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.
Feeling confident after the Cape Breton activation, I decided to attempt two QRP POTA activations in one day. I already planned to activate Fort Anne National Historic Site (VE-4832) in the morning. My husband and son had a whale-watching trip scheduled for the afternoon giving me three hours to kill. What better way to pass the time than with POTA! (They did ask if I wanted to accompany them; however, there was no contest in choosing between being on a boat for three hours, whales or not, and an activation!) I chose to attempt activating Lake Midway Provincial Park (VE-0922), a fifteen-minute drive from their launching point.
The day prior it rained nearly all day. This was not typical summer weather for Nova Scotia. In fact, one of the Canadian airport security officers, while searching my backpack and ham equipment, apologized for the rainy weather we experienced during our visit. The forecast for Tuesday, July 4th, called for possible showers in the morning but clear weather for the afternoon.
Source: hamradiofornontechies.com
We arrived at Fort Anne around 9:45 AM. The earthen-walled fort was built to protect the harbor of Annapolis Royal. A museum exists in the renovated Officer’s Quarters on the site, though I did not have time to visit it.
There were no trees near the visitor center but I spied trees past an earthen embankment with an opening in it and headed in that direction. As I walked through the opening at the base of the embankment, an bowl-like area among the trees with picnic tables appeared. At the top of it’s far side was what I considered the ideal tree for my activation. I would set up on top of the bowl’s far side embankment wall and use that tree for my EFRW antenna.
Many thanks to Barry (KU3X) for sharing the following guest post originally posted on his website:
Product Review: PAC-12 Portable Multi Band Vertical Antenna
by Barry G. Kery, KU3X
I am always on the hunt for a better mouse trap. Dave, NB3R came across a great multi band vertical antenna for portable operating. It’s a, “ PAC-12 7-50MHz Shortwave Antenna “ found on AliExpress.com.
The PAC-12 antenna is designed to operate on any frequency from 6 meters down to 40 meters.
Numerous manufactures make multi band vertical antennas designed to be used for portable operating. Some have quality issues and others may have performance issues, or both? Any hunk of wire or aluminum will radiate if RF is applied to it, but how much will be radiated is the question.
When it comes to ground mounted vertical antennas, one major factor that effects performance is the ground radial field. The PAC-12 comes with a long ribbon cable that you will have to separate each wire and cut to a quarter wave length per band of operation. There are ten wires within the ribbon cable. The length of the ribbon cable is 18 feet. This is too short for 40 meters but perfect for 20 meters. I made four 35 foot long radials out of some wire I had laying around the shack. This will increase the performance on the 40 meter band as well as making a better match. Spread the radial wires out equally around the base of the antenna. Since the radials are not elevated, they do not have to be tuned but it does make for a better match.
The antenna comes with a short stake that can be driven into the ground for attaching the ground radial crimp on to and attaching the feed insulator.
The stake is strong enough to support the entire antenna, even on windy days. The feed insulator has an SO-239 for connecting your coax. The feed insulator must be attached to the ground stake correctly. Make sure the writing on the insulator is on top of the SO-239 and the black portion of the insulator is attached to the ground stake.
So what makes this antenna perform better than most other commercially made portable vertical antennas? Answer, “the mast!”
Most manufactures, not all, use a tapped base loading coil to make the antenna resonant on numerous bands. On a quarter wave antenna, the wire or aluminum closest to the feed point of the antenna is the current portion of the antenna and the current portion does the most radiating. Continue reading Barry reviews the PAC-12 portable antenna→
Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:
Green trees and blue sky in Allegheny National Forest, K-0619, makes a perfect backdrop for a POTA activation.
Activating Allegheny National Forest with Friends
by Brian (K3ES)
An Opportunity
I will confess. It has been a couple of weeks since I activated a park. With some much needed days of rain, and an otherwise busy schedule, things have conspired against me. So, when a bright, sunny day, without other pressing commitments came along, I jumped at the opportunity!
Mid-afternoon on Wednesday, July 5 was my time to head to the woods for a few hours. I decided to stay close to home to minimize travel time. In fact, a 10 minute walk up the road from my house gets me to a small piece of K-0619, Allegheny National Forest. I took my lightest kit, added a camping chair and water bottle as creature comforts, and slung it all over my shoulder for the trip to a favorite operating location.
Once there, I got out my throw line to get the antenna set up, but things did not quite work as planned. My toss sailed high, really high. So high, in fact, that the line was not long enough for the weight to return to the ground without taking the small storage bag for my arborist kit up in the air. Hmm… I tried some different fixes, including tying additional cordage to the storage bag and letting it rise into the air while the weight descended. Not sufficient.
Finally, I untied the tail end of the throw line from the storage bag (it normally stays tied, just in case the throw finds a branch that is a little high…), and let the weight drop. Then I had to coil the line up again for another throw. Fortunately, my second toss found a workable branch, and I got my antenna in the air. For this activation, I used a Packtenna 9:1 with a 71 ft radiating wire set up as an inverted V. Next, it was time to get my station set up, prepare my log, and start operating.
My operating station at K-0619, a clipboard with KX2, log book, pencil, and VK2IL pressure paddles balance on my knee.
Activation
The solar forecast predicted best propagation on higher bands, so I decided to start my 5 watt CW activation on 15m. After 10 minutes of calling CQ POTA, with neither a response, nor an RBN spot, I moved to 17m. Once again, nothing, so I moved to 30m, where the RBN picked up my call, but it still took more than 20 minutes to log 2 contacts.
When activating on Wednesday afternoons, I try to stay away from the 20 and 40m bands, because CW frequencies fill up quickly when the CWT sprint starts at 1900z, but with just over 20 minutes until before the CWT started, I decided to see if I could pick up enough contacts on 40m to validate the activation. The 40m band has always been good to me. Even with the solar forecast predicting disaster, it still proved to be productive. I had 12 additional contacts in the log by 1859z, giving me more than enough to validate the activation.
A bit of the view from my shack. Area deer came from my left and from behind. They did not hesitate to share their displeasure about finding me there.
While logging those contacts on 40m, which kept me focused and busy, I became the subject of some animated discussion among the local residents. I did not have time to do more than listen and glance, but I heard numerous snorts, and saw a few white tails raised in alarm. Several of the local deer were not pleased that I was intruding in their domain. Even so, I had a bit more time available, and decided to press on. Continue reading K3ES: Activating Allegheny National Forest with Friends→
The morning of Friday, June 30th, my family and I headed to Cape Breton Highlands National Park (VE-0013) which occupies 950 kilometers of Cape Breton Island. One-third of the Cabot Trail, a world-famous scenic highway, runs through the park. Talk about amazing scenery! The highway runs along a shoreline reminiscent of the rugged California coast, then moves upward and inland on top of the highlands, a wild landscape with scrubby firs and moose crossing signs, and then descends back toward the coastline with steep ravines and valleys off the side of the road.
We arrived at the Cheticamp park entrance a little before 11 AM. Looking around the information center parking lot, I spied a tree and nearby picnic table perfect for my activation. This arrangement would allow me to watch for people who might walk toward my antennas and provide the use of a table to which I was more accustomed.
I immediately set about picking out a branch (located in the upper part of the photo below) and pulled out my arborist line and weight. Though I know I am not, I am beginning to feel like a pro putting antennas up in trees. I snagged the branch for which I was aiming on my first try. Hooyah!
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