Category Archives: Portable

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

The POTA Babe Goes Back in Time

9 Comments

by Teri (KO4WFP)

After a fun POTA for K2D the previous week, it was time to resume the pursuit of my 2024 goal – 60 new valid POTA activations. Friday, August 30th, I headed to Fort McAllister State Park (US-2175). Though I have lived in Savannah most of my life, I’ve never visited this park in nearby Richmond Hill.

The park is located at Genesis Point, a bluff on the Ogeechee River. An earthen fort was build on the bluff to protect the plantations along the Ogeechee River and the Savannah, Albany, and Gulf railroad bridge. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, it is the best preserved earthwork fortifications of the Confederacy. The fort repelled seven Union naval attacks between 1862 and 1863 but was finally captured by General Sherman from the landward side during his March to the Sea campaign.

After being captured, the fort became a prison for Confederate soldiers captured on the upper Georgia coast. It fell into disrepair until purchased by Henry Ford (yes, that Henry Ford) in the 1930s and restoration began on the site. Later the fortifications were restored to their 1863 appearance.

A model of the fort as to how it looked in 1863

I arrived at the park around 8:30 AM without Daisy. Though she loves going with me, the heat and humidity were simply too high for her comfort and I wanted to tour the museum at the site. (Often dogs are not allowed inside buildings at parks.)

park map – source: GA DNR

If you visit the park, please take the time to walk through the museum. It is well done, looking at the history of the site all the way back to the Guale Indians who originally occupied this land. There is also a room devoted to ironclads. (After entering the park, there is an outside exhibit for the machinery that was in the CSS Nashville, a ship who was sunk on the Ogeechee River by the Union ironclad Montauk.)

ironclad room at the museum

After walking through the museum, you head outside to the greenway leading to the fort. There is a signal tower like one that would have been constructed after the capture of Fort McAllister, non-commissioned officer huts, and a reproduction of a barracks building that previously occupied the site.

signal tower reproduction
NCO huts
inside of a NCO hut

Then you come to the fort. Who doesn’t love a fort? Though this one is simple, you could get turned around in it fairly easily. The inside is accessed via a bridge crossing a moat with palisades in it. I found the central bombproof shelter interesting though I certainly wouldn’t want to shelter in it. Just outside it, I discovered a deer eating breakfast.

view of the fort
palisades in the moat – ouch!
inside the fort
entrance to central bombproof

I couldn’t have asked for a better day for viewing the Ogeechee River. Wow! A bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds reflecting in the river below and hardly a ripple on the surface. Views like this is one of the reasons I love living in coastal Georgia.

the Ogeechee River – What is not to love about a view like this?!

I would have enjoyed setting up on top of the fortifications like I did at Fort Anne in Nova Scotia. However, there wasn’t as much room here and setting up the EFRW here might not be appreciated.

path on top of fortification looking down to live oak trees by marsh

I looked below and saw several oak trees near the riverbank. Though there was a gravel path, it was wider than the path on top of the fort. Anyone walking by would have plenty of room to avoid my antenna. Plus the trees would shade me from the summer sun.

my potential QTH from a ground view

After several tries, I snagged a live oak branch and had the Tufteln EFRW installed. I set up my Helinox chair, settled my equipment on my Tufteln kneeboard, and got to business.

view from my Helinox chair
a squareback marsh crab visiting

I started with 40 meters, giving ops close to home a crack at me; but the only op who contacted me was Lou N8LEM, a nice op in Ohio from one of my CW Innovations classes. I switched to 20 meters and that band proved to be the heavy lifter of the day – 31 CW QSOs over the course of an hour and a half, including two park-to-parks: Carson W8VAB at US-1828 in West Virginia and the Tortolita Radio Club KT7RC at US-4571 in Arizona.

QSO Map Fort McAllister State Park 8-24-2024 source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/

By noon, it was time to call QRT. The sun was gradually encroaching on my shady locale and I had sweated enough for one day.

my setup

I had no idea this park was such a gem! The fort is accessed only by paying a fee or purchasing a Georgia State Park historic site annual pass. (There are picnic grounds accessible with a state park pass or $5 fee outside the museum and fort area.)  As I intend to revisit the site as well as other historic sites over the course of this next year, I went ahead and purchased a pass.

picnic grounds outside museum

For those interested, you may access my YouTube video for this activation via the following link: https://youtu.be/IhXsd87fy6k

My valid activation here gave me #38 of the 60 parks I need for my 2024 goal. I have four months to get the remaining activations I need. Where will I show up next? Stay tuned…

Equipment Used

[Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.]

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel, Videos

Testing My C6 Rooftop Tent During an Overnight POTA Camping Trip!

13 Comments

Friday, August 23, 2024, was packed with activities, but I was looking forward to the evening to wind down and relax.

That morning and afternoon, my wife and I ran numerous errands around town. I played chauffeur to my daughters, taking them to their volunteer jobs and Shakespeare classes.

The day wrapped up around 5:00 PM when I returned to the QTH, dropped off one set of car keys, and grabbed the other!

I had pre-packed the Subaru for a trip to the Lake Norman State Park campground!

Overnight camping trip

I may have mentioned in previous posts—and I know I certainly have on the Ham Radio Workbench podcast—that I purchased a rooftop tent system last year for my Subaru.

I had hoped that my maiden voyage in it would be the 2023 W4G SOTA campout in North Georgia, but the actual tent platform didn’t ship until a couple of months after the campout.

2024 has been a crazy year—and the summer, especially, has been hot and humid—so I haven’t gone camping even once so far. This is very much not the norm, but there you go.

This summer, I’d been waiting for a little relief from the heat to at least fit in an overnight trip and give the rooftop tent a good shake-out before the fall and winter camping trips I have planned. In mid-August, that relief arrived as a front moved into the area, bringing cooler temperatures and lower humidity.

I planned to spend Saturday with my father in Hickory, NC, so I decided that a trip to Lake Norman State Park Campground for Friday night was in order! I made a reservation a couple of days prior to secure a nice, level site.

Lake Norman State Park (US-2740)

I arrived on site and checked in around 18:45 local time (22:45 UTC).

Part of me considered making POTA a priority to fit in an activation during the August 23 UTC day, but the primary goal of this camping trip was to see how long it would take to deploy my C6 tent.

I didn’t want to do this in the dark and, frankly, I was looking forward to making an evening meal before hitting the airwaves.

The C6 Rev Tent

Since elementary school, I’ve always loved camping and over the years have owned a variety of tents—most of which were on the affordable end of the scale.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve moved away from sleeping on the ground. In the past few years, I’ve used either a full-size cot in our family tent or a backpackable cot for my two-person tent. I find I sleep much better when off the ground.

I always thought a rooftop tent would make impromptu camping trips much easier, but such tents are often insanely expensive. Plus, some weigh over 100 or 200 lbs, which is why some of my friends who have them never remove them from their vehicles—it’s just too much of a hassle.

I discovered the Rev Tent by C6 Outdoors a couple years ago. Although still pricey (by my standards), it was at least half the price of other quality rooftop tent options.

Last year, my wife and daughters encouraged me to order one as a birthday gift from them. I bought the tent portion of the setup during a sale and got it for about 20% off. The platform (that attaches to my Subaru’s roof bars) wasn’t in stock because C6 was redesigning it and it wasn’t available yet.

In November, they started shipping the new platforms and offered those of us who had already purchased the tent an excellent discount for being patient.

While the Rev tent requires more time to set up compared to clamshell rooftop tents, it offers a level of flexibility they don’t. The tent portion of the system weighs only 20 lbs and is designed to be completely self-supporting. You can use it on the roof rack, put it in the bed of a truck, or set it up on the ground like a normal tent.

The Rev tent has thick but lightweight foam padding in the floor, acting as a permanent mattress. It’s super comfortable—no need for additional padding.

Deploying the Rev tent at Lake Norman involved detaching it and removing it from the roof rack, unzipping and setting up the tent on the ground, opening the tent platform, then placing the tent back on top and attaching it at the four corners.

I timed myself, and the whole process on my first attempt took 15 minutes from start to finish. The part that takes the most time is simply attaching and detaching the tent via the four bolts. I’m confident I can cut this time nearly in half with a bit of practice.

I plan to do a full review of the Rev tent in a future video, as there aren’t many reviews out there. This tent isn’t for everyone, but I like it. I’ll want a few more camping trips under my belt before considering making a review, though!

Fireside POTA

After dinner, I started a fire and set up my MM0OPX 40-meter end-fed half-wave.

I then grabbed my KX2 and, using my Tufteln/N0RNM kneeboard, sat comfortably as I prepared to hit the air.

Gear

Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

On The Air

I’ll admit, it was incredibly comfortable sitting back and playing POTA by the campfire.

I engaged the KX2’s internal ATU, then used it to find a match on 80 meters. I believe it achieved a 1:1 SWR.

I started calling CQ, and the contacts began rolling in at a relaxed pace. Continue reading Testing My C6 Rooftop Tent During an Overnight POTA Camping Trip! →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Pedestrian Mobile, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

24 Hours in San Francisco: Three POTAs in One Activation!

9 Comments

Many thanks to Micah (N4MJL) who shares the following guest post:

Fort Point (3-Fer POTA activation) San Francisco 1 June 2024

by Micah (N4MJL)

What do you do with 24 hours off in San Francisco? Well, as a card carrying FCC certified nerd, I hit the streets and headed off to Fort Point with my brand new Elecraft KH1 for an afternoon of sightseeing and history.

Fort Point is the only brick fort on the west coast of the United States. Construction on the fort was from 1853-1861. Shortly after completion of Fort Point, the Civil War began. By the end of the Civil War, advances in military technology had rendered the fort less effective.

Cannons were finally removed from the fort in the 1890s. Brick fortifications were simply no match for rifled cannons and iron clad war ships. In the 1930s, the fort was used as a command center, cafeteria, and barracks for the engineers building the Golden Gate bridge.

Leading up to WWII, Fort Point would continue to play a key roll in San Francisco harbor defenses. Durring WWII fort point was a control center for the submarine net across the harbor. In the 1970s Fort Point would finally be officially categorized as a Notional Historical Site (POTA US-0819).

ATTENTION: Full disclosure here!

The sexy photo (above) with my KH1 on the ramparts of the fort, with the American Flag and Golden Gate Bridge in the background was a staged photo.

Yes, I’m sorry, not a single QSO was made from that position. It was simply too loud, too cold, and too distracting to operate from that position. Best of luck to anyone attempting to operating from there.

The vehicle traffic noise, venture affect off the wind, and the constant flow of tourists made it a very difficult spot. Instead I operated on a bench next to the bathrooms outside the walls of the fort but well within the confines of the Historical Park site. The single brick column next to the road in the picture above is the boundary line for operating in Fort Point US-0819. Just to the right of the brick column in the grass area against the hill is the bench (next to the bathrooms) where I operated for all my contacts.

The operating area for Fort Point is rather small and challenging. It gets very busy there. Be prepared to be asked regularly if you are tracking whales are trying to communicate with aliens….. Space aliens to be exact…..

All my contacts for this activation were from hunting park to park on 20m using whip antenna.

With the noisy distracting environment combined with my compromised antenna I did not feel comfortable calling CQ. Instead I focused on hunting parks I could hear very well in hopes they would be able to hear me with my compromised antenna. My first contact was at 1610z and my 10th contact was at 1754z. It was very slow going, but I really wanted to activate Fort Point. Not to mention the fact that Fort Point is a 3-Fer activation.

A 3-fer means that with one activation you get credit for 3 different park activations. Looking at the map above of the San Francisco area you can see that Fort Point US-0819 (#6) falls inside a much larger park entity (#7) Presidio (POTA US-7889). Both Fort Point and Presidio also both are located in an even bigger park entity known as the Golden Gate National Recreational Area GGNRA (POTA US-0647).

Restating what is written in the picture above for easier reading: After six generations, coastal defenses were made obsolete by intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area GGNRA was created largely from surplus coastal defense military reservations.



So much can be said about Presidio of San Francisco (US-7889). It served as a military out post for the Spanish Empire(1776-1821ish), Mexican Republic(1821-1846), and United States Army (1847-1989).

As a pilot, I have to mention Crissy Field. Crissy Field is part of the Presidio park, and played a huge part in the fast development in aviation technology. The first successful dawn to dusk trans con (east coast to west coast) flight landed at Crissy Field June 1924. In addition to military operations, the airfield played a major role for Coast Guard Search & Rescue, AirMail, and Forest Fire Surveillance.

The Presidio is a very large park, that’s offers many stunning views of the area. There are plenty tucked away picnic tables near tall trees that are just begging you to hang a wire antenna.

As an airline pilot, I am in San Francisco often. I am always operating QRP and much of the time I’m having to use a whip antenna due to busy/small operating area. As my CW skills improve I hope to get more of you in my log in some of these hard to activate parks.

PS Don’t quote me on this history stuff. Remember I’m a pilot not a history major, so I’m just kind of winging it.

Until then 72 . .

~ Micah J. LaVanchy

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

The POTA Babe Gets Skunked

23 Comments

by Teri (KO4WFP)

After a one-month hiatus, it was time for the POTA Babe to get back in the saddle. Tuesday, August 13, Daisy and I dropped off my son and headed out for an adventure. Tillman Sand Ridge Heritage Preserve (US-3913), across the Savannah River in South Carolina, is a 45 minute drive from my son’s high school.

source: freeworldmaps.net

The drive is a simple one from Savannah: take US Highway 17 across the Savannah River to Hardeeville, SC where one turns onto US Highway 321. This road cuts a straight line from Hardeeville to Tillman, a small town in the middle of nowhere. Though the day was sunny, shortly after turning onto Highway 321, I hit fog which I assume was due to the proximity to the Savannah River. Canals run along both sides of the road most of this stretch of 321 and they were full of water lillies.

foggy conditions

In Tillman, one takes Sand Hill Road/SC Route 119 to the park. The preserve is on the left side of this road when heading north but if you don’t have a map as I did, you would miss the information kiosk which is hidden behind some trees.

For POTA, I usually like to operate out of or close to my car. In the summer heat (yes, it is hot and humid here even at 9 AM), I am not interested in hiking any distance. However, the access road to this preserve was gated so driving into the preserve was not an option. Time to rethink my game plan.

To the left of the kiosk is a parking area. Just past it inside the preserve is a dirt road which is not accessible due to wood posts. I parked my car Kai and walked to the road, looking to the left and right. Hmmm. To the right, I found an opening in the tree canopy a little ways up the road. Not being far from the car, this spot would make a suitable QTH.

looking to the left on the dirt road in the park
looking to the right on the dirt road in the park – note the opening in the canopy

Y’all know I enjoy using my arbor line and EFRW antenna; however, today I brought the Chelegance MC-750 for several reasons. A short activation is optimal in this heat and humidity and the Chelegance might be quicker to install than the EFRW, especially if it takes me multiple throws to snag the branch I want with the arbor line. (Some days I do a better job than others.) I also feel I should branch out and use different antennas on occasion. Last but not least, I just felt lazy given the weather. (Even POTA Babes have their lazy days.)

the radials extending across field vegetation
the vertical taking advantage of open canopy

I found a spot on the dirt road nicely shaded by trees. Given the sun’s position, I figured we would have one and a half to two hours of respite from it. I threw a tarp on the road, my stuff on top of it, and finished setting up. Daisy, spurning the tarp, dug her own little cool place in the dirt.

our setup on the dirt road

the sun is well behind the trees shading us

I started with 40 meters, given the early hour. I found the band noisy due to RFI from either the nearby power lines or the residence across the street. I then discovered the cell coverage here was spotty. I’d be able to text for five minutes and then there’d be no service for ten minutes. Right when I was ready to text my partner Glenn the frequency to spot me on the POTA page, I lost service. (Great.)

Given the noise on 40 meters, I didn’t linger there long and moved to 20 meters, looking for a station to set up near and hope ops might run across me. Given how often I was calling CQ, this was the first activation I used the pre-recorded CQ POTA message on my KX2.

Finally, after calling CQ for 25 minutes, Steve N2YLO responded to my CQ. But then I lost him due to propagation. I went back to calling CQ and three minutes later I heard from a regular, Bob AB3GB in Pennsylvania. I gave him a 599 and he gave me a 579. YES! I was finally off and running. Continue reading The POTA Babe Gets Skunked →

Digital Modes, Field Reports, FT8, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

Philly: Conrad Activates Independence National Historical Park

5 Comments

Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the following field report:

Activating Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

August 21, 2024

By: Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH

I recently took an overnight trip from Connecticut to Philadelphia via Amtrak and before I left, I checked to see what parks in Philly I might be able to activate. Conveniently, Independence National Historical Park (US-0738) was a short 15 minute walk from the hotel. So, along with a change of clothes and my toothbrush, my Elecraft KX2 transceiver and AX1 antenna went into the backpack. This is my preferred equipment when I need to travel light.

Equipment List

Independence National Historical Park is actually a series of attractions that are managed and run by the National Park Service, including Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, The Benjamin Franklin Museum and Washington Square. Looking at the map of the location I decided to use a bench in Washington Square to activate from. The yellow highlight in the map below is where I set up.

I was able to set my AX1 up using the tripod on the grass behind the bench, keeping the RF wire and counterpoise out of the path of traffic.

I got all set up, spotted myself on the POTA page and pressed “Enable TX” on WSJT-X and the radio would not transmit. I checked everything…the CIV cable, the audio cables, the settings in WSJT-X, the windows audio settings, the com port…and I still couldn’t transmit. It was decoding fine.

I went to the Elecraft KX groups.io and searched, I searched Google and tried things people suggested and still, no transmit. I changed the CIV cable and the audio cables and interface, since I had spares and even that didn’t work. Thirty minutes later, ready to give up, I tried turning the KX2 off and then back on again and yes, you guessed it, a reboot solved the problem. I’ll try that first next time. I’ve never had that happen before, but you live and learn.

So, I re-spotted myself, got on the air and knocked out 10 contacts pretty fast once I could transmit. I made two additional QSO’s for good measure for a total of 12. Here’s my coverage map…I was running FT8 on 20 meters and I was surprised to make it to Florida to get Matthew, N4MRD. Clint, W9AV also hunted me…that should be a familiar call sign to many activators.

Once I was done and packed up, I took some extra time and checked off a bucket list item. I walked another block North past Independence Hall and visited the Liberty Bell Center to see the historic bell in person. Admission to see the Liberty Bell is free.

Independence Hall
Conrad, N2YCH at the Liberty Bell Center
The Liberty Bell

If you ever head to Philadelphia, this is an easy city site to activate so I recommend bringing your radio to activate the park.

73

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

Finding Joy in the Journey: A Missed SOTA Hike Leads to a Relaxing POTA Activation

2 Comments

On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, I planned to drive to Hickory, NC to spend part of the morning helping my father with a few tasks. I planned to stay for only three hours, leaving the afternoon open for a SOTA (Summits On The Air) activation of Bakers Mountain.

Bakers Mountain is one of the most accessible one-point SOTA summits in the area. Still, it requires about 2 hours of hiking, and I always allow an hour for activating as well. Herein lies the challenge of SOTA for me this year: finding those windows of time that are open enough to fit in an activation and hike is difficult.

I ended up spending all morning in Hickory helping my father—time well spent. However, by the time I left, my SOTA window had closed. I still had some time for an activation, but only a maximum of two hours.

Although disappointed about missing the SOTA opportunity, I decided to make the most of the remaining time and visit Table Rock Fish Hatchery (US-8012) en route home. I hadn’t been to that particular site in many months, so it would be a nice revisit. I knew I could fit in the detour and activation and still be home on time. A good consolation prize!

Table Rock Fish Hatchery (US-8012)

Upon arrival, I immediately noticed that a new bridge had been built over the creek. It’s funny how you get so used to some POTA sites that you feel a real connection to them and notice even small changes.

I had brought along my Elecraft KH1 with the idea of doing the SOTA activation (it’s with me all the time anyway), but earlier, I noticed that I still had the Penntek TR-45L Skinny in the back of my car, so I opted to use it for this POTA activation.

I quickly deployed my PackTenna 20M EFHW, connected it to the TR-45L, and hopped on the air, hoping 20 meters would serve me well.

Since the “Skinny” version of the TR-45L has no built-in ATU (Antenna Tuning Unit), and since I hadn’t brought along the Elecraft T1, I had no way of operating outside of the 20M band (the TR-45L’s coverage is 80, 40, 30, 20, and 17 meters).

I’d hoped I’d packed a 40M EFHW so that I would have two usable bands and that I could work my buddy Mike (K8RAT), but 20 meters it was! I hoped the band had a little life in it!

Gear:

Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

On The Air

I hopped on the air and started calling CQ POTA. Within a few minutes, I started working a stream of hunters. Continue reading Finding Joy in the Journey: A Missed SOTA Hike Leads to a Relaxing POTA Activation →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, SOTA, Travel

Maximizing a Layover: From the cockpit to the summit of W7U/SL-022

10 Comments

Many thanks to Micah (N4MJL) who shares the following guest post:

Activating W7U/SL-022 on a Layover

by Micah (N4MJL)

As an airline pilot, I’m always on the lookout for POTA/SOTA sites that are near me when I have long layovers in different cities across the country. Salt Lake City, Utah is no exception. I always carry a modest assortment of ham radio gear with me when I travel.

I jumped at the chance to knock out a SOTA and POTA activation when a 23 hour layover showed up on my schedule for Salt Lake City. A month earlier, I was in Salt Lake City on a shorter overnight, and I had scouted out a SOTA activation for W7U/SL-022 which is located just to the east of Salt Lake City inside the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, which happens to be POTA US-4398.

I plotted my route on Gaia GPS–a free app that I highly recommend.

In fact, you can look up my route that I used for this activation.

My route to the summit started at the Natural History Museum of Utah and would be a 5.6 mile one way ruck up to the summit with 2,800+ ft Ascent. I would leave the museum heading towards the Living Room trail head, but then branch off towards Mount Wire.

Mount Wire has an elevation of 7,110ft MSL and provides incredible views of Salt Lake City. Once you make it to the fire tower located at Mount Wire your ascent is almost over. However you still have another 3.1 miles traversing the ridge line before reaching the real summit located at 7,500ft MSL. The activation zone is very easy to determine since it is at the very end of the ridge line.

Sunday morning (11 August 2024) I got up at 0700 and packed up my REI Flash 22 day pack. I was taking with me a full 2 liter hydration pack along with 2 more 1 liter water bottles (4L water total), along with assorted snacks and electrolyte additives.

My radio gear consisted of the following:

I scheduled an action for both SOTA and POTA on their websites. I knew from my previous trip here that I would have cell reception to at least Mount Wire, but I wasn’t taking any chances that I may not have cell reception on the summit. I would be depending on the reverse beacon network to get me spotted.

I also made sure I sent my wife and my captain my planned route, and when I should be back in contact with them. After all, this was going to be a solo 12 mile ish round trip with some modest elevation gain. I am an experienced backpacker, and I am not going to take unnecessary risks without a backup plan.

It was a beautiful day to go hiking. It was forecast to be 93F in Salt Lake City that afternoon. I live in Virginia where the humidity is absolutely gross when it’s 93F, but out here, there is essentially no humidity which makes it very pleasant.

Not to mention up in the mountains it’s typically about 15 degrees cooler. Rucking up the gully, there is some shade on the way up the Living Room trail, but once you get out of the gully heading up to Mount Wire you will be in direct sun for the majority of the ruck.

Mount Wire has amazing 360 view of the area at 7,110ft MSL. The fire watch tower is a favorite location for some “extra curricular activities” from the local college kids. It affords amazing views of the city. The tower also represents the end of the strenuous elevation gain for this hike. The picture above shows the ridge that I will now follow for the next 3.1 miles to the real summit of 7,500ft MSL. Continue reading Maximizing a Layover: From the cockpit to the summit of W7U/SL-022 →

Articles, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Hams, Morse Code, News, People, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

Chasing Marconi’s Legacy: Bob and Alanna’s POTA Adventure in Cape Breton

14 Comments

Many thank to Bob (K4RLC) who shares the following guest post:

Marconi Revived – Activating the Marconi sites in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia

by Bob K4RLC VE1/K4RLC

Alanna K4AAC and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was a bucket list trip. One goal was to visit and activate the two Marconi sites in Glace Bay. Then, we would drive the Cabot Trail around the Island, hiking and activating various provincial parks and lighthouses. Cape Breton Island is incredibly beautiful, with mountains coming right to the sea. The seafood is great (freshly caught lobster) and the people are relaxed and friendly.

The Marconi National Historic Site at Table Head  Glace Bay is on the site of Marconi’s transmitting station from 1902 where the first successful trans Atlantic contact was made with the Poldhu Cornwall England station. Now, there is a small, but very Informative Parks Canada Museum, which also happens to have an active amateur radio station on site. I had arranged by e-mail with members of the local Sydney (NS) Amateur Radio Society to meet the control operators there.

Marconi National Historic Site (Parks Canada) with Beam and Dipole visible & Alanna VE1/K4AAC

The station is only open two months of the year–July & August–and the control Ops are there only for a short time each day. We met Jim and Michael VE1CYO, a former CW operator in the British Royal Navy. Not only did Mike know the history of the Marconi site, he was very gracious in letting me operate the station. They have a Kenwood TS-590, a Mosley 3 element beam, as well as a 40 through 10 dipole.

Mike VE1CYO (right) Control Op for station; Bob VE1/K4RLC left

Alanna K4AAC (right) & Bob K4RLC at operating position for VE1VAS

It was one of those days with very bad solar conditions. Mike was doubtful I would make any contacts. However, I had pre spotted on the POTA site, as the station is also a POTA site: CA-4842.  The Kenwood and beam worked well on 20 meters CW.

The first contact was Gary, AE4GS, a friend in Tennessee. Then, Rich N4EX back in Raleigh. As Mike did not know, I explained to him about the POTA system, and how there were many hams who would want to work the Marconi station  VE1VAS, named after the commercial Marconi call sign of VAS (standing for “Voice of the Atlantic Seaboard”).

After working all the stations we could hear, and talking with Mike about his Royal Navy history, he left for the afternoon. As my KX2 was in the shop, Rhett KB4HG had graciously lent me his for our trip. I went out to the original Marconi antenna field by the ocean and set up the KX2.

It was a lovely afternoon, clear skies, nice breeze and being on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Conditions were not great for QRP, but there were several families visiting with young children who were very curious about ham radio, Morse code, and Marconi. Alanna and I were happy to talk with the families and children. After showing the KX2 to  a very inquisitive 6 year old boy from Montreal, he told his Mom: “ I want one!”

Operating the KX2 with MP1& Whiterook Key  in the original antenna field in Glace Bay

1902 Photo of antenna field

After driving the island via the Cabot Trail loop for several days,  we spent the last morning at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, also a POTA site (Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site). Bell was an incredible inventor, not just of the telephone, but of scientific and medical experiments. He developed a device to send voice over a beam of light. And he predicted cell phones!

For the last afternoon, we returned to Glace Bay and wanted to find the old Marconi House. We followed Mike’s directions to a place appropriately called Marconi Tower Road.

And a gravel driveway where several power lines made an abrupt turn up a long driveway.

This was indeed the original Marconi House from 1905, which is also a Canadian National Historic Site but is privately owned. A old sign that said “Guard dog – Do Not Enter”  was still there and we had been told the current owner did not like visitors.

But it also was a POTA site (CA-5830) that had NEVER been activated.  So, I was standing at the end of the driveway with the Elecraft KH1 when a car came down from the house. I was very apprehensive. But when it stopped, the driver rolled down the window, looked at me curiously and said “hello”.

I said “hello” back and explained that I was a ham radio operator and hoped he didn’t mind if I stood on his driveway and operated. He smiled and said he could tell I was a ham. Then he said he had to run an errand but he would be back in 5 minutes and I could follow him back to the house!

This was Barry, grandson of Russell who bought the house from Marconi in 1946. This turned into a wonderful visit with Barry. He initially took us on the outside of the house but said we couldn’t come in. We said that was fine.

K4AAC & K4RLC in front yard of Marconi House with KH1

Then he took us for a long hike back in the woods to the original Marconi transmitter building. Unfortunately, it had been mostly consumed in a terrible fire, so hot that all the insulators, ceramics and transformers had burst. Barry was extremely helpful, digging through the rubble to find original insulator pieces for me.

Barry & Bob at VAS Transmitter site

Barry dug thru debris to find meters & insulators

Barry and I  hit it off really well. As we walked back to the house, he invited us inside. Alanna stayed in the kitchen and talked with his very nice wife, Brenda, a First grade school teacher. Barry took me down in the basement and showed me Marconi’s workshop.

There were a lot of old Volt & Amp meters from the early 1900’s. Barry had dug through the debris of the VAS Transmitter station fire to find me old insulators, shattered by the fire. In the basement, he went to a dark section in the back, under the stairs and found a unbroken ceramic insulator that he gave to me! We went in the various rooms where Marconi had stayed. It was a dream come true.

Insulators from Marconi Transmitting station VAS

I only made a few CW contacts with the handheld KH1 in the front yard, as Barry and I spent a few hours talking about Marconi and Barry’s family, including his grandparents, who were buried in the back, near one of the massive antenna mounts.

Just wonder what Marconi would have thought about the KH1 with a 4 foot whip antenna, given that he had four 200 foot antenna towers with an Inverted pyramid configuration of wires, 2200 feet in diameter, spread across 80 acres of land. Wow! I wished that antenna was there to load up with the KH1.

I was running about 3 watts on 20 CW while Marconi’s station had coal-fired boilers driving steam engines pushing generators in series producing 15,000 volts that powered the Spark transmitters on 8000 Meters. There were train tracks into the station to deliver the coal to this station at Marconi Towers. It maintained in service until 1945 giving long range communications to ships in the North Atlantic and marine weather information using the call sign VAS.

Model of 1902 Antenna field at Glace Bay in Marconi NHS at Glace Bay

It was a bucket list dream come true. I felt honored to both meet Mike, the former Royal Navy CW Op, and Barry and his family who graciously let Alanna and me come into their private house (and hear their teenage daughter Vivian play the classical piano in one of Marconi’s former sitting rooms). I hope the photos do justice.

73 de K4RLC Bob & VE1/K4RLC

Thanks to Mike VE1CYO for many of the details on VAS;

Black & White photos courtesy of the Cape Breton Wireless Heritage Society www.cbwireless.ednet.ns.ca/cbwirelessp3.html for photos of the original Glace Bay sites and detailed information about the Marconi sites in Nova Scotia

Equipment List

Note: All Amazon links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

POTA at Mount Pisgah: Punching through patchy propagation and dodging dodgy weather!

2 Comments

On Saturday, August 3, 2024, my wife and daughters drove to Edneyville, North Carolina, for an annual family get-together/reunion. It’s always a lot of fun catching up with my wife’s extended family. And, I must say, the food is always spectacular. I’m talking every amazing Southern dish you can dream of!

After the gathering, my wife and I dropped off our daughters with some of their friends for the afternoon. We’d planned to head back home and catch up on a few things, but I (fortunately) glanced at Google Maps and saw that I-40 was closed west-bound which meant that instead of a 30-minute drive home, we were staring at 70+ minutes. It was a busy weekend, with a lot of tourists in town, and traffic was at a standstill.

Lemons to Lemonade

I proposed to my wife that we go in the opposite direction of everyone else–up the very winding 151 to Mount Pisgah. She looked at me and knew I had activating on the brain. She happily agreed.

I knew hiking to the summit of Mount Pisgah for a SOTA (Summits on the Air) activation was unrealistic because we didn’t bring hiking gear and, frankly, the weather was a little too dodgy with pop-up thunderstorms forming.

Instead, I had the Mount Pisgah Picnic Area in mind. It’s a brilliant spot with numerous options for setting up a POTA station. It took us all of 35 minutes to drive there.

Hazel was happy to jump out of the car.

I’m sure she was on bear alert because the last time we were here, she spotted a black bear. She never forgets a bear but she always forgets how small she is compared to them.

There are numerous spots to set up a station at this particular parkway picnic site. We found a table off to the side where I had easy access to trees (i.e., wire antenna supports) if needed.

I was hoping I wouldn’t need them, though. I planned to attach the Version 2 KH1 Right Angle Adapter Elecraft sent me to replace out the prototype I used in a previous activation/field report. This would give my KH1 “picnic table” mode.

Based on all of the recent reports I’d been receiving from other POTA and SOTA activators, I knew such a modest antenna might make things challenging (foreshadowing alert), but by not deploying a wire antenna, I could pack up super quickly should we get caught in a downpour or thunderstorm.

I set up the KH1, prepared my logs, and got ready to hop on the air!

Gear:

Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

On The Air

I hopped on the air and started calling CQ POTA with fingers crossed.

I worked N8JY and KO4PK in fairly short order after I self-spotted (thank you for the contacts!).

Then…silence.

(Sound familiar activators who’ve been out there lately–?)

I even moved to the 30M band for a stint, but there were no callbacks there either. Continue reading POTA at Mount Pisgah: Punching through patchy propagation and dodging dodgy weather! →

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, SOTA, Travel

The POTA Babe Gets Wet – Day 5

9 Comments

by Teri (KO4WFP)

Daisy and I awoke the morning of Thursday, July 18, ready to attempt our third SOTA activation of this trip. Today we’d head to Mount Jefferson State Natural Area (US-3846), a short drive from New River State Park. Along the drive, I spied quite a few farms for Christmas trees.

Mount Jefferson (W4C/EM-021) is 4,665 feet in elevation , rises more than 1,600 feet above the valley floor, and was a place for escaped slaves to hide. The mountain is a heath bald featuring dense evergreen shrubs on it which is different from the grassy balds also found in the Appalachian mountains. (Black Balsam Knob I visited earlier in the trip is an example of a grassy bald.)

A road winds up to a parking lot close to the summit. When I arrived on this overcast day, there was only one other vehicle parked. I grabbed my SOTA pack, outfitted Daisy with her harness and leash, and we were ready for the task ahead of us.

The hike up to the summit is an easy one. The trail begins at the parking lot and is easy to identify. To make sure there was no repeat performance of not being sure where the summit is located, I snapped a pic of a posted park map.

Start of the trail

Along the hike, we encountered the weather station near the summit and neat lichens.

The weather station

Neat lichens

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the summit. I could see the weather station back along the ridge as well as the town in the valley below. I had checked the weather forecast before I left our campsite earlier that morning and it looked promising.

The trail at the summit

Ta-da – Mount Jefferson summit

At the summit is a section of rock with a flatish spot in the middle, almost as if it is beckoning one to get comfortable. We settled ourselves on that flatish spot and I began pulling my equipment out of the pack. I opted for the AX1 again as it served me well at the previous two SOTA activations and there wasn’t much room up here.

I love this photo!

I quickly discovered there was no cell service. I’d have to make do, possibly setting up near another POTA station and hoping the RBN would spot me or someone would come across me. I began on 40 meters but after spending 10 minutes on that band, moved to 20 meters. James WA1EDN found me and I asked him to “PSE SPOT ME”. It worked and in the next 15 minutes, I worked  five stations and then…

It started raining! (Noooooo!) I had noticed fog-like clouds moving in; however, I have seen this kind of weather before while on the Blue Ridge Parkway and those clouds don’t always bring rain. I naively believed the weather forecast and didn’t pay them much attention. Until it started raining.

Clouds moving in

I hurriedly covered my KX2 and key, put on my raincoat, and threw what I could into my pack including my notepad. Thankfully, I take with me a Rite in the Rain notebook and pen as a backup. Neither had ever been used. I refused to give up so easily and began calling CQ POTA again. I worked another station – John N7JTT in Washington state – and then…

My wet pack

My key started going bonkers on me! I didn’t think about it but the key is electronic and not mechanical. I can recall only two times I’ve activated in the rain. Both were during my trip to Nova Scotia and both times I activated INSIDE the car. So I and my equipment (except the antenna) were protected from the rain. Electronic keys and rain do NOT mix as I now discovered. I thought I had protected it from the rain but obviously not.

Well, I could deal with that! I always take a small backup key with me which I now pulled out and began to use. However, that key, too, is electrical and crapped out on me in no time. Now I had no choice but to call QRT. Oh, the depth of despair at having to do that when I was so close to a valid activation!

Daisy snoozing in the rain

I consoled myself that at least I got my third SOTA activation and, other than the keys crapping out on me, this activation had been a lot of fun. Also, the AX1 had proven itself a rockstar with two QSOs to the West Coast – John N7JTT in California and WB6POT in Washington state! Way to go AX1!

We dragged our soggy bodies down the mountain to the parking lot where I looked at the keys one more time to see if they would work for me. Nope. Honestly, I felt very, VERY stupid at not thinking about those keys being electrical. I never considered they wouldn’t work in the rain. Sigh. This was another learning opportunity and, when I got back home, I’d make sure to have a mechanical key in my arsenal as a SECOND backup. You know what the SEALs say: two is one and one is none. At this point, I had none!

I had planned on heading back to Georgia tomorrow. But with no working keys, there could be no more activations. (I don’t carry a mic with me as I am a CW-only op these days.) There was no point in staying that extra day.

I headed back to New River State Park, packed everything up, and drove the seven hours back to Savannah, Georgia. Though the keys might have dried out and worked the next day, we had already been through two nights of thunderstorms and much more promised to roll through the area. Enough was enough.

All in all, I considered the trip a success. I finally tackled SOTA and ended up with three valid activations. I added six valid POTA activations to my goal of 60 new-to-me parks for 2024. I survived five days of camping alone with Daisy 500 miles from home. Yes, I made mistakes along the way; however, I viewed those a learning opportunities, mistakes I’d not be likely to make again.

For those of you who followed these articles and hunted me during the trip, thank you for sharing this journey with me. This POTA Babe learned a lot and had a lot of fun along the way, despite the setbacks. I am already plotting a SOTA trip for spring or summer 2025 and, most certainly, a summer 2025 return to the North Carolina mountains. But well before that, I have 23 more parks to activate for my 2024 POTA activation goal. Where will I show up next? Stay tuned…

Equipment Used

[Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.]