Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
A Difficult But Productive Learning Experience at the Halifax Citadel (VE-4841)
by Teri (KO4WFP)
Life is full of interesting experiences and my attempted activation at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (VE-4841) proved to be one of them.
Source: Halifax Military Heritage
For those of you unfamiliar, my family and I planned a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia this summer. I decided while there, I would activate six or seven parks. I had never attempted such a feat in a foreign country under the limitations of what I could carry on a flight and using a rental car with which I would be unfamiliar. The previous month and a half, I acquired equipment and skills to (at least in theory) adequately prepare for this undertaking.
The morning of Wednesday, June 28th, we headed to the Citadel.
We arrived in Canada the previous day much later than the anticipated arrival time so there was no time to check out the site beforehand. Before my trip, I queried a Canadian op who had activated the site and his response was helpful though it did give me pause since I would not have as hefty a vertical as he uses for his activations.
The weather forecast was not promising. The previous night, fog pervaded the drive from the airport to our airbnb. It felt like we had indeed landed in a foreign land. Gone were the live oaks and Spanish moss replaced with firs and what looked like aspens or birch trees. The day’s forecast called for more of the same – fog with a chance of showers later in the day.
My husband and son decided to check out the fortifications while I did my activation. I dropped them off at the main gate and headed to a spot on the side closer to the bay which I hoped would be a better spot for my signals to reach into the United States.
I decided to start with the AX1 on 20 meters, figuring I’d reach more ops on that band and knock out the activation in short order. Also, the counterpoise for 20 meters is shorter than the one for 40 meters and I didn’t have much room to play with at the site.
Kreuzschnabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
by Thomas (DM1TBE)
As you probably know, SOTA, unlike POTA, provides little to no motivation to activate a place more than once during a calendar year. However, I still activate nearby summits multiple times because I enjoy the location and the activity, even though the activations, or better the points are greyed out.
Therefore, as the calendar year progresses, the travel time to reach a SOTA mountain keeps increasing. When the travel time exceeds one hour one-way, I typically try to schedule two activations on the same day. This is what I did last weekend.
SUMMIT IPF
My first summit was called Ipf (DM/BW-131). The Ipf is a treeless free standing mountain with an elevation of 668 metres / 2,192 ft. At its peak, there is a prehistoric hill fort.
Reconstruction by Geak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The flattened top of about 180 m / 590 ft shows evidence of settlement and fortification spanning almost a thousand years from 1200 BC – 300 BC. During its existence, the “princely seat” served as an important regional center of power and aristocratic residence with trade connections to Greece and Italy.
The oval summit plateau was once surrounded by a perimeter wall, which supported a wooden-reinforced wall about 5 m / 16ft wide. There is an information center at the foot of the mountain, where a part of the wall has been reconstructed.
On the flat eastern side, there is an additional intermediate wall trench that extends about 150 m / 490 ft from the main wall. Approximately 60 m / 197 ft to the east, a third fortified line features a wooden-reinforced stone wall. Below the summit plateau by 50-60 m / 164-197 ft, a fourth wall surrounds the south, east, and north sides, shielded by steep slopes on the west. This wall, along with a trench, extends northward to the mountain’s base, safeguarding three preserved well shafts. The ancient castle entrance led from the southeast to the elevated plateau. The old path remains the easiest route, providing scenic views of the trench system. Continue reading The Beauty and the Boring: Two SOTA Summits in Southern Germany→
On the morning of Wednesday, June 14, 2023, I left the QTH with a goal in mind: fit in a POTA activation before taking my sweet mom to an appointment that afternoon. As I’ve mentioned in the past, there are about four park options that are easy detours off the 1.5 hour drive to my parents’ home, so it was very much doable.
I decided to go to Tuttle (K-4861) since it would be very close to one of my favorite lunch spots (Food Matters in Morganton). I figured I could fit in an activation, then grab lunch after, and still make the appointment with time to spare.
In almost every case, this is how I do POTA these days: it’s all about fitting in activations with weekly travels and errands. It’s rare that I simply plot out an activation or two the day before. More often than not, I schedule my activation a max of 30 minutes before I arrive at the park.
I arrived at Tuttle around 11:30 AM and had the park to myself. There were no other guests there, just park rangers. And lots of birds.
I speak about this at length in my video below, but I’ve been a customer of ABR Industries for well over a decade now. ABR is a USA supplier of high quality cable, cable assemblies, and other cable components. I’m a huge fan. In fact, I wrote about them separately on the SWLing Post a couple years ago.
Full disclosure: ABR Industries sent me this cable assembly (and one other I’ll feature in a future report) free of charge. They are not a sponsor (although I’d love for them to be) and I’ve no other relationship with them other than being a customer.
I go into greater detail in my video, but I learned a while back just how important it is to use high-quality cable assemblies, adapters, and connectors in the field and at the QTH.
As a field operator, I know my cable assemblies are essentially consumables. With all of the winding, deployments, packing, being outdoors, rough handling, etc. they will eventually fail. (In fact, Alan made a point of this in his latest field report when a mishap in the field broke a good assembly.)
High quality cable assemblies will not only provide better longevity and better durability, but also less loss and overall higher performance. It’s worth the cost because when I hike to a summit, the last think I want to discover is that my cable assembly has failed.
Note that I also build my own cable assemblies (indeed, I feel like all radio ops should learn this simple skill) and try to use quality components and best practices to make the best assemblies I can.
Take-away is: don’t skimp on your cable assemblies. I no longer buy my cable assemblies from random suppliers on eBay or Amazon, I buy them from companies that build and test their assemblies within our hobby; companies like PackTenna, Tufteln, Messi & Paoloni, and ABR Industries.
Here ends my PSA…let’s get on with the activation!
Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the first of a three-part field report series outlining his 2023 Hamvention rove with Peter (K1PCN). Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.
Part 3: Dayton Hamvention Trip QRP POTA Rove
By Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH
The Bonus State
Welcome to part three of a three-part POTA rove story where Peter, K1PCN and I decided to activate six state parks for our Parks on the Air Activated States Award on the drive to the Dayton Hamvention.
In installments one and two we activated Delaware, Maryland, West Virgina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. I thought we had exhausted all our state activating possibilities for this trip, until…Peter said, “you know, Kentucky is not that far away. And, by the way, there is a park down there that has never been activated digitally…”
Really? I’m in.
We decided that on day two of the Hamvention, we would leave in the afternoon and make our way to Kentucky, which was just over an hour away. While we were standing on the line to get into the Hamvention on Saturday morning, one of the people near us mentioned that the Voice of America Museum was open until 9pm that night and he was considering going.
I stopped at the VOA booth in the Hamvention and picked up a brochure and on our way to Kentucky, Peter suggested that maybe on the way back, we stop in.
Kentucky
Our best bet for a Kentucky POTA activation, which was recommended by a fellow digital activator at the South West Ohio DX association dinner we attended the night before, was Big Bone Lick State Historic Site (K-3779). According to the Internet, it was named Big Bone Lick because of the “mammoth artifacts that were found and because of the salt springs that animals drank.” I found that it was impossible to tell anyone the name of the park without a smirk or chuckle in return.
When we arrived in Kentucky, we drove around Big Bone Lick park looking for a place to activate. Apparently, there are buffalo at the park…however, we did not activate near the buffalo. We found an unused picnic area and split up.
Literally about five minutes after I set up and got on the air, a group of moms with five-year-olds celebrating one of their birthday’s showed up. One of the mom’s apologized and explained that I had found her secret place in the park…but by then, I had almost completed my activation and was ready to break down.
I don’t mind it when people come up and ask about what I am doing, I’m always happy to explain ham radio to anyone who’s curious. Activating a park surrounded by a group of five-year-olds was a new experience that I hope to never repeat. Here is a photo of my setup at Big Bone Lick.
Given that it was later in the day by the time we arrived, Peter chose 40 meters, and I took 20 meters. 22 QSO’s later, here’s my coverage using the Buddipole with the 17’ MFJ whip and the Elecraft KX3 at 10 watts.
Many thanks to Alan (W2AEW) who shares the following guest post:
Jersey Shore Vacation POTA-Fest
by Alan (W2AEW)
One of our favorite vacation spots is Long Beach Island (LBI), NJ. It’s not hard to imagine since my XYL and I are both born & raised in NJ near the shore. Our late-spring / early-summer vacation was an extended family affair with a few celebrations and long-distance relatives coming to visit the beach rental house on this 18 mile barrier island off the southern coast of New Jersey.
The vacation rental house we stayed in is in the town of Surf City. It is situated on the bay side of the island, overlooking Manahawkin Bay.
My first POTA activation was a simple walk across the street to one of the public benches along the bay shore. This qualifies as public area within the Trail (K-6544).
The antenna is the SuperAntenna MP1 equipped with a 10’ stainless telescoping whip on top from MFJ. I used a deep-reach locking clamp to fasten the antenna to the aluminum bulkhead. The salt-water made a nice counterpoise. The rest of the setup was resting on the park bench with me. I only had a limited time to operate, but conditions were pretty favorable and I logged 11 QSOs in 20 minutes on 20m CW running 5W.
The next day, I had another short window to play POTA and planned a short trip to the Edwin Forsythe WMA. Just as I was heading out of the door, I received a phone call from my nephew that was out running. He had come across a mother duck and some ducklings that were hanging out near a storm drain. It turns out that some of the ducklings had fallen through the grate. We tried to lift the grate ourselves and couldn’t. We called the local police and they arrived a few minutes later. They called the water department. Together, we were able to lift the grate, and with 30-40 minutes of coaxing, were able to rescue the trapped duckings from the storm drain and reunite them with the mother. Needless to say, I didn’t get to the park for the activation.
I was able to finally head out to Cedar Bonnet Island, which is a small island that sits between LBI and the mainland. This island is part of the Edwin Forsythe WMA, and also lies within the boundaries of the NJ Pinelands Preserve and the NJ Coastal Trail – making it a 3-fer! Continue reading Guest Post: Alan’s Jersey Shore Vacation POTA-Fest→
Since I was first licensed in 1997, Field Day has been the on-the-air event I’ve always looked forward to more than any other.
I love the combination of playing radio outdoors, experimenting with antennas, hanging with fellow hams, and inviting the public to experience the world of amateur radio.
I’ve participated in quite a wide variety of Field Day events over the years. A few times, I’ve spent the entire event with one club playing radio for the full 24 hour period of time and only getting a couple hours of sleep. It’s exhausting, but loads of fun!
That’s the great thing about amateur radio: no matter where you go in the world, you have a built-in local community of friends.
Many years, I’ve also combined Field Day and POTA (also NPOTA in 2016) with my good friend Vlado (N3CZ). We typically find a nice park to play radio, make some food (Vlado is the grill-master extraordinaire), and hang out for a few hours, many times with our families and other ham friends. Our goal is mostly to have fun, make contacts, and be ready to answer questions when a crowd gathers.
My buddy Vlado (N3CZ) draws a crowd in 2016,
Field Day 2023
On Saturday morning (June 24, 2023), Vlado and I met up around 12:30 at Vlado’s QTH and I placed my gear in his car.
The plan was to hit a park and do a POTA activation–albeit just running Field Day with my callsign–then go to the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Club‘s Field Day site for dinner and operating with their club call (W4YK).
Holmes Educational State Forest (K-4856)
We made our way to Holmes Educational State Forest (K-4856). It was a logical choice since it wasn’t too far from the BRARC Field Day site.
I had hoped the covered picnic shelter at Holmes would be unoccupied, but it was very much the opposite. I think there must have been three birthday parties in that thing!
Knowing rain showers are all around, I packed my ENO hammock rainfly and, in fact, we chose our picnic site based on tree spacing to hang the rainfly over the picnic table.
Vlado (N3CZ) warming up his IC-703 Plus
We put up the rain fly first and it’s a good thing we did because showers moved in immediately. Fortunately, the fly worked a charm and we both–and more importantly, our radios–stayed bone dry.
Since this was primarily a Field Day effort, I didn’t schedule the activation or do any spotting. No one who worked us knew that it was also a park activation.
We ran as a 1B Battery station, thus our maximum output power was five watts. (Of course we were only going to do this QRP!)
Vlado and I both operated, but he made the bulk of the contacts. While one of us worked stations, the other logged.
In the end, we logged 45 contacts–all but one were CW.
Vlado really enjoyed using his IC-703 Plus. He built a small go kit around it some time ago, but this was actually the first opportunity he’d had to use it in the field.
I also packed the IC-705 and made quite a few contacts with it including our one SSB contact!
Around 4:30 PM local, we packed up and headed to the Blue Ridge ARC FD site at one of the members’ QTH.
Holmes Video
I made a short video at Holmes Educational State Forest–not a typical activation video, just a quick visit with us:
We arrived at the BRARC site around 5:00 PM. Typically, the Blue Ridge Club sets up in very public ares–primarily the middle of some of the larger area parks.
This time, however, there was a permitting conflict that forced the club to find another space. Fortunately, two of the club members offered up their home which wasn’t in a public spot, obviously, but in every other respect was ideal.
We arrived and met with several friends I hadn’t seen in ages.
Vlado immediately hopped on KC5F’s Icom IC-7610 (the dedicated CW station) and gave Steve a break at the key.
I then took over after Vlado’s run and added a few more contacts to the W4YK logs.
I then moved to the SSB station and added about ten contacts to their logs. That particular station was the club’s Icom IC-718 and if I’m being honest, it’s not the best HF radio for crowded band conditions. It’s an overall good radio, but when the RF is dense (as it is on Field Day) its front end sort of falls apart. The difference between the IC-718 and IC-7610 was striking. The ‘7610 is a contest grade radio and it handles FD conditions with grace.
The barbecue at the BRARC Field Day was amazing. We appreciate good BBQ here in North Carolina. Don’t get me started about that potato salad–it was spectacular!
We left he BRARC meeting around 8:30 PM and on the way home decided to pop by the WCARS Field Day site at a Fire Fighters’ Union Camp Ground. This wasn’t a terribly public place for Field Day, but the grounds were ideal for setting up stations. A number of WCARS members belong to the Fire Fighters’ Union.
We spoke with a few WCARS members/friends we hadn’t seen in some time, then headed home.
In the end, I felt like we’d done a little Field Day tour that Saturday!
It was great hopping on the air, but even better seeing so many friends we hadn’t seen in such a long time.
How was your Field Day?
I’d love to hear what you did for Field Day! Please share your experience with us in the comments section!
Also, keep in mind that Saturday July 1, 2023 (tomorrow!) is the RAC Canada Day Contest! You can find out more about this event on the RAC website.
Thank you
Thank you for joining Vlado and me for a few minutes on Field Day!
Also,I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon and the Coffee Fund. While certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.
Many thanks to Simone (IU3QEZ) who shares the following guest post:
An enjoyable weekend
by Simone (IU3QEZ)
I’m part of a Club that promotes QRP activities in the mountains (Mountain QRP Club), in a minimalistic way – small power, small battery, small radio, simple DIY antennas and a lot of friendship.
So what’s better than a full outdoor weekend? Easy peasy, 10 friends together in the Italian alps – Monte Grappa, 1775 meters elevation.
Cars were well packed with QRP gear, tents and sleeping bags. Our place of choice was the nearby area with a mountain hut. We asked for permission to place our tents nearby so even those who are not used to sleeping in tents could participate.
Before starting radio operations we had breakfast. Local salami, cheese and, why not, a sip of good wine.
You can see here that Riccardo (IU3GKJ) is ready and strengthened from a good breakfast! It’s radio time.
We started with the activation of I-1484 “Massiccio del Grappa”.
To avoid interfering with one another we spread out along the radio spectrum: from HF to VHF/UHF, magic band included, each of us managed to get contacts on almost every band. Almost everybody was close to getting the 10 QSOs on 10 different bands required by POTA N1CC in just one day. Continue reading Guest Post: A most enjoyable weekend of SOTA and POTA in the Italian Alps!→
Many thanks to Matt (W6CSN) who shares the following post from his blog at W6CSN.Blog:
It Was Bound To Happen…
by Matt (W6CSN)
You’d be safe to guess that Mt. Davidson would have been my first SOTA activation seeing as it’s the closest SOTA summit to my home QTH. However, it actually took me a little while to get around to heading up W6/NC-423.
The trail begins near the corner of Dalewood and Lansdale.
Today was the day! I dropped my hiking buddy off at work at 8 AM then drove up Market Street, over Portola Drive and wound my way around Mt. Davidson, finding easy parking on Dalewood Way near Lansdale Ave.
The easy trail up Mt. Davidson.
From the trailhead near the bus stop, it a short and easy hike up to the activation zone. On this route you reach the east end of the summit, opposite the large cross, which is a well known landmark.
Except for the occasional exercise enthusiast, I had the place to myself this morning. Not wanting to lug the fiberglass mast up the hill, I deployed the Gabil Radio tripod and loading coil, using a 3 meter collapsible whip antenna. This is an easy setup and not too much of a compromise on 20 meters.
While I can do a lot of back and forth the get the loading coil set just right for a good match, I find it easier just to get the coil close enough and touch it up with a tuner for a low SWR reading.
I sent a spot via Sotamāt and started calling CQ SOTA on 14.058 using the QCX-Mini. My first call was from JG0AWE from Nagano City, Japan. This was followed quickly by several more stateside calls and I was able to gather the four QSOs needed within a span of five minutes.
QCX-Mini on 20 meters.
I continued working stations and chasing some Summit-to-Summit contacts for another half hour. It was at that point I noticed that I failed to throw the switch to the “Operate” position on the ZM-2 tuner. This whole time I had been operating in “Tune” mode with the 50 ohm absorptive bridge in circuit! It was almost like using a dummy load for an antenna!
Oops! I left the ZM-2 in the “tune” position!
Later, at home, I measured this tuner configuration with this radio using an actual 50 ohm load instead of an antenna and found that I was most likely operating with an effective power to the antenna of only 300 milliwatts!
Despite this extremely low power I was able, using CW, to complete the activation with no difficulty. This is a testament to the effectiveness of the CW mode, and not so much this operators skill.
Sutro Tower and Twin Peaks to the North.
After logging 10 contacts, I called it quits, packed up the station and headed back down for some breakfast. Next time I’ll try to remember to set the switch correctly after tuning up, but I make no promises. I’m guessing pretty much everybody that has a ZM-2 has at one point or other forgot to switch into “operate” mode, It was bound to happen.
Somedays, I just need to stretch my legs with a good hike and Tuesday (June 6, 2023) was one of those days!
I had the afternoon wide open to do a POTA activation or two and since I was visiting my folks in Catawba County, I thought about hitting Fort Dobbs State Park and Lake Norman State Park. It would make for a fun two-park rove and would be very doable that afternoon.
Then it hit me that what I really wanted to do that afternoon was to take a nice, long, leisurely hike–fitting in both parks wouldn’t allow enough time for a proper hike.Thus, I ditched the idea of hitting both parks and chose to activate only Lake Norman because it has an amazing six mile “Lakeshore” loop trail that I love.
I arrived at the park a little after noon, parked at the spot where I planned to do my activation later, then walked to the trailhead and started my hike.
It was a gorgeous day–fairly hot and humid (we’re talking June in the Piedmont of NC) but still perfect for a hike.
The trail follows the winding lake shore and is a very easy hike. I’m used to taking more mountainous trails, so to hike along a lakeshore is just pure fun.
I hiked at a decent clip and by the time I made it back to my car, I was pretty darn sweaty. The humidity made sure of that!
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
The Final Countdown and an Innovative Solution for My Nova Scotia Trip
by Teri (KO4WFP)
As I finalize preparations for my trip to Nova Scotia, during which I plan to activate six or seven parks, I ask myself “How the heck did I get here?” Those of you who read my first field report in this series know that Thomas Witherspoon’s decision to activate parks in Canada last year was my motivation. I admit it is gutsy of a relatively new op to believe I can undertake such a venture.
The necessity of traveling to Nova Scotia by plane drove the decision of what equipment to take. QRP became the name of the game, a great option for a CW op. I purchased the Elecraft KX2, a rig with a great reputation. Once it arrived in early May, I spent the next month and a half acquiring the necessary accessories and skills for this adventure. The final step before I leave is ensuring I have what I need and the room for it. Given others might want to undertake a similar venture, I will share what equipment I have chosen to take and how I am packing it.
I know most people prefer a roll-on suitcase, but after a trip to New York City last summer, I had enough of schlepping wheeled suitcases up and down the many flights of stairs we traversed. Upon my return to Savannah, I immediately purchased an Osprey Fairview 55 pack. The Fairview pack can be carried as a suitcase by a handle on its side or as a backpack (my preference). As for its size, it meets airline carry-on dimension requirements for domestic flights and has a few points to attach items you might carry if actually using it for hiking. And, best of all, it is made for YLs!
Included with and attached to the front of the pack is a smaller backpack that can be used as a daypack. I figured this would be perfect for most of my ham equipment and proceeded to find a way to fit everything in it. The larger Fairview pack would serve as my carry-on and the smaller daypack as my personal item for the flight.
As you can see, the daypack has a fair amount of room. In the main compartment I have the gorillapod tripod for mounting the AX1 on top of the rental car or a picnic table, the carrying case for Craig, my KX2, and his accompanying items, and two Tom Bihn travel bins. There are two additional compartments inside the daypack – a mesh, zippered pouch and a slot for a laptop or iPad.
When I first began CW POTA activations, I used a notepad to track contacts. However, to save time, I switched to a refurbished laptop with N3FJP loaded to log contacts in real-time. Juggling it and the key didn’t prove as difficult as I originally thought. Also in the laptop slot are documents I don’t want bent like my license (not pictured), band plan, UTC conversion chart, and call sign prefixes for European countries. I am also taking a small steno notepad as a backup for logging contacts as well as making notes for the trip reports I’ll write afterwards.
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