessna 172 Skyhawk C-FAVGFigure 7 – Kerry fuelling wing tanks (takes 38 US gal of AVGAS; gives about 6 hrs of flying)
We took off just before 9 am and headed south for about an hour’s flight to Diamond Lake. Kerry checked in with Gander Tower and within half an hour, we were out of direct VHF contact. Our communications were by VHF with other planes, or our cell phones (they worked great all day, even on top of Mount Sylvester).
Figure 8 – Pilot Kerry in his happy place during take-off. Regarding small planes, he said: “Everyone should have one”.Figure 9 – Me in the plane (at 1.98 m or 6’6”, I barely fit in this dual-controls plane!)Figure 10 – Typical view in central Newfoundland – a vast glaciated terrain of boreal forest, ponds, and wetlands. The white patterns in the bogs are reflections of the sky on pools of water at surface. One cannot (easily or dryly) walk across such bogs, you must skirt around them.Figure 11- Woodland Caribou on heathery barrens (small ones are new-born calves)Figure 12 – Larger herd of caribou (expand photo to see calves).Figure 13 – Caribou on barrens with lurking black bear (circle at right). He will take advantage of a new-born calf in the natural order of things.
Geology
As a geologist, I am fascinated on why Mount Sylvester exists and its interesting geological features. First of all, the ENTIRE mountain was covered with glacial ice during last ice age (Wisconsinan-Age glaciation ending about 11,000 years ago). A small continental ice sheet covered the island of Newfoundland, and radiated out toward lower sea levels. Figures 3 and 4 show the smooth, fluted flanks of the inselberg created by the grinding passage of ice laden with rock blocks and fragments (Nature’s ultimate sandpaper). Continue reading Part 1 – Getting There: VO1DR Goes QRP Portable in Central Newfoundland via Float Plane→
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
A Return to Butter Bean Beach
by Teri (KO4WFP)
Given the trip to Nova Scotia and then getting a cold upon my return to Savannah, Georgia, it had been awhile since catching up with the guys in my local club – Coastal Area Radio Club (CARS). They have a No Work Wednesday club that meets weekly, activating either Butter Bean Beach at the Wormsloe State Historic Site (K-3725) or Fort Pulaski National Monument (K-0930). This Wednesday, July 19th, they opted for Butter Bean Beach, hoping for a maritime breeze given the hot and humid weather.
I always arrive early at Butter Bean Beach on Wednesdays to get my CW activation out of the way as my local guys use SSB. I rolled into the parking lot around 7:30 AM and saw stuff already piled up on one of the picnic tables in the pavilion. Uh-oh.
I, then, saw people I recognized – Garret Jones and Lisa Goodman. Garret volunteers with Wilderness Southeast and Lisa is the organization’s Executive Director. Wilderness Southeast offers eco trips and group programs to connect people with the environment. On one of my past activations, they were at Butter Bean Beach with a group of ninth graders for their Fish Gotta Swim program. Also assisting Lisa and Garret today was Sierra Abbasi. They warned me that around 9 AM a group of kids would arrive for their kayaking camp. Good thing I had my noise-cancelling headphones!
Last time I activated this site, I used the EFRW antenna in a tree but I thought to try something different today. Frankly, I figured my SOTAbeams travel mast looked a bit lonely, especially since I had lugged it all over Nova Scotia but not deploying it once while there.
It didn’t take long to get the mast deployed and the antenna where I wanted it. Now how to deal with the feed-end? The night before, I recalled a recent conversation with a friend who suggested using gallon water jugs to hold the ends of an inverted V. I figured that might work just fine for attaching the feed-end and keeping it taut. It did!
As for the counterpoise, even though I received a comment on a previous trip report that the counterpoise does not need to be elevated, I thought “let’s just gild the lily and elevate it anyway.” So I put out my water bottle and attached the end of the counterpoise to that. Besides, I wanted to be prepared for kids possibly walking around my antennas. A black, thin wire lying on the ground would not be easily noticed. But one slightly elevated with neon pink flagging tape might.
It wasn’t long before I was on the air. When at Butter Bean Beach, I almost always start first on 40 meters due to the early hour. (Note: I did not check the band conditions before heading out that morning but good thing I didn’t because 40 meters obviously didn’t read that report either.) Continue reading KO4WFP: A Return to Butter Bean Beach→
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
The Final Fling at Grand-Pré National Historic Site
by Teri (KO4WFP)
If you read my four previous articles, you know my family and I went to Nova Scotia for eight days. At this point in my trip, I had three successful POTA activations and three unsuccessful. Tomorrow, July 6th, my family and I would head back to the States. I hankered to attempt one more QRP POTA activation before that happened.
For our final day in Nova Scotia, we opted to drive back from our Airbnb in Middleton on Highway 101 to Halifax. The night before, I looked at the POTA website for parks along the route to activate. I had learned to avoid urban parks if possible due to the noise level and limited space for the EFRW antenna which I preferred to deploy. One park seemed to fit the bill – Grand-Pré National Historic Site (VE-4839).
The morning of Wednesday, July 5th was overcast and rainy. Despite the dreary and less-than-optimal conditions, we drove toward Grand Pré. To buy myself a bit more time in hope the showers might abate, we grabbed a bite to eat at the Just Us Roastery and Café outside the town.
After a quick breakfast, we arrived at the site around 12:45 PM. Given the rainy conditions, I would need to stay in the car. Too bad because the site looked inviting and I would have enjoyed setting up on my jacket like I did at Fort Anne.
The limitation of operating out of my car meant staying close to the parking lot. The trees in the main parking lot were all shorter than I preferred. And, as I learned at other sites, the main lot didn’t give me any buffer from people walking into my antennas. However, at one side of the property was a separate small lot for two or three RVs. Two trees on the far side of it were tall enough for my antenna and, better yet, no one would be walking into them. We pulled into this lot parking on the grass at its edge so I would be out of the way of any RVs. Continue reading KO4WFP: The Final Fling at Grand-Pré National Historic Site→
If you followed my activation reports, you may (or may not) remember that I have just started pursuing POTA this year with the program gaining popularity in Europe and hence resulting in sufficient chasers for activations. However, the number of parks is not that high in Germany when compared to other countries. So the local POTA admins asked to submit proposals to fill the gaps across Germany.
Last Friday, I was browsing through the area I live in and thought about areas that would suit POTA. I stumbled upon Spielburg. The upper part of the SOTA summit Hohenstaufen, which I have visited and written a report about earlier this year, was once higher, but about two million years ago, slid down and formed the present-day Spielburg.
Not much of it remains today, as it was used as a quarry until the 1950s. Today it is a protected nature area of 31 ha / 77 acres consisting of a unique biotope with distinctive white Jura limestone cliffs. Although not large, it is popular among the locals for hiking, as a viewing point, and – as I have spotted during my visit – a place for romantic picnics.
So I suggested the area to the local POTA admins on a Friday afternoon. The following day, late in the evening, I received an email from local POTA admin Heinrich, DO1HFS, telling me that my proposal has been accepted as DA-0514. What a great response time – Vielen Dank, Heinrich.
I have been there a couple of times without a radio but with family and kids, but I did not pay attention to possible locations for an activation. I checked some online maps and imagery, but it did not help me much further. So I took the SOTAbeams Band Hopper III and the vertical JPC-12 with me to be prepared for larger and smaller possibilities. I also want to have at least 36 QSOs after 7pm local time to complete my POTA Late Shift Activator award. Therefore, I thought using FT8, which I have never used before during an activation, would make it easier to achieve such a number.
So the following Sunday, I started the activation. This one and all my previous activations were “backpack” activations, i.e., all my equipment fitted into a backpack, and I walked at least the last meters, usually over a mile, carrying all the stuff. In this case, my place for the activation was just 1 km / 0.6 mi away from parking, but I walked through the whole area to find the best place. Eventually, I found a wooden bench with a nice view and a meadow behind, where there was sufficient space for the SOTAbeams Bandhopper linked dipole for the 20, 30, and 40-meter bands.
QRP radios, product announcements, reviews, news and more. Low power amateur radio fun!
Please support QRPer by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Ads are what helps us stay online. All of our ads are ham radio related--no junk, we promise! Thank you!
The Dismal Swamp is a lovely place !
I set up the trusty ICOM-706 MkIIG at a picnic table on 20 meters CW, and soon had a nice pile up going. Someone spotted me on the POTA site and RBN. Soon, I was getting emails to my cell phone asking for contacts. Little did I know how rare Camden County was, especially on the 40 and 20 CW bands.
I wish I had had more time to explore Dismal Swamp State Park, including walking the 20 mile path along the Canal, but I wanted to go to the Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (K-0566) which was over an hour’s drive away, with the entrance across the border in Virginia.
