Category Archives: POTA

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Portable, POTA, QRP

Field Report: Alan’s P2P POTA Activation Challenge!

13 Comments

Many thanks to Alan (W2AEW) who shares the following guest post:

A self-imposed POTA Park-to-Park Challenge…

by Alan (W2AEW)

One of the things I love about the Parks on the Air program is that every activation is a bit of small challenge.  What will the band be like?  What antenna will I be able to deploy when I get there?  Will I have a spot to setup?  Will my CW ‘ear’ be properly tuned up? You get the picture…

There are a few parks that I activate much more than others – call them my “home” parks.  These are the ones that are close to my home, easy to get to and setup.  One in particular,  Washington Rock State Park (K-1635), is certainly the closest. It has some interesting Revolutionary War History.

Not only is this park very close to my home, it also has pretty good elevation (about 500’) for this part of New Jersey.  In fact, the local fire department hangs a very large illuminated star during the Christmas season at their building that is adjacent to this park.

This star can be seen for miles to the South and East of the ridge.

It’s no wonder that I’ve activated this park more than 20 times in the last year and half.

My XYL Nancy was *very* generous to me this year at Christmas – gifting me a new Begali Adventure CW paddle!  She even had it engraved with my call:

I wanted to think of a unique way to celebrate my first POTA activation using this paddle. I would be going to K-1635, so the location would be very familiar.  Therefore, I thought of an interesting self-imposed challenge…   Attempt to complete an activation with ONLY Park to Park contacts!

As I thought about this, I figured my best chance of success would be to operate on the weekend (significantly more parks are active), and use my most efficient multi-band antenna (a 40m EFHW).

Being an engineer, I’m use to having goals.  I’m also used to having additional constraints imposed – let’s call them stretch-goals.  Possible stretch goals for this P2P Activation Challenge could be:

  • Operate QRP (all of my POTA activations are QRP, so not much of a stretch)
  • Operate only CW (nearly all of my activations are CW, and this helps with the QRP goal too)
  • Attempt this using a more compromised antenna
  • Attempt this during a weekday

It turns out I had a few free hours on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 to play radio…  It was kind of a dismal day weather-wise.  I figured it might be the day to attempt this challenge.  The wet weather had me thinking that I’d setup my SuperAntenna MP1 vertical instead of using the 40m EFHW (and having it and the throw line get all wet and muddy).  The stage was set for the challenge including the stretch goals.

I setup the MP1 on the bedrail of my truck, using an MFJ-1976 ten-foot whip on top.

The band conditions were in pretty good shape, so I figured I had a shot.  I setup the rig inside the truck because of the rain, and got the iPad going with the POTA spotting page to see who I could hunt.  I logged four P2P contacts in the first 20 minutes, so there was hope!

In the end, it took about 90 minutes to log 11 Park-to-Park contacts.  Well, actually 12, since one of them turned out to be a two-fer.  I logged a few “familiar” activators, including Teri KO4WFP – a frequent contributor of Field Reports here, and Jonathan KM4CFT – running a two-fer out of North Carolina.  There were a few that I noted in my paper log because I had a good copy on them, but ultimately couldn’t bust thru the pile ups there were getting (like K7SHR at K-10946 in WY and K0YY at K-4416 in TX).

A personal thanks to all of the activators in my log that helped me reach my P2P Challenge:

  • KL7NL at K-6945 in NC
  • KM4CFT at K-8313 and K-3378 in NC
  • WD4AWD at K-2982 in TN
  • KU8T at K-4208 in IN
  • KO4WFP at K-0659 in FL
  • W0ABE at K-10532 in CO
  • N4XTT at K-2982 in TN
  • NM1L at K-7475 in FL
  • KC1BDJ at K-7879 in FL
  • KI5GBQ at K-7687 in OK
  • NS1C at K-2420 in MA

All contacts were on 20m with the exception of NS1C on 40m.  All were CW.

This was a fun little challenge, one that I hope to repeat in the future.  Hope to see you all on the air – POTA-ON!

72 de W2AEW

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

KO4WFP: The Countdown Begins with Jack Hill State Park

11 Comments

Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) who shares the following guest post:

The Countdown Begins with Jack Hill State Park

by Teri (KO4WFP)

Having completed my kilo for Wormsloe State Historic Site (K-3725) and earned the Marathon Award for the Straight Key Century Club, I needed a new goal into which to sink my teeth. I’ve often set goals in my life as they motivate me to learn and step outside my comfort zone. So what better goal than to activate 60 parks new to me over the next year! I admit it is ambitious; however, goals should excite you as well as make you a little nervous because then you know you are stretching yourself.

How do I plan to accomplish activating 60 new parks? The weeks my son has a break from school offer the perfect opportunity to travel. I can also work in overnight trips to locations in Georgia or South Carolina throughout the year. To save money, I’ll drive on these trips and camp. Most state parks which offer camping are also a park on the POTA list, an easy win-win. For safety, my “POTA pooch” Daisy will accompany me if I am alone, offering an opportunity for the two of us to strengthen the bond we have and work on her training.

My first break-week trip is to Florida during the second week of winter break, December 24th through January 1st. I have nine to ten parks I plan to activate that week, depending on the weather. Daisy and my brother Joseph (no, he is not a ham) will accompany me. Joseph and I took a cross-country trip out west in my twenties and spent six weeks on the road. We mostly camped but also visited friends and relatives along the way.

However, before I leave on my Florida trip, I began my pursuit of 60 new parks with Jack Hill State Park, a park that is only an hour from my new QTH in Bloomingdale, Georgia.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of winter. (Spot me this as I live in the Deep South.) However, I am determined to not miss out on POTA because of a little cold weather. Thinking the temperature would be warmer in the afternoon, my dog Daisy and I headed out later than usual on Wednesday, December 13th for our activation.

I enjoy driving in rural Georgia. You never know what you’ll see. Daisy and I went through the town of Bellville, a whistle stop in the middle of nowhere. The town was established in 1890 along the tracks of the Savannah & Western Railroad and was a regional transportation hub for agricultural and timber products. A mural in the town across from the old depot pays homage to the town’s railroad past.

Jack Hill State Park is located in the town of Reidsville, Georgia. It offers amenities that include boating and fishing on the park’s lake, accommodations in the form of camping as well as cottages to rent, a splash pad for kids, and even a free miniature golf course! The park was originally named Gordonia-Altamaha State Park as it is near the Altamaha River. However, it was renamed Jack Hill State Park in 2020 in honor of Senator Jack Hill who was instrumental in the local community. Continue reading KO4WFP: The Countdown Begins with Jack Hill State Park →

Accessories, News, POTA

André shares a CL program he created to send emails via ADIF files

1 Comment

Many thanks to André (VE2ZDX) who writes:

Hi Thomas,

I have written some pieces of software to automate the sending of emails to callsigns in adif files. I wrote them to help myself and they work very well. One of them I’m making publicly available since it’s very simple and, although it’s pure command line, I believe most hams would be able to use it.

In this video I explain it and teach how to customize it to your needs:

https://youtu.be/zV5nxNsP8MY?si=-a99LDDrXYeDCMLO

This software will send one email per callsign in the adif file you choose. It can be used for many things but it fits very well the use case where you record a POTA activation and want to send the link of the video to everyone in the log. It’s specially ideal for POTA because you can download the log per activation from the POTA website =]

The motivation to create this software comes from the fact that I don’t use paper QSL cards anymore, instead I record the QSO and use YouTube as video storage. And since I have it on YouTube already, why not share with the other ham? They love it!

Also, recordings (audio or video) of your radio activities becomes so as they age! See an example. This is the first time tried QRP on the ham bands:

https://youtu.be/50yzsZfas30?si=_jmr-D9l5TkGR1h5

Just from this recording I learned so many things, such as the speaker I had sucked! You can hear much more in the recording than what I could hear in that session heheh

If you want feel free to share this software with other operators, I’d be happy if it helped more people publish real ham radio content on YouTube, like yours.

73

Thank you so much for sharing this, André. I’m sure there are others who record their activations on video and will benefit from your command line tool! 

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

October Leaf Colors at Lake James: Pairing the Elecraft KX1 and Chelegance MC-750

3 Comments

This past fall was a busy season for me.

So busy, in fact, I completely overlooked an activation video I filmed two months ago (on Monday, October 23, 2023)!

That said, one of the things I love about making field reports and recording videos is re-living activations a second time. It’s fun to remember the site conditions, the weather, the radio/antenna choices, and all of the folks I might have logged.

I enjoyed stepping back in time a couple of months for this one!

Lake James State Park (K-2739)

That Monday was the first day I surfaced to fit in an activation after fighting a respiratory bug the previous week. I felt much better and tested negative for Covid, so I made my way to Hickory to help my parents with some tasks.

On the way that morning, I stopped by Lake James to play a little POTA with one of my favorite radios in the world: the Elecraft KX1.

On October 23–as I mention in the video–the QRP world had only just learned about the new Elecraft KH1 and I had yet to receive the almost-production unit I ordered as a field tester.

I knew that once I received the KH1, I’d be using it heavily for a few weeks, so I wanted to fit in a little KX1 time in advance!

POTA in Color!

The weather and fall colors at Lake James were absolutely stunning!

New KX1 Tufteln Cover!

Back when I filmed this video, it had only been one week since the W4 SOTA campout where my friend Joshua (N5FY) gave me a few prototype snap-on protective covers for my KX1s.

These covers are very clever because they protect all of the important front-panel components yet remain very low-profile so add little bulk to the radio.

Image: Tufteln.com

Joshua provides two new screws for the front panel (you simply replace out the stock KX1 screw); the cover magnetically snaps onto the higher-profile screws and seats itself securely.

Image: Tufteln.com

I demonstrate my cover in the activation video.

At the time, this was a product Joshua was considering adding to the Tufteln line-up–since then, he’s made it available to order–click here to check it out.

At present, Joshua offers the covers in two colors: black and light brown. Mine are the light brown color.

You’ll notice in the video that Joshua added my callsign to the covers he gave me. I don’t think the production covers are customized with your callsign because Joshua makes these in batches. You would need to check with him about customization–I assume there would be an extra charge and lead time for that because it would require modifying the file and printing a one-off cover.At any rate, I love the covers and have added them to all of my KX1s. Note that I used a Sharpie to write the name of each radio on the cover–this makes it very easy to tell the difference between my KX1 models (they’re named Ingrid, Greta, and Ruby)!

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

It was early enough in the morning that I decided to spend some time on the 40 meter band to work POTA “locals.” I deployed my Chelegance MC-750 with the 40 meter coil.

I tested the SWR and discovered it was high due to a loose connection on the end of the cable assembly–I fixed that and the SWR came down to 2.5:1. With the MC-750, I could have easily lengthened or shortened the whip to get a perfect match, but instead I took the lazy (& speedy) route and simply used the KX1 ATU to get a 1:1 match.

Even though I’d spent a long time talking about the KX1, KH1, the Tufteln cover, etc. in the  video, I actually didn’t have a lot of on-the-air time. (Typical me to talk away my activation time!).

I started calling CQ POTA and the contacts started rolling in.

Within ten minutes, I’d already worked ten contacts.

I worked a couple more, then called QRT. Looking at the time, I had to end this activation earlier than I’d hoped. I needed to hit the road again.

I packed up in short order, but still took a few moments to enjoy the beauty of that lovely autumn morning.

QSO Map

Here’s what this five watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map:

Activation Video

Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation.  As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.

Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thank you

Thank you for joining me on this activation!

I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them. I enjoyed reliving this Octeber activation.

Of course, 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.

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo make it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free, but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me!

Here’s wishing all of the you best of the Holiday Season!

Cheers & 72,

Thomas (K4SWL)

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

K3ES Activates Waco Mammoth National Monument

6 Comments

Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:

The National Park Service welcomes you to Waco Mammoth National Monument

Activating K-0975, Waco Mammoth National Monument

by Brian (K3ES)

At the end of November 2023, my wife and I loaded her minivan, and headed out into the first significant snowfall of the season.  I had already been out that morning in my 4WD truck to pull a friend’s car out of a ditch, so I was driving carefully.  Our drive took us from our home in northwest Pennsylvania to Baltimore, MD.  Happily, weather conditions improved as we went south and east.  We were meeting our son, daughter-in-law, and 2-1/2 year old grandson for a family trip to Waco, TX (we flew out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport early the next morning).  My wife and daughter-in-law are particular fans of Fixer-Upper and Chip and Joanna Gaines, all based in Waco.  Us men-folk were to be educated in the finer points of appreciating this pop-culture phenomenon.  Ultimately, we certainly did appreciate the finer points of dining in Waco.

One side-trip that amazed us all was a 10 minute drive up the road to Waco Mammoth National Monument.  This relatively new addition to the National Park system is also listed as Parks on the Air (POTA) entity K-0975.  Back in the days when the area occupied by the National Monument was private land, two exploring teenagers, who may not have had proper permission, found a bone, a big bone.  This bone was delivered to a local museum for identification, and ultimately determined to have been the femur of a female Columbian Mammoth.  Legalities being as they are, it took a while longer for the location of the discovery to be made public.  An interested and civic-minded land owner made the process less traumatic than might have been, particularly for the wandering teenagers.  He also started the process to preserve the site and its archaeological treasures for the public, ultimately leading to its designation as a National Monument.  Over subsequent years, archaeological excavation discovered a lot more bones – skeletons from an entire nursery herd of Columbian Mammoths, along with skeletons from other species that visited what was apparently a dangerous waterhole during the last ice age.

A view of the interior of the building constructed to protect the archaeological site.  Near the entry door is a full-sized artist’s rendition of a Columbian Mammoth.  Standing up to14 feet high at the shoulder, Columbian Mammoths were significantly larger than their better known Woolly Mammoth cousins.  This site is unique in that the bones of an entire nursery herd, including multiple females and their young, were found together here.
Some of the partially excavated mammoth skeletons contained in the enclosure building.
Also found in this excavation site was a Western Camel skeleton.  It is thought that the large number, numerous species, and wide range of ages of the skeletons discovered at this site resulted from entrapment in thick mud that formed the bottom of a persistent waterhole.

Since the discovery, many skeletons have been excavated and removed for study, but many more remain at the site awaiting future recovery.  A building has been constructed to cover the excavation and protect the remaining skeletons, and this building is the amazing focal point of the Waco Mammoth National Monument.  Ranger-led tours are available, and very much worthwhile.

Operating QRP CW on a beautiful afternoon at K-0975, Waco Mammoth National Monument.  My station is set up in a grassy field sometimes used for overflow parking.

Setting Up to Activate K-0975

After the tour and a look at the excavation site, I excused myself and set up to activate K-0975.  Before the trip, I had sent an email to Phil – WA5PQL, who is the most frequent activator at K-0975.  He was gracious and helpful in providing information about the park, the staff, and the locations most suitable for activating.  His assistance made a quick, low-stress activation a near certainty.  After checking in with the Park Rangers, I had directions and permissions, so all that remained a concern was HF propagation.

While the previous day had been overcast with drizzle, Friday, December 1, 2023, was sunny and warm.  It was perfect for walking around the site, and for an outdoor activation.  Unfortunately, the same sun that gave us the bright, warm day, had been active producing solar flares that could interfere with radio communications.  The only way to know for sure that I could make contacts was to set up my station and call CQ, so that is the path I chose.

Field kit contained in a re-purposed Peltor 4” x 6” x 9” padded headset pouch.  This compact kit was easily packed in a carry-on backpack for airline travel.  The pouch’s integral handle also made for easy transport to the activation site.

Field kit contents from the upper-left (click image above to enlarge):

  1. 33 gal trash bag for dry seating,
  2. 15 ft RG316 feedline with BNC male connectors,
  3. Two pieces of nylon cord,
  4. Medium-sized pill bottle to be filled with dirt or stones and used as a throw weight,
  5. 80 ft of Marlow Excel 2mm arborist’s throw line,
  6. BaMaTech TP-III paddles with connecting cable carried in an Altoids tin,
  7. Nail clippers as a TSA-approved tool,
  8. Elecraft KX2 transceiver with SideKX end-panels and polycarbonate cover,
  9. Tufteln 9:1 end-fed random wire antenna with 35 ft radiator and 17 ft counterpoise,
  10. Generic ear-bud headphones,
  11. Homebrew VK3IL-designed pressure paddles with adjacent protective sleeve sitting atop a plastic ziploc bag,
  12. Rite in the Rain notepad for logging,
  13. Pentel Twist-Erase 0.9mm mechanical pencil,
  14. Miscellaneous cable ties.

Not pictured is a Packtenna 10m collapsable fiberglass mast that was available, but not used for this activation.

I brought a very small, but capable, field kit based on my Elecraft KX2 and a Tufteln End-fed Random Wire antenna.  A couple of CW keys, a short feedline, and generic earbuds completed the station.  I also brought a notepad and a pencil for logging, a plastic garbage bag for seating, and some cordage.  The most peculiar part of my kit was a small pill bottle with a hole in its lid.  I filled the pill bottle with dirt, passed the end of a 2mm line through the lid and secured it with a knot.  I was able to use the dirt-filled bottle as a throw weight to get the line over a tree branch for raising the antenna, then I detached the bottle and returned the dirt.  All elements of the kit worked as intended, and TSA asked no questions during my trips through airport security. Continue reading K3ES Activates Waco Mammoth National Monument →

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

30 Meters with a 4 Foot Whip–? Impromptu POTA Hunting with the Elecraft KH1!

10 Comments
My Elecraft KH1 packed in a Pelican Micro M40 case. This protects my KH1 while traveling around in my EDC backpack.

On Friday, December 8, 2023, playing POTA was not in the plan.

I needed to finish a field report, publish it, then attempt to make a dent in my email and comments backlog. Lately–as you might have noticed–it’s been difficult to keep up with everything.

That morning, I dropped off my daughter at her robotics class, then made my way to the Mills River Library and municipal park.

I arrived at the park around 9:20 AM, parked my car at one of the free EV charging spots, then walked to the library front door only to discover a sign that said they’d be opening an hour late (10:00).

All of the sudden, I had 40 minutes to kill.

Since my Elecraft KH1 now lives in my EDC backpack full-time, I thought, “Why not hunt a little POTA?”

I started walking to the baseball field to set up then turned around, went back to the car, and grabbed my action camera. I mean…why not film this session since the camera was in the car trunk/boot? Right–? Right!

Gear:

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

POTA Hunting!

Keep in mind that the Elecraft KH1 is designed to operate on 20, 17, and 15 meters using the 4 foot whip antenna (assuming you have the internal ATU option).

This was awfully early in the morning for any of those bands–I knew 20 meters would be my best bet of the three.

I tuned around, but I couldn’t hear or work any of the handful of activators on 20 meters. They were all outside my 20M propagation footprint–most were simply too close for 20M.

Then I noticed my buddy, John (AE5X) spotted on the 30 meter band.

For kicks, I tuned down to the 30 meter band, found a clear spot, then hit the ATU button. I was surprised to achieve a 2:1 match!

What?

Of course, a decent impedance match doesn’t equate to efficiency. Then again, what did I have to lose? Nothing…that’s what!

I called John once, but another strong station caught his attention. Once he finished that exchange, I called him again and he replied! Woo hoo!

I suspect my effective power output was around 1-2 watts, but it was enough to make an exchange with John, so I was a very happy camper.

I also tried to work KD8IE on 30 meters, but could not punch through the strong signals from other POTA hunters.

By chance, though, I heard my buddy Eric (WD8RIF) calling CQ POTA just below KD8IE.  I could hear Eric because I had my filter wide open–as in SSB wide.

I tuned  down, called him and he came back with my call and a question mark after two tries.

We exchanged details, sent 72, and logged each other. What fun!

I found out later that my signal level was actually fine on Eric’s end, but I was *almost* outside of his CW filter edges. He struggled hearing me because I was too far from his centered frequency. I didn’t notice this on my end, of course, because I had my filter so wide open.

I’ve learned from this: next time I’ll narrow my filter before hunting stations. The majority of activators do not run with their filters wide open like I do.

By the way, if you’d like to read Eric’s field report from that same time frame, click here.

Video

Here’s the real-time, real-life “Slow TV” video of this hunting session with the KH1:

Click here to view on YouTube.

30M on the KH1 whip!

I’m pretty sure Elecraft wouldn’t recommend using your KH1 on 30 meters with the whip only because of its low efficiency, but I also know the KH1 will have no problem dealing with the 2:1 match. I bet you’d get an even better match if you lengthen the counterpoise–I simply used the supplied 13′ wire.

Of course–and again–30M on a 4′ whip is not an efficient antenna system, but it’s efficient enough to make some contacts! As my buddy Kurt (NT0Z) says, “RF gotta’ go somewhere.”

I will check in with N6KR and see what he says about this setup.

Library time

Post activation, I found a comfy spot to work in the library and published a new field report.

It struck me that no one passing by would have ever guessed that I had a full HF station in my backpack! For just a moment, it made me feel like an unassuming Cold War spy!

Oh yeah, the backpack: I took advantage of a Black Friday sale at Trakke and purchased the Bannoch Backpack I’d been eyeing for weeks–the discount was deep!

I justified this purchase knowing that I was doing my bit to support the economy of Scotland! Ha ha! Seriously, though, I do love this backpack.

Thank you!

Thank you for joining me for this mini POTA hunting session!

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo make it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free, but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files. Click here if you’d like to support me on Patreon. No pressure.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me!

Cheers & 72,

Thomas (K4SWL)

Events, Field Reports, News, Pedestrian Mobile, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

Ham Radio Workbenches On The Air (& POTA): A short field report and a very long activation video!

3 Comments

Many of you know I’m on the crew of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast. In fact, as of this month, I’ve been there a year now (my how time flies).  Although it shows a certain lack of judgement on their part, I’m glad they invited me on board!

On October 9, fellow HRWB crew member, Mark (N6MTS), pitched an idea to us via email:

“What do y’all think about doing an HRWB On The Air event?”

We all agreed it sounded like a great idea. Things like this normally take a year’s worth of planning, promoting, and organizing. Not when Mark’s in charge, though.

Next thing we know, Mark had us sorting out the best date/time (December 3, 2023/1800-22:00UTC) for HRWBOTA and even reached out to some amazing volunteers who helped put together a website and spotting page.

Holy cow!

December 3, 2023

I planned to operate the entire four hour event period from Lake James State Park (K-2730) since it would be an easy detour en route to Hickory, NC (where I was staying that night). Of course, each contact would could for both HRWBOTA and POTA.

The previous day, however, I learned that one of my daughters had a meeting in downtown Asheville from 18:00-19:00 UTC. She doesn’t have a driver’s license yet, so I had to take her. Had it not been an important meeting in advance of her finals, she would have skipped.

This really threw a wrench in the works. I knew that by the time her meeting ended and I dropped her off at the QTH, the earliest I could be at Lake James was 20:15-20:30 or so.

How could I increase my on-the-air HRWBOTA time?

KH1 to the rescue!

Since the Elecraft KH1 was packed in my EDC bag, I decided to play a little HRWBOTA in the parking lot behind the meeting building.

I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest. I wasn’t spotting myself anywhere but the HRWBOTA spotting page, and I was limited to the 15, 17, and 20M bands with the KH1’s 4′ whip antenna.

I spotted myself, hit the air and started calling CQ HRWBOTA!

In the span of about 45 minutes, I managed to log a total of 15 stations! Not bad considering I was standing in an urban parking lot, swimming in QRM, and going QRP!

I didn’t make a video of this part of the HRWBOTA activation–sorry about that if you worked me then. I needed every moment of on-the-air time I could grab. Here’s my log sheet:

Lake James State Park (K-2739)

I legged it to Lake James after my daughter’s meeting–in fact, to save time, I started my activation video while I was still in my car driving on I-40.

I arrived at Lake James, parked, plugged in the car, grabbed my gear and made my way to the picnic area next to the lakeshore. It wasn’t hard to find a site with a tree that might support my KM4CFT 30/40M linked EFHW antenna.

I include the full antenna deployment and station set-up in my (rather long) activation video below. Continue reading Ham Radio Workbenches On The Air (& POTA): A short field report and a very long activation video! →

Field Radio Kits, Grab And Go, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA

Field Radio Kit Gallery: KO4WDE’s Dual Purpose Xiegu G90 Field Kit

10 Comments

Many thanks to Doug (KO4WDE) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. 

KO4WDE’s Dual Purpose G90 Field Kit

by Doug (KO4WDE)

I have always been an outdoorsman, and for all of my professional life I have been a teacher.   It wasn’t until 2021 that I became a ham. I started out with my tech, and earned my general a few days later.  I built a modest shack around an IC7300 and a Par Endfedz 80-10M EFHW. When these three facets of my life combined something sparked in me and I immediately did two things, took my radio with me outdoors, and I took it to school. Long story short, we now have a school radio club. (KQ4CWT), and I am a POTA junkie.

The Need:

To go portable, I would take my 7300 with me, powered by a Bioenno 20Ah battery, packed neatly into a hard case, with the battery and Wolf River Coil SB1000 stuffed in the front pockets of a massive brown deployment style bag.  My “go kit” was more like a “Hire a mover kit” and weighed a ton.  This worked well, but I really wanted something different.  I needed a portable field radio kit that would be small enough for me to use when hiking and camping, but also serve as a valid and friendly introductory platform for middle and high school students exploring ham radio.

I needed a radio that would provide some of the luxury of the IC7300, including the panadapter waterfall for seeing signals, as well as SSB, and digital mode capability.  The kids, like me, really like FT8.

The Solution:

I settled on the Xiegu G90 radio.  It was much smaller and lighter in weight, had less power consumption, and had many of the features that I thought would still hook kids’ interests, as well as serve me well in the field.  An internal and capable tuner is much appreciated as well. I love the G90, and my students love the G90.

The Build:

To build this kit, I started out with the basic components: the radio, the battery, and the antenna.  To power the radio I use a Bioenno 9ah battery.  It is a bit bigger than what I need but this comes in handy for FT8 activations and the demanding duty cycle penalty that entails, and gives me some slack for device charging. The Wolf River Coil antenna was replaced by an antenna that my club built as a project.   It is a 3D printed chassis and winder for the antennas components and wire designed by (IU10PK) and listed online as “tactical end fed antenna winder” on thingiverse. In addition to these basic components I added an FT8 kit consisting of a DigiRig Mobile, needed cabling and a Evolve III notebook pc.

After reading all of the gallery builds here, I decided to choose a medium sized sling bag to fit the rest of the loadout. Again, I was looking for something to pull double duty for POTA and student work.  My huge original “Hire a mover kit” taught me that I had a tendency to carry way too much. I wasn’t aiming for “Spartan Simple” but I wanted to cut as much as I could. I made a list of my radio critical components, and my support components and shopped accordingly.  I intentionally chose a bag slightly smaller than what I thought I would need to force myself to trim the fat.  I settled on the “Large Rover” sling pack by Red Rock Outdoors.  I chose gray because it would look more at home in my classroom than FDE or OD green, but the color has really grown on me.

The Bag: Red Rock Outdoors Large Rover

(Meme dog talisman adds 5db to all antennas- a wonderful handmade gift from a student!)

The main compartment:

 The main compartment of the bag carries the G90 (with the semi-attached and very bulky fan unit), battery and a Tactical Tailor shemagh I use as a table cloth or ground cover for my bum.  I use the rolled shemagh as a protective layer between the battery and radio.  The battery sits inside the main compartment nicely as well.  Inside the main compartment, there are two sleeves, the rear is unused but the front sleeve houses my coax cable.  The zippered “flap pouch in the top of the main compartment stores my hand mic.  I use little 3D printed protective covers for the mic connectors.

(Little 3D printed protectors for connectors)

The other compartment(s):

The front of the bag has a medium sized pouch with several elastic loops and sleeves.  I use this pouch for my EFHW antenna and my “K4SWL” style bare bones 25M arborist throwline.  There is a small zippered sleeve on the outside that carries an additional 100 feet of 3mm Paracord divided into two sections.

(The front compartment is quite roomy)

At the top of the bag, there is a small zippered pouch that houses my Digirig Mobile and assorted cabling for the G90.  It also carries my charger for the Bioenno battery, and a tiny Anderson Powerpole to USB-C PD charging adapter made by Tufteln that I use to top off the Evolve III’s battery.

The rear of the bag has a very nice sleeve for a device.  The evolve III is a perfect fit.

The Wrap-up:

Although I am new to ham radio and field operations I feel like this little budget kit works exceptionally well for its dual intended purpose.  It’s capable for use in the classroom (or school grounds) as a teaching tool, but also small enough to not murder me on the trail.

The Kit Components:

            Red Rock Outdoors “Large Rover” sling bag

  1. G90 radio with “H2” stand (note: this is an affiliate link that also offers a discount to QRPer.com readers)
  2. 9Ah Bioenno LiFePO4 battery and 2 amp charger
  3. 150A Power meter (Powerwerx clone)
  4. DIY 40-10m EFHW antenna (Link to 3d file)
  5. 25’ Rg8x coax
  6. 25 meters of Marlow Excel 2mm line and a 10oz weight.
  7. Digirig Mobile and cabling
  8. Tufteln Anderson to USB-C adapter
  9. Two 50’ foot lengths of 3mm paracord on scaled down 3d printed antenna winders
  10. Evolve III notebook
  11. 3D printed ethernet cable protectors for mic jacks
  12. Tactical Tailor Shemagh (Discontinued)

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

Antennas, Field Reports, New Products, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, SSB, Videos

SSB and CW QRP POTA: Testing my new KM4CFT End-Fed Antenna Kit!

12 Comments

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Jonathan (KM4CFT) sent me one of his new QRP end-fed half-wave/random wire antenna kits.

When my friend, Alan (W2AEW), caught wind that I planned to buy some 26AWG wire for this build, he sent me a spool of wire from a large reel he’d recently picked up at a hamfest.

What a nice guy! The blue wire is absolutely ideal for portable antennas.

Being the nice guy he is, Alan actually published a video about building Jonathan’s antenna kit on his YouTube channel. I highly recommend watching it!

Before I received the kit, I already knew what type of antenna I’d build: a 30 meter end-fed half-wave (EFHW) linked with a 40 meter extension. This antenna design has been on my mind for some time and Jonathan’s kit was the perfect excuse to build one.

Why a 30M EFHW with a 40M extension? Because a 40M EFHW gives me excellent SWR matches on 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters without needing an ATU.  A 30M EFHW gives me matches 30 and 17 meters.

Thus, with one linked wire antenna, I can cover 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, and 10 meters! That’s a lot of bands!

And since the antenna needs no extra matching, it’ll work with my transceivers that lack an internal ATU.

The Mountain Topper MTR-5B I acquired earlier this year.

In fact, I originally thought about this antenna design to use with my Mountain Topper MTR-5B which covers 40, 30, 20, 17, and 15 meters.

I built this antenna by first trimming it for a 1:1 match on 30 meters including a loop and strain relief to attach the extension.

When I was satisfied with my 30M EFHW, I then made the 40M extension, attached it to the 30M section with 2mm bullet banana connectors, then trimmed the antenna for a 1:1 match on 40M.

I spent the better part of 60 minutes trimming this antenna. I feel like patience really pays off because it’ll set up the antenna for good matches on all of the upper harmonics. Admittedly, I was a bit pressed for time that day, so I only tested this antenna in one configuration (an inverted vee shape) so hadn’t checked the SWR as a sloper or vertical.

My advice is to aim for a 1.3:1 or better match on 30M and 40M–that should be very doable if you wound your transformer correctly.

This was my first attempt at making in-line links, so I wouldn’t consider link my method as a “best practice”–rather, check out K7ULM’s guidance for making in-line links. Continue reading SSB and CW QRP POTA: Testing my new KM4CFT End-Fed Antenna Kit! →

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

POTA by Bicycle: VA3MZD’s QRP Ham Radio Journey

13 Comments

Many thanks to Rod (VA3MZD) who shares the following guest post:

POTA by Bicycle: A Ham Radio Journey

By Rod Murray VA3MZD

First, some background: I earned my Canadian Basic With Honours Amateur Radio License in February of 2022 as a retirement goal while taking advantage of pandemic isolation time to read and study for the exam. I then chose VA3MZD as my call sign. Back in 2007, while teaching in Australia, my students gave me the Aussie nickname, Mr Muzzdog, and it stuck. I’m now Victor Alpha Three Mike Zulu Delta.

At about the time I got licensed, I acquired a Yaesu FT-818ND QRP radio. I had read and heard a lot about POTA and was eager to get on the air but also to operate outdoors. Being active in hiking, cycling and paddling, my immediate goal was to activate a local park on one of my outdoor adventures. I learned as much as I could about QRP and POTA from subscribing to Thomas’ QRPer Blog as well as numerous other channels. I was thrilled when I made my first HF QSO followed shortly thereafter with my first POTA contact as a Hunter from my QTH. This made me even more intent on activating a Park.

My activation attempts from a local park, however, were unsuccessful. QRP with a compromised, mini loop antenna wasn’t working for me. My first successful activation was unique and did not occur until a few months later, far from home.

In May 2022 I traveled to Vancouver, BC to visit family. One of the regulars on my radio club’s morning net (The Elmira Radio Club), a long distance Elmer, so to speak, offered to take me to a local British Columbia park and help me make my first activation. Despite having never met, Trevor VE7BM, scheduled a rendezvous east of Vancouver at VE-3304, Castle Park, and in half an hour, we had over 10 QSOs in the log. I was hooked!

My First Activation with Elmer VE7BM at VE-3304, Castle Park, BC

Upon returning to my home province of Ontario, I acquired an EFRW antenna that I eventually tested for the first time on Field Day in June of 2022. The Nelson 9:1 worked well with my FT-818 and I began taking it on visits to my local Conservation Parks and on hiking trips. I made several successful activations with it but I then ordered a much more portable Tufteln QRP EFRW that Thomas had demonstrated on his QRPer channel. It performed very well and became my regular POTA antenna after installing the Nelson 9:1 permanently in the attic.

Having four POTA units close to home, all within 10 km, made it very convenient to make trips by vehicle to activate them. What makes those 4 parks even more interesting from an outdoor activity perspective is that they are linked by a well maintained rail trail, The Elora-Cataract Trailway which just happens to be part of VE-5082, The Great Trail of Canada! The rail trail connection means that all of these parks can be easily accessed on foot or, my preference, by bicycle.

The Elora Cataract Trailway / The Great Trail of Canada VE-5082 near Shands Dam and Belwood Lake

I started taking my pared down kit, the radio, antenna, tuner, battery and throw line in my bicycle pannier on my regular rides. Then I’d set up the radio for a POTA Activation while visiting a park. My most frequented and my most favourite is VE-5319, Belwood Lake Conservation Area, because of the 10 km eastbound ride through farms and forests, over Shands Dam into the park. Not only is it a pleasant ride, it’s a 2-fer with The Great Trail!

POTA by Bicycle at Belwood Lake Conservation Area – VE-5319/VE-5082

In the westbound direction, The Trailway ends in the scenic and historic tourist town of Elora, and just beyond the town is The Elora Gorge Conservation Area, VE-1392, where the Canadian Heritage designated Grand River cuts a 22 metre chasm through the limestone bedrock.

It has serviced campsites, trails, picnic shelters and tables near mature White Pine trees (Ontario’s Provincial Tree) perfect for deploying a wire antenna. I’ve been fortunate to have met each of these Parks’ Superintendents, and have been able to promote Amateur Radio, my radio club, and also received their full support for POTA activations and Winter Field Day.

Activating VE-1392 Elora Gorge Conservation Area from a picnic shelter with a radio club colleague

Between the two historic mill towns of Fergus and Elora that make up the municipality of Centre Wellington and accessible from The Trailway, stands The Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge National Historic Site, VE-5928. Now renovated to serve as the Wellington County Museum and Archives, the historic limestone building has an interesting, well documented history. Continue reading POTA by Bicycle: VA3MZD’s QRP Ham Radio Journey →