Category Archives: News

Matt’s Summer Vacation Mountain POTA

Many thanks to Matt (W6CSN) who shares the following post  from his blog at W6CSN.Blog:


Summer Vacation Mountain POTA

by Matt (W6CSN)

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

KO4WFP: Braving the Heat at Spring Creek Forest Preserve in Texas

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

Survey #3 Results: What QRP HF transceiver would you or do you choose for air travel?

This past week, I posted the third of several surveys on QRPer.com, this time asking:

“What QRP HF transceiver would you or do you choose for air travel?”

I turned off the survey at 6:30 EDT today, with a total of 475 responses.

Survey Results

Here’s a pie chart showing the top 18 results in the survey. To see detail, you will need to click on the image below (or click this link) to enlarge it in a new window:

The top choice was the Elecraft KX2 which accounted for 22.9% of the votes.

It’s funny: I had assumed the Icom IC-705 might take first place in this survey. Then I realized that I own both the KX2 and IC-705 and, this summer, I chose the KX2 each time I traveled. Indeed, I can’t think of a time in recent memory that I didn’t take the KX2 with me during travels.

The reason I picked the KX2 each time is because it’s such a comprehensive HF radio with a superb built-in ATU and battery pack. There’s no field situation I can throw at it that it can’t handle. In fact, if a site doesn’t allow any antennas on the ground, I can even pair it with my AX1 or AX2 tabletop antennas.

I see why so many of you picked it as your first choice.

Your second choice was the Icom IC-705 which accounted for 14.3% of the votes.

The IC-705 has one very cool feature for travel: you can charge it with a common Micro USB charger!

No need to take a separate power supply, battery pack, or custom charger. Simply bring a Micro USB cable and plug it into the hotel USB charger, your phone’s charger, or even a Lithium power pack. If you’re happy with 5 watts of output power, you really need no other battery, power supply, or charger.

Of course, the IC-705 is compact, sports the entire HF band, VHF, and UHF and is multimode. It can also receive FM and AM broadcasts along with weather radio, and the AIR band.

You can even do D-Star natively and allow the GPS in the IC-705 to find the closest repeaters and load them to memory.

The IC-705 is a very savvy travel transceiver!

Your third choice was the Yaesu FT-817/818 which accounted for 9.9% of the votes.

At first, I was a little surprised the FT-817/818 would gather more votes than, say, the Elecraft KX3, but then again it’s actually a very compact radio. I remember when I used to travel Europe for a living, I would tuck my FT-817 into my carry-on and I hardly noticed it was there.

It also ships with a NiMH battery pack, and you can also buy a much longer-life and faster-charging Li-Ion pack.

The FT-817/818 is a rugged radio. You don’t have to worry about it being harmed in a pack and it lays pretty flat as well so it’s easy to protect and pad among your clothes.

The Elecraft KX3 took forth place with 8.6% of the votes.

The KX3 is one of the highest-performance field radios ever made and it is incredibly portable.

I added the Side KX panels to my KX3 many years ago. With those installed and using the Lexan cover, it’s a very rugged radio. Simply toss it on your flight bag and you’re good to go!

The KX3 is also a very efficient radio, so you could easily power it with, say, a $25 Talentcell USB battery pack–one that TSA wouldn’t blink at.

I’ve traveled pretty extensively with my KX3 so I see why it ranks so high on the list. Like its newer sibling, the KX2, it has an amazing internal ATU. You can also load the KX3 with AA cells for short on-the-air sessions or longer listening sessions.

Fifth on this list of travel radios is the Xiegu X6100 which accounted for 6.1% of the votes.

No doubt, what makes the X6100 so appealing is that, like the KX2, it’s a proper shack-in-a-box. Indeed, I would also add the X5105 to this same list.

The X6100 contains a high-capacity rechargeable internal battery pack and an excellent ATU. It’s an all-in-one radio solution that’s actually quite rugged and could easily handle the bumps and jolts of air travel.

Notable mention…

There was another winner in this survey. It wasn’t any one model, but rather a whole class of HF transceivers: super compact portable transceivers. If lumped together as a category, these would have placed in the top five.

I’m talking about radios like the: Mountain Topper series, QCX-Mini, QMX, QDX, SW-3B, (tr)uSDX, TR-25, TR-35, and similar. These radios are so incredibly tiny that they can be packed away in a very compact pouch.

Indeed, I have a complete dedicated POTA/SOTA station built around my Venus SW-3B (see photo above). It’s all contained in a small BROG headrest pouch that I could easily toss in a travel bag.

These pint-sized radios aren’t general coverage radios like the top 5 listed above, and many are CW-only. Still: if your goal is to hit the field a bit during your vacation, they’re incredibly effective.

This radio class also represents some of the most efficient and affordable transceivers on the market.

Full Results…

If you would like to see the actual number of votes for each of the 48 radios in this survey, click the link below to load the rest of the page:

  • Elecraft KX2: 109 votes
  • Icom IC-705: 69 votes
  • Yaesu FT-817 or FT-818: 47 votes
  • Elecraft KX3: 41 votes
  • Xiegu X6100: 29 votes
  • lab599 Discovery TX-500: 27 votes
  • Xiegu G90: 20 votes
  • (tr)uSDX: 15 votes
  • Elecraft K2: 11 votes
  • Penntek TR-35: 10 votes
  • FX-4C, FX-4CR or FX-4L: 9 votes
  • Venus SW-3B: 9 votes
  • Elecraft KX1: 8 votes
  • Mountain Topper MTR-3 series: 8 votes
  • QRP Labs QCX-Mini: 8 votes
  • The following received less than 7 votes
    • Icom IC-703
    • Mountain Topper MTR-4 series
    • Xiegu X5105
    • QRP Labs QCX
    • QRP Labs QDX
    • uBITX transceiver (any model)
    • Xiegu G106
    • Elecraft K1
    • Pentek TR-45L
    • Hendricks PFR 3 series
    • YouKits or Ten-Tec Branded 2-4 band CW QRP Transceiver
    • Flex Radio Flex 1500
    • M0NKA mcHF
    • Penntek TR-25
    • Xiegu G1M
    • Hamqrpkits EGV+
    • Expert Electronics SunSDR2 QRP
    • Hermes-Lite 2
    • DSW-20
    • QRP-Labs QMX

More QRP radio surveys on the way!

What did you think about these results? Was your choice in the top five? Feel free to comment!

Also, stay tuned as I have quite a few QRP radio survey questions in the works.

I’ve tagged all of these reviews so they’re easy to browse, just bookmark or note: QRP Radio Survey Series.

Getting To Know You Series: The Icom IC-705 – My thoughts, notes, and a POTA activation!

I’m very fortunate in that over the past few years I’ve accumulated a number of QRP radios that I use in rotation when I do park and summit activations.

I’m often asked for advice on choosing radios, and as I’ve mentioned in the past, I feel like the decision is a very personal one–everything is based on an operator’s own particular preferences.

I’ve written formal reviews about most of the field radios in my collection over the years. In those reviews, I try to take a wide angle view of a radio–I try to see how it might appeal to a number of types of operators: field operators, DXers, summit activators, contesters, rag-chewers, casual operators, SWLs, travelers, outdoor adventurers, mobile operators, etc. I highlight the pros and cons, but I don’t focus on my own particular take because, again, my style of operating might not match that of readers. I try to present the full picture as clearly as I can and let the reader decide.

On that note, I thought it might be fun to take a radio out for a field activation and spend a bit of time explaining why I enjoy using that particular radio and why it’s a part of my permanent field radio collection. Instead of taking that wide-angle view of a radio like I do in magazine reviews, I share my own personal thoughts based on long-term experience.

Getting To Know You

Each new video in the Getting To Know You series will highlight one of the field radios from my field radio collection.  I’ll spend time in each video explaining what I personally appreciate about each radio, then we’ll do a park or summit activation with the radio.

I’ll release these every few weeks or so–when the notion strikes me.  They will not be on a regular schedule, but I hope to include each of my radios in this series over the the next year.

The Icom IC-705

The second radio in the Getting To Know You series is my Icom IC-705.

From the moment I first unboxed my Icom IC-705, I’ve been incredibly pleased with it. It’s a proper 21st century radio. Not only does it have a very wide frequency range, multimode operation, and an incredibly deep feature set, but it also sports proper wireless connectivity.

The IC-705 has become one of the most popular QRP rigs on the market despite it’s nearly $1,400 US price tag.

I originally purchased and reviewed the Icom IC-705 in 2020 (click here to read my review).

In the activation video (below) I’ll tell you about how I acquired my IC-705, why I think it’s so unique, and why I’ve no intention of ever selling it. Then, we’ll perform a POTA activation.

Keep in mind that my perspective will primarily focus on HF operating even though the IC-705 also sports multimode VHF and UHF.

South Mountains State Park (K-2753)

While driving back to the QTH on July 6, 2023, I stopped by the Clear Creek Access of South Mountains State Park–it was the perfect location to play radio on a hot and very humid day.

South Mountains’ only picnic table is located under the shade of a large oak tree. Continue reading Getting To Know You Series: The Icom IC-705 – My thoughts, notes, and a POTA activation!

Part 2 – Kite Operation: VO1DR Goes QRP Portable in Central Newfoundland via Float Plane

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 1 described the setting, history, geology, access, and outdoor/survival gear.

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 bag
Figure 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.

The Kite

A common kite style used for antennas is a sled kite.  Rigid sled designs maintain their flying shape with struts, while soft sled designs use a rigid air-filled tube (tapering Venturi tube) to maintain flying shape. Continue reading Part 2 – Kite Operation: VO1DR Goes QRP Portable in Central Newfoundland via Float Plane

Survey 3: What QRP HF transceiver would you choose for air travel?

Many of us are traveling this summer and with pandemic concerns lessening, we are taking to the air and going much further afield!

This summer, I’ve gotten a number of inquiries from readers asking about the “best” HF QRP radios for air travel.

While I have suggestions, in truth, these days the radio selection often comes down to availability. It might be difficult to order and receive your first choice radio prior to your travels unless you scope out the used market or are simply looking ahead to travels next year.

With air travel in mind, of course, transceiver size and weight become important factors especially if, like me, you’re a one-bag traveler.

In addition, being able to easily power the radio without a large/heavy external battery/power supply is also important.

This is why QRP radios are so ideal for air travel; they’re so much easier to stash in luggage compared with their 100 watt siblings.

Survey #3

The first and second surveys we posted were so much fun and insightful! As I mentioned in May, I’ve a number of surveys in store this year.

As with our previous, surveys, this one also also focuses specifically on HF QRP transceivers.

If you would like to participate, please use the Google Form below. If you don’t see the radio you would choose in this list, feel free to add it in the “Other” selection, but again, please do not list 100 watt radios in this particular survey that focuses on QRP HF transceivers.

While the survey form doesn’t allow for comments, this QRPer post does! Please consider sharing your thoughts about the radio you chose in the survey–this is a brilliant way to elaborate on your entire travel set-up. Being a radio, pack, and travel geek? I love this stuff!

Thank you!

Part 1 – Getting There: VO1DR Goes QRP Portable in Central Newfoundland via Float Plane

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 south
Figure 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-FAVG
Figure 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

Field Report: Testing the bhi Dual In-Line with the (tr)uSDX, making a big blunder, and P2P with Teri!

On March 30, 2022, I took my factory-assembled (tr)uSDX transceiver on a POTA activation at South Mountains State Park.

It was a “test flight” of sorts since I’d only had the (tr)uSDX for a few days and had not taken it to the field.

I wrote up an assessment from that initial POTA activation mainly to give other potential (tr)uSDX owners an idea of how well one of these super-affordable radios might perform.

Difficult to critique

It’s difficult to critique a 5 band HF radio that you can purchase as a kit for less than $100 and fully-assembled and tested for less than $150…shipped!

On the one hand, I think it’s one of the most amazing portable HF radio innovations of the past decade. It simply blows my mind that the developers (DL2MAN and PE1NNZ) could make this modest radio hardware do so very much. It’s truly a triumph of engineering and a fun little radio.

On the other hand, this isn’t a high-end radio, so we can’t expect performance like we’d see in an Elecraft, Icom, or Yaesu field radio, for example. I never expected this, in fact, but was very curious if the performance would be “good enough” for POTA or SOTA.  So many had asked me about buying a (tr)uSDX as their dedicated POTA radio.

I found using the (tr)uSDX for POTA was actually quite fun, and I certainly achieved my goal of activating a POTA park with it.

So yes, it’s good enough!

That said, I haven’t reached for the (tr)uSDX to do POTA or SOTA since last March because I prefer the performance characteristics of my other radios.

My biggest complaint, frankly, is that the audio fidelity is pretty poor. The noise floor of the (tr)uSDX is higher than most HF radios and audio amplification is very basic. I notice a lot of electronic noises (pulsing, etc.) in my unit. I find it a bit fatiguing to listen to for long sessions with my headphones. The internal speaker isn’t really a viable speaker for doing an activation–it’s more akin to an emergency speaker, if anything.

When plugged into an external amplified speaker, the audio is much improved. The pops and internal noises are still there, but it has better overall fidelity and the volume can be raised enough to hear weak signals (this can’t be easily done via the internal speaker).

It struck me that a DSP device might clean up the (tr)uSDX’s audio and noise floor a bit.

Enter the bhi Dual In-Line DSP filter

Sometime during the beginning of the pandemic, I reached out to bhi Noise Cancelling Products and asked if I could test one of their DSP units as a loaner. I’ve always felt that bhi manufactured the best DSP products in the amateur radio market.

At the time, I wanted one of my friends and contributors on the SWLing Post blog to test the bhi unit and see if it might help out a QRM situation that popped up at his QTH. I thought it would make for a great evaluation since I have little to no QRM at my home.

Graham, at bhi, kindly sent me a unit–the Dual In-Line Noise Eliminating Module–and as I prepared to forward it to my friend, his noise was no longer an issue. I can’t remember the details now, but there was no need to send it to him.

I notified Graham that I would like to test it myself, but that my plate was so full it would take time. What ended up happening, though, was I completely forgot about it due to a busy family life at the time.

I re-discovered the unit this year and spoke (apologized) to Graham at the 2023 Hamvention. Of course, he had no issue at all and was very forgiving. He’s a great fellow.

I thought pairing this bhi DSP unit to the (tr)uSDX would be a great way to, perhaps, cut down on the listening fatigue.

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site (K-6839)

On Wednesday, July 5, 2023, I had an opportunity to test the (tr)uSDX/bhi pairing at Fort Dobbs State Park. Continue reading Field Report: Testing the bhi Dual In-Line with the (tr)uSDX, making a big blunder, and P2P with Teri!

KO4WFP: A Return to Butter Bean Beach

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

Can a Field Day or contest contact count as a valid POTA contact?

Many thanks to @thogevoll who asked the following question following my field report and video from Field Day 2023:

Thomas, I’m still new to POTA and have not done an activation yet.

How does a Field Day contact from a park count as a POTA contact? Is it simply that you are operating from park? Do you have to send the park ID number? Or, is that actually not even required for POTA contacts?

These are great questions.

The short answer is, YES: almost any simplex contact you make as an activator counts as a POTA contact regardless of the exchange used.

I’ll try to break this down…

Contests, as a rule of thumb, have a defined exchange and the elements of that exchange must be logged with each contact. This often includes things like signal report, section, region, and/or serial number.

ARRL Field Day is no exception.

If you look at the Field Day video I posted, you’ll note N3CZ and I were logging our Field Day contacts on N3FJP’s Field Day version of ACLog. Two key components of the Field Day exchange are the section, and the category (1B, 2A, etc.). We were running 1B (one op, QRP, battery) NC (North Carolina).

Those elements must be logged in order to have a valid Field Day Contact.

POTA ≠ Contest

Parks On The Air, on the other hand, is not a contest. It’s simply an on-the-air activity that has no defined start and end time. You can activate or hunt a park any time of the day or night, any day of the year.

While there is a generally accepted convention for POTA exchanges (which varies based on country/region), there is no formal required exchange. The POTA activator guide is very clear about this.

True, we POTA activators in the US and Canada tend to exchange both the signal report and the state or province, but this isn’t done in most other countries in the world. It’s up to the activator if they send the park number.

Convention in voice modes is to send the park number, but it’s less common in CW unless a hunter asks for it or if you’re completing a Park-to-Park contact. That said, there’s nothing preventing you from sending the park number with each contact if you like.

For a POTA contact, you really only need to log the station/call, time, mode, and frequency. Those details are submitted with your logs that detail the park number, date, activator, etc. and then uploaded to the POTA database in an .ADI file.

Working contesters as an activator

If I happen to pick a crowded contest weekend to activate a park and don’t have a rig or antenna that can escape to the peace and quiet of the WARC bands (and, yes, POTA is very much allowed on the WARC bands) then I often hunt and work contest contacts. I especially do this if band conditions are rough and the contest activity is dense.

I prefer, of course, to run one frequency as a POTA activator in order to open the park to POTA hunters–that’s why I use the WARC bands on contest weekends–but in a pinch, I might work contesters in order to get the ten contacts needed to validate an activation.

Of course, I need to sort out the contest exchange and use that with each contact, but that’s not too difficult. Those random folks I log have no idea I’m activating a park.

I should also note that many contests (Field Day may be one of these) don’t allow self-spotting, so when Vlado and I worked as a Field Day station this year, we did not spot ourselves on the POTA network. We were actually making Field Day contacts first and foremost, with the side-benefit of activating a park at the same time.

In other words, we simply logged our Field Day contacts per FD requirements, then (with a bit of log tweaking) uploaded the log to both the ARRL and the POTA network.

In POTA, only the activator is required to submit their logs, not the hunter; they get credit via your uploaded activator logs.

POTA: Some QSO exceptions

To be clear (and redundant), any contact you make at a park–even when the other op isn’t a POTA participant–counts as a POTA contact, with a few side notes and exceptions:

  • Contacts via a land repeater are not allowed. I can’t hop on a local repeater and make/log valid POTA contacts. I can, however, hop on a local repeater and ask for someone to spot me or meet me on a simplex frequency for a contact.
  • Satellite repeaters are allowed. All satellite contacts are allowed.
  • Fully automated QSOs are prohibited. I can’t set up one of those fully-automated digital mode applications that will run unattended. As the POTA rules state: “Each contact must include direct action by both operators making the contact.

I believe every POTA activator should read through both the POTA rules and Activator Guide prior to your first activation.

Summary

We’re entering the heaviest part of the contest season at present. If you arrive at a park on the weekend and discover that the bands are absolutely chock-full of contest stations–and you can’t find a free frequency to do your activation–feel free to work and log contest stations!

Otherwise, do what many of us do and either escape to the WARC bands or move closer to the band edges (being careful not to go too far) where you’ll typically find more free space.

Do you combine Field Day, contests, and special events with POTA? Feel free to comment with your approach!