Category Archives: POTA

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

Sailboats at a lakeside activation

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As always there are lots of links within the article. Click one! Click them all! Learn all the things! ?

by Vince (VE6LK)

In August and September 2024 I was travelling around Southern Ontario for some family matters and naturally I brought my radio kit with me to squeeze in some radio therapy stops along the way. This is the report of my stop at CA-5362 Fifty Point Conservation Area.

It’s my second to last day here in Ontario and, as I wasn’t needed for other things, it was time to do a POTA rove and make the best of my last full day. I’m always on the lookout for a park that is within striking distance of wherever I am that I have not activated before and/or has not been activated before in either SSB or CW. So I planned a route to get to 9 parks and managed to get to 7 and activate 5 before other matters called for my attention. All were planned to be drive-up activations given the area and time constraints I was working within.

In my day job, I’m a Project Manager in IT, thus my style is that I plan before I arrive. You’ve already seen evidence of this with my POTA and Checklist tools that I’ve spoken about before. I usually do an in-depth study of a site before I depart, including reviewing linked webpages from the pota.app site, a satellite view and street view of the entrance on maps.google.com, and if it’s available, a 3D view of the area from maps.google.com. Let me know in the comments about the other ways you review a park before your arrival.

However I was pleasantly surprised when I found picnic tables with a view of the water at more than one of them! Balancing the good with the not-so-good, there were also some frustrations… I could not locate one of my planned stops despite driving up and down the road with two different GPSs blaring at me. My experience has shown that the smaller the park, the harder it is to find mapping, and this one from the Conservation Authority was no exception, and thus I abandoned it and drove onwards. Another site was right beside the roadway and high-voltage lines, and I didn’t have time to do a walk-in and get away from the noise floor. I always have a back-up site in my list for situations like this.

The Hamilton/Burlington/Niagara area is very pretty and, with a late summer happening around the time of a harvest moon, I didn’t mind the extra driving. For those of you who have been to Hamvention at Xenia it will be somewhat familiar as the area is full of gently rolling hills and lush green pastures. The humidity is also familiar, ugh, and one of the main reasons I moved away from this area in 1997. But nothing beats the view of sailboats out on the water; I have always found serenity in this -even knowing I get boatsick if I get on board!

The view from my “shack” at Fifty Point Conservation Area looking northwards onto Lake Ontario. On a clear day Toronto can  be seen in the distance. Today wasn’t a clear day, but still quite serene.

Fifty Point is a sprawling 80 Hectare (198 acre) area located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario at Winona. It has a top-tier restaurant, multiple beaches, pavilions and 330 slips for boaters, along with a camping area. It truly is a multi-use area! You can read all about it here (.pdf warning).

After locating the day use/beach area, I found a table overlooking the lake. As it was a mid-week day, there were plenty to choose from. The view was quiet with a few boaters enjoying the beach in the small bay directly in front of me.

A slip loop style bungee holds the feedpoint in place on the picnic table. My new-to-me Tiger-Cats hat proudly on display.

I set up my 40-30-20m trapped EFHW given the solar conditions. I’m so very pleased with the performance of this antenna and it has become the one I reach for the most when activating on this trip. It is about half the length of a conventional 40m wire and is resonant on 3 bands. It has me musing about adding 17m and 15m to it… perhaps N7KOM will offer such a kit?

When I built this antenna, I tuned it so that best resonance was in the middle of the CW portion of each band, and with the feedpoint located just a few feet off the ground and then sloped upwards at the endpoint. That’s how I deployed it this time around. As you see in the prior photo, my newly acquired Fishing Butler bungee strap held the entire thing firmly in place without any movement once I set up the mast. You can get them at Fishing World in Hamilton as they ship around North America. They stock multiple sizes so a phone call may be needed as their online store shows only one size. Ask for the assorted pack.

Trapped 20-30-40m EFHW to my Goture mast and spiral rod holder

Because I never was a Boy Scout and able to know where north is based on the position of the sun and time of day or how many chirps the cricket is giving <grin>, I consulted the compass on my smartphone. I unfurled my antenna and clipped it to the stop of the mast, walked the mast out to the length of the antenna and anchored it into the ground beside some Sumac bushes. With enough repetition, I’ve gotten pretty good at estimating where the far end of my antenna will be. It comes in helpful for parking lot activation and operating out of the trunk or your vehicle with a mast supporting the far end.

For these activations, and when I can, I’ve been orienting my antenna east and west so that it radiates broadside north and south so that I can capture the most number of hunters in North America. This is a contrast to how I normally operate from Alberta when my antenna is oriented to be broadside from southeast to northwest.

The activation itself was pleasant and I was surprised with visits from QRPer.com comment regulars KQ4CW and K5KHK – and I appreciate hearing from them often! 45 minutes after arriving I was packed up and on the road to my next stop.

List of gear used for these activations:

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

Summary

We do POTA (and other programs) for various reasons. On this trip, it’s a break from life’s stresses. As I reflect upon my visits with various people, I realize that I’m quite blessed to know so many friendly hams no matter where I am travelling.

72 and dit dit,
…Vince

First introduced to the magic of radio by a family member in 1969, Vince has been active in the hobby since 2002. He is an Accredited examiner in Canada and the USA, operates on almost all of the modes, and is continually working on making his CW proficiency suck less. He participates in public service events around Western Canada and is active on the air while glamping, mobile, at home or doing a POTA activation. You can hear him on the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, follow him on Twitter @VE6LK, check out his YouTube channel, and view the projects and articles on his website.

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

Big ships and 78GHz by chance!

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As always there are lots of links within the article. Click one! Click them all! Learn all the things!

by Vince (VE6LK)

In August and September 2024, I was travelling around Southern Ontario for some family matters and naturally I brought my radio kit with me to squeeze in some radio therapy stops along the way. This is the report of my stop at CA-6341 Welland Canal System National Historic Site along with CA-6096 Battle of Beaverdams National Historic Site.

This activation took a bit of research to figure out the intersection of the two given that the landscape had been dramatically altered from the time of the Battle of Beaver Dams in 1813. For example, at that time, the Welland Canal did not exist! So the town of Thorold has a park located at the west end of the battle site, and I was able to locate a monument at the east end, thus I was able to extrapolate and see that Lock 7 was in a direct path between the two. Thus I settled at Lock 7 for the activation.

A borrowed grocery cart serves as a mast support given the hard soil. Antenna runs off to the vehicle on the right.

This activation was done later in the day after my “Cross-Border Activation between Friends” and I was pleased to note the conditions had improved a fair bit.

I started off on CW, hunting other friends that were activating (shout-out to Ed W4EMB!) and then switched to SSB QRP where Steve KO4AFL found me and we had a brief chat before we both moved on. I stayed on 20m for this activation.

A quick drive-up activation means operating from the trunk

The Welland Canal is an engineering marvel that allows lake freighters to traverse the 100m/326′ height difference between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Opened in 1833, it sees an average of 3,275 freighters during the shipping season which runs about 9 months of the year. With that sort of traffic, you can be reasonably assured that you’ll see one of these huge freighters on the day and time that you visit the area.

List of gear used for these activations:

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

Summary

After my earlier activation with N2MAK, we drove down the Niagara Parkway past Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake before arriving at the Welland Canal. It was a pleasant day and not terribly humid.

VA3ELE, Peter, with an attempt to set a new distance record on 78GHz

One last ham radio related story to the day was running into Peter (VA3ELE) about 1km from our home-away-from-home as he was attempting to set a new distance record with a friend who was well over 100km away.

Peter explained to me that his radio was 3W and the dish yielded 47dB of gain thus his ERP was around 14,000W see below. Needless to say that I did not stand in front of the dish.

[EDIT Sept 26] with gracious thanks to the math wizardry of David VE7EZM, the result of 47dB of gain with 3W of input is approximately 150,356W ERP.

All in all, labour day 2024 was full of beautiful scenery and lots of Ham Radio – exactly how a vacation day should be in my books.

72 and dit dit,
…Vince

First introduced to the magic of radio by a family member in 1969, Vince has been active in the hobby since 2002. He is an Accredited examiner in Canada and the USA, operates on almost all of the modes, and is continually working on making his CW proficiency suck less. He participates in public service events around Western Canada and is active on the air while glamping, mobile, at home or doing a POTA activation. You can hear him on the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, follow him on Twitter @VE6LK, check out his YouTube channel, and view the projects and articles on his website.

Field Reports, Homebrew, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

QRP POTA: Pairing N3CZ’s Homebrew Transceiver with the TennTennas 49:1 EFHW!

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On Monday, September 2, 2024, my good friend Vlado (N3CZ) and I spent Labor Day morning playing POTA.

Our first activation was at Lake James State Park, using the new CFT1 QRP transceiver. It was a lot of fun–you can read the field report and watch the video by clicking here.

For the second activation, I wanted to take Vlado to a site I’ve activated numerous times—one of my favorites—that he had yet to visit:

Table Rock State Fish Hatchery (US-8012)

We arrived on-site around 11:00 AM and, no surprise, had the place to ourselves. Honestly, I was hoping we’d see the three dogs that often pop by for a visit, but I believe they were on vacation with everyone else!

We both figured 20 meters would be our bread-and-butter band for this activation. More importantly, our transceiver was a 20-meter monoband (more on that below), so I deployed my new 20-meter end-fed half-wave antenna.

This particular EFHW is built on a  transformer by Walter (NE4TN) at TennTennas.

TennTennas 49:1 QRP Transformer

I may have mentioned before that Walter gave me this little 49:1 transformer at Hamvention this year when I met him in person. Walter is one of my top hunters in POTA, and I can often count on hearing his call when I’m on 40 meters.

Walter handed me this little transformer as a thank you, with no obligation to promote it—in fact, he didn’t even tell me where they could be purchased.

But I’m a sucker for home-grown mom-and-pop ham radio businesses, so of course, I’m going to plug it! He sells these on eBay (partnership link) for $39 each as a small side business. Not a bad price for a solid little 49:1!

As I mentioned, I trimmed this one for 20 meters, but I’ll likely make it a linked antenna with 30 and/or 40 meters as well someday.

Vlado’s Homebrew Transceiver

I was also excited that Vlado brought along his homebrew 20-meter QRP transceiver.

I had seen this radio in his shack during various stages of development, but I had never had an opportunity to use it in the field.

I’m not sure if Vlado had used it for a POTA activation yet, in fact.

His little transceiver is super simple but sports proper filtering, an OLED display, and, despite the large battery he connected to it, has modest power requirements.

He built it into an old Kenwood VHF radio chassis he found at a hamfest. I’ve been with Vlado before when he’s hunted for chassis for his various homebrew projects. The OM is always building or repairing something in his shack.

We were really looking forward to putting this little transceiver 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

As with our first activation that day, we decided to take turns with one radio instead of setting up two stations. Vlado was the first op to start calling CQ POTA! Continue reading QRP POTA: Pairing N3CZ’s Homebrew Transceiver with the TennTennas 49:1 EFHW! →

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

Trekking into POTA Heaven: Wrinkly Face Provincial Park Activation

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Many thanks to Jeff (VE7EFF) who shares the following guest post:

2.5 km Trek into Wrinkly Face Provincial Park, BC, CA-4307

by Jeff (VE7EFF)

My goal this summer is to do more backpacked-in POTA activations. This is my 3rd POTA outing over the past week.  Being in Canada, I don’t have much time left this season to do this before the weather turns too wet, cold or snowy for my liking.

I attempted to activate Wrinkly Face Provincial Park, CA-4307 last summer.  However, I couldn’t get there because the FSR forestry service road was washed out about halfway to the park.  My Subaru Forester is an amazing SUV on outback FSR roads, but this washout was too much to even attempt.

So, this year I decided to attempt to hike to the park on foot which turned out to be a 2.5 km trek with about 653 ft elevation gain.  As always, my wife Alexis (VE7LXE) is my travel companion.

Our trailhead starts about an hour’s drive north of Kelowna, BC which is where we live.  We park on the side of a gravel road near the trailhead. We will be following a 2.5 km segment of the Okanagan High Rim Trail, which will take us to our destination in the middle of Wrinkly Face Provincial Park.

We aren’t sure exactly where the trail starts from here.  But just around the corner ahead of the car, is an adjoining FSR road. Here we find a sign and map of the Okanagan High Rim Trail (OHRT).

A closer look at the sign shows the OHRT trail starts near the sign.  I have circled our starting point and ending point on the map photo, marked in yellow.  (We ended up setting down about midway in Wrinkly Face Prov. Park.)   So, off we go.

We found the trail!

Apparently, there was a heavy rain downpour early this morning. So, the trail is quite soggy and damp for most of the trek up.  It’s also feeling quite cold this morning.  We actually felt the need to put gloves on.

The beginning of the trail is a steady uphill trod.  However, it also crosses a couple of FSR roads, which gives us some flat areas to walk on.  While most of the trail is well marked with small markers, there were a few areas where we got off track for a short distance and had to backtrack.  There are also free-range cows up here and they tend to create their own network of trails which often crisscross the OHRT trail, which causes periodic confusion as to which one for us to follow.

Thank goodness, I pre-plan these trips on my Garmin GPS and Google Maps to help with navigation.

I don’t think the OHRT trail is very heavily traveled.  In some areas, the pathway is almost overgrown with vegetation.

Along with overgrown vegetation, fallen trees can also create an occasional obstacle.  Often, the trail doesn’t amount to much more than a game trail.

Finally, some open views to the south!  This could be a viable operating area.  One problem though – we haven’t crossed the park boundary yet.  Good news – the sky is starting to clear!  Onwards and upwards…

Making good progress.  We are now crossing into the park boundary.

Welcome to Wrinkly Face Provincial Park, CA-3407.  You won’t find any parking stalls, camp sites, picnic tables, or outhouses here.  But what I do hope to find here is… POTA heaven!

After trekking about halfway into the park, we finally came across an open meadow.  Looks like this could be our POTA ops spot.  In the far distance is a glimpse of Kelowna and part of Lake Okanagan.

It’s nice to finally offload our packs.

Time to start breaking-out my shack-in-the-pack. Continue reading Trekking into POTA Heaven: Wrinkly Face Provincial Park Activation →

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

Bob and Alanna’s POTA Adventures Along the Cabot Trail!

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Many thanks to Bob (K4RLC) & Alanna (K4AAC) for the following field report:

Cabot Trail Activations on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia  – August 2024

 By Bob K4RLC & Alanna K4AAC

In August 2024, K4AAC, my YL Alanna and I took a trip to magical Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was Alanna’s suggestion to celebrate my 74th birthday in July. She knew my “Bucket List” had a goal to visit and hopefully activate the two Marconi sites east of Sydney, the Parks Canada Marconi Memorial Site and the original 1905 Marconi House National Historic Site, both POTA sites.  Thomas K4SWL kindly published the write up of this adventure a few weeks ago.

After initially activating the Marconi Park station at Glace Bay, we decided to drive the beautiful 300 kilometer Cabot Trail, which circles Cape Breton Island and parallels the rugged Sea coast on both the East and West sides, allowing you to have the steep mountains on your left and the Sea coast on your right – if you make the decision to drive the trail counter-clockwise.

As this was a last minute trip and we had complications with Air Canada delaying our trip by a day, we decided to follow the major points of a clock, and visit sites at the 3:00, 12:00, 9:00, and 6:00 PM positions. The major problem is that there are so many wonderful sites, it’s hard to decide where to visit.

The first day after we left Sydney (see Marconi write-up), we drove to Ingonish Beach Campground on the East, an easy drive from Sydney. You take the the Trans Canada Highway to pick up the northward Cabot Trail in South Haven. The Ingonish area has many places to visit. Alanna had done much Internet research and really wanted to visit Ingonish Beach at the campground. This is a very pleasant white sandy beach, bordered by smooth, rounded glaciated stones and views to the south of Cape Smokey Provincial Park.

As someone who lives part time in North Myrtle Beach SC, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lifeguard but even more surprised to see lots of people enjoying the very cold waters of the north Atlantic, with water temperature almost 20 degrees cooler than SC. It’s not even that cold when we do the Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s at North Myrtle!

Less than a mile north of the beach, you enter the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, an almost 1000 sq KM park that spans from the east side to the west side of the island and has some of the most pleasant  hiking and camping possible,  including 27 different hiking trails.

We decided to hike the Middle Head Trail starting near the historic Keltic Inn. The trail is on a mile plus long narrow finger of land that juts into Ingonish Bay, separating its North and South parts. Middle Head is a rocky, up and down trail, very similar to parts of the Appalachian Trail back home in North Carolina. (While the Scots settled in Cape Breton, many also settled in Western North Carolina, as both areas reminded them of their Scottish Highlands home).

The trail ended in a high rock outcropping. We spent time there enjoying the beautiful ocean view and seeing one lone seal, but it is very popular so we went off to the side and set up the radio on a flat-top boulder. The radio was again Rhett KB4HG’s KX2 (as mine was in the shop), with the modified MP1 base loaded coil Vertical on a camera tripod. Unfortunately, our timing was bad as there was another major solar flare. We only had a few contacts on 20 CW. Nevertheless, the beautiful view and hike was well worth it. We spent the night at a country inn there, overlooking the Bay, and enjoying fresh local lobster tacos.

Figure 1 Middle Head Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Figure 2 K4AAC at Middle Head Trail
Figure 3 Middle Head Trail End Ingonish Bay

The next morning, we resumed driving north toward Bay St. Lawrence with a few possible activation sites in mind.  The first was in the very small fishing village of Neils’ Harbor, where the 1899 Lighthouse is both a POTA site (Neil’s Harbour Lighthouse National Heritage Site) and a Canadian Heritage Lighthouse. There is a small fenced in area around the Lighthouse, keeping you from falling over the cliff to the ocean below, and two picnic tables.

While picturesque, this area had the worst electrical noise I’ve ever heard, ranging from S 6-8. Consequently, I only made two 20CW contacts with Ontario, using the stock KH1. Some may consider this as “failed” activation but, to me, it’s a success to operate in a beautiful, historic site by the ocean. On the positive, inside the Lighthouse is an ice cream shop, selling local flavors, but Cash only.

Figure 4 K4RLC & KH1 Neils’ Lighthouse

Driving 10 KM north off the Trail, we stopped at another POTA site (CA-0454), Cabot’s Landing Provincial Park,  on the shore of Aspy Bay. The park has a white sandy beach coastline, and a monument to John Cabot, who allegedly landed there in 1497. The location also marks the 1856 western terminus of the proposed Transatlantic Telegraph cable from Cape Breton to Newfoundland. It was another Kodachrome day by the ocean, with a scenic vista of the steep face of the Pollets Cove-Aspy Fault Wilderness Area to the north of the coastline.

Having gotten there before lunch, I was really happy to see few beach-goers and several high posts around where I hoped to erect an EFHW for 20 meters. Unfortunately, just as we began setting up, the park became filled with sunbathers, of course walking through the planned antenna area. Thankfully, the trusty KX2 and Modified MP1 on the camera tripod by the picnic table did fine. Propagation was decent for a change, and I soon was working a pile-up of other Canadian stations and into the US on 20 CW. But the most amazing aspect was that there was absolutely no electrical noise to interfere with this activation. It was a wonderful experience to operate in a really quiet and picturesque area, so far off the electrical grid. Continue reading Bob and Alanna’s POTA Adventures Along the Cabot Trail! →

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

The POTA Babe Spreads Her Wings at Pinckney Island

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by Teri KO4WFP

Friday, September 13th, I headed to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge (US-0265) for a POTA activation and was without Daisy as dogs are not allowed at this refuge. Pinckney Island is a 4,000+ acre wildlife refuge off Highway US 278 on the way to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The refuge consists of four islands and numerous small hammocks with Pinckney Island being the largest of the islands and the only one open to the public.

The refuge is named after Major General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and is one of seven refuges managed by the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex in Savannah, Georgia. Prior to my time as a ham radio operator, I volunteered for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and spent time at four – Savannah, Harris Neck, Wassaw Island, and Blackbeard Island – out of the seven refuges they manage. I never made it to Pinckney Island so I was excited to finally see this property.

Portrait by James Earl. Source: Wikipedia

Most of Pinckney Island is accessible by foot or bicycle only. After parking my car in the designated lot, I began hiking to my destination – Ibis Pond, a large pond for waterfowl about a mile from the parking lot.

Just before I reached the information kiosk, I got a great look at an armadillo doing what most gardeners and lawn aficionados hate – tearing up the ground in search of food. This mammal eats mostly invertebrates including insects and especially likes grubs. They have horrible eyesight but keen hearing and I was surprised this guy or gal let me get as close as he or she did.

information kiosk

Pinckney island is an important link in the chain of wildlife refuges along the Atlantic Flyway and attracts thousands of migratory birds each year, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The Atlantic Flyway is a major north-south route for migratory birds and it generally follows the Atlantic Coast of the US.

source: North Dakota Fish & Game Department

I saw and heard many birds while visiting the refuge including a flock of White Ibis feeding in the marsh and tidal flats, a Great Blue Heron fishing with a Snowy Egret walking nearby, American Coots, a molting male Painted Bunting, crows flying overhead, and I swear I heard a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling to one another at Ibis Pond. I could have spent all day watching the comings and goings of the refuge inhabitants let alone do a POTA activation.

White Ibis feeding in the marsh
American Coots at Ibis Pond
White Ibis in the trees at the pond during my activation
Trail into Pinckney Island

However, I was here for POTA and, in short order, arrived at Ibis Pond. It is one of five manmade ponds on the island and exists to preserve feeding and nesting areas for birds. The pond has cattails around its edges and much of the water is covered by duckweed.  I figured I would be less likely to have any human visitors if I followed the trail around the pond to the far side. But I was wrong. Ten to twelve people walked by my station while there, more than I usually encounter at any park. Continue reading The POTA Babe Spreads Her Wings at Pinckney Island →

Field Reports, New Products, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

Xiegu X6200: Does version 1.0.1 firmware fix CW keyer timing?

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I’ve had a production unit of the Xiegu X6200 since June of this year and have made several field reports using it for both SSB and CW.

You may have noticed, though, that I haven’t used it much in the field since June.

The reason? I’m primarily a CW operator, and the original firmware had some frustrating CW keyer timing issues.

These keying issues are most noticeable when operating in iambic mode, especially when trying to form letters like C, R, or K by squeezing the paddles. Often, when I try to send a “C,” as in “CQ,” the keyer produces a “B” instead. If you’ve watched any of my previous X6200 videos, you might have seen this happen a few times.

After some time using the radio, I can adapt and reduce the miskeying, but it still happens occasionally. I suspect part of the issue is related to the keyer timing in relation to the transmit/receive switching.

While these keyer issues aren’t severe enough to prevent me from completing an activation, they are certainly annoying.

As I’m reviewing the X6200 (thanks to Radioddity for the extended loan!), I reported the issue to Xiegu back in May and hoped the first firmware update would address it.

The first firmware update, Version 1.0.1, was released in early August. There was an earlier release, but it was retracted due to other issues.

I checked the release notes and didn’t see anything specific about CW keyer timing in the long list of fixes. I had hoped another update would follow soon, but none has been issued yet. Meanwhile, several readers and subscribers have asked me if the keyer issue was resolved.

I decided to update the firmware and take the X6200 out for another field test.

If you follow QRPer.com daily, you may have already seen the spoiler alert: unfortunately, the keyer timing issue was not fixed in this release.

Still, I had a great time squeezing in a quick activation with the X6200, and I thought I’d share the video and a mini field report with you now!

Pisgah National Forest (US-4510)

My wife and I were out while one of our daughters was in Shakespeare rehearsals in Mills River, NC on Friday September 6, 2024. We had a number of errands to run, but my wife kindly worked with me to carve out 30 minutes for a quick activation.

The most convenient POTA location was the Sycamore Flats Picnic Area in Pisgah National Forest.

By mid-afternoon, the park was busy, but most of the picnic areas were open, giving me plenty of options for setting up.

With limited time, I turned on the camera to start my real-time, real-life activation video and got straight to work.

Since the X6200 has a built-in ATU, I decided to use my PackTenna End-Fed Random Wire, as it’s quick to deploy with its 31’ long radiator—any nearby tree would do.

Next, I paired the X6200 with my BaMaKeY TP-III, plugged in the antenna, and found a spot on the band to start operating!

Time to POTA!

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

After tuning up on the 20-meter band, I spotted myself and started calling CQ POTA. Fortunately, hunters quickly responded.

In just twelve minutes, I logged thirteen contacts. Thanks to all the hunters!

My activation was brief, and I was so focused on making contacts and packing up that I forgot to take any photos of the radio in action. I’ve included some screen captures from the video instead.

I did manage to take photos of the logs:

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.

CW Keyer Timing

As I discovered during this activation, the CW keyer timing issue has not yet been addressed in the firmware update.

After returning home, I made some notes and reached out to Xiegu to confirm that the CW keyer timing is still on their radar. They assured me that it will be addressed in the next firmware update. I’ll definitely test it and let you know once it’s resolved, so stay tuned!

If you’ve already purchased an X6200, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this all-in-one radio in the comments!

Thank you

Thank you for joining me during this short activation!

I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them!

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 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 makes 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! Have a brilliant weekend!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

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

When three contacts equals a successful activation

11 Comments

As always there are lots of links within the article. Click one! Click them all! Learn all the things! ?

by Vince (VE6LK)

In August and September 2024 I was travelling around Southern Ontario for some family matters and naturally I brought my radio kit with me to squeeze in some radio therapy stops along the way. This is the report of my stop at CA-5367, McQuesten House / Whitehern National Historic Site.

View from the rear of Whitehern showing nearby office tower

This site is located in downtown Hamilton and among the tall building and features a walled rear garden. It is open to all visitors and there is no fee to visit the facility. This two-storey neoclassical house was the home of a prominent family, the McQuestens, and retains many of its original Victorian and Edwardian fittings and furnishings. It is now a museum open to the public.

This activation was strictly by chance and I had less than an hour before I was due to be someplace else. I did not check the solar conditions in advance nor anything about the site. Sometimes just showing up is fun in and of itself, am I right? So I found my way around to the rear garden and found a bench in an out-of-the-way corner and set up for a low impact activation.

I deployed my AX1 on it’s small tripod and placed it on the ground and ran out a 20m counterpoise wire beside the walking path. I set myself and the radio gear on a park bench along the path. It truly felt like a small enclave!

After calling for 10 minutes with zero replies I checked the solar conditions and see that a small flare had just hit. That might explain the soft conditions, and combined with the compromised antenna and its close proximity to me. I moved the antenna away from me as far as the feedline would allow. Only then was I able to log just a few contacts and those were hard-fought. Then I ran out of time.

The author in his temporary enclave
A partial log. Contacts were not obtained by calling out, but by hunting others.

List of gear used for these activations:

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Summary

I’ve spoken before about “getting to 10” with a POTA activation. For me, that’s always one of my goals. But it isn’t the only goal. I also enjoy the new scenery, the journey, the research and the challenge. This visit was high on the scenery and the challenge end of the scale for sure.

72 and dit dit,
…Vince

First introduced to the magic of radio by a family member in 1969, Vince has been active in the hobby since 2002. He is an Accredited examiner in Canada and the USA, operates on almost all of the modes, and is continually working on making his CW proficiency suck less. He participates in public service events around Western Canada and is active on the air while glamping, mobile, at home or doing a POTA activation. You can hear him on the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, follow him on Twitter @VE6LK, check out his YouTube channel, and view the projects and articles on his website.

Field Reports, New Products, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

CFT1 QRP: Labor Day Morning POTA with Vlado at Lake James State Park!

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Labor Day weekend turned out to be full of labor here at QTH K4SWL. My wife and I had numerous projects to tackle, and my daughters had various activities scheduled as well. By Sunday, my wife looked at me and said, “You need a break. Why not spend tomorrow catching up on POTA?”

That was music to my ears.

I messaged my buddy, Vlado, to see if he might be interested in joining me, and he quickly replied, “Of course!”

So on Monday, September 2, 2024, Vlado packed his radio gear in my car, and we discussed where we should go. We had most of the day for radio, but we needed to decide if we’d head north, south, east, or west. In the end, we chose to travel east, as it offered the most options, including one site Vlado had never activated.

We decided to start at Lake James State Park. Since Vlado had only activated Lake James for the first time the previous day at the Paddy’s Creek Access, we opted for the Catawba River Access.

Lake James State Park (US-2739)

It was Labor Day, so we knew Lake James would get busy around lunchtime, which is why we hit it early. I also knew Paddy’s Creek Access would be much busier today because it has the beach, and I remembered how full the parking lot was during my Labor Day activation in 2023!

At 9:00 AM, when Vlado and I arrived at the Catawba River access, we were among the few people there, so we had our pick of spots to set up the POTA station.

For convenience—especially since there had been a deluge of rain the night before—we chose a spot close to the car, where I’ve activated a number of times in the past.

I also took this opportunity to show Vlado how to use an arborist throw line.

While I didn’t record the antenna deployment—frankly, I didn’t think about it at the time—I wish I had. Vlado was a natural!

On his second-ever throw, he snagged the perfect branch to deploy a 40-meter end-fed half-wave antenna.

CFT1 Time!

The CFT1 with Tufteln cover/stand, audio cable and pack with battery.

I knew exactly which radio I wanted to operate during this activation: the CFT1 by Jonathan (KM4CFT).

I had only recently swapped out my Beta unit for a production CFT1. As a thank-you to Beta testers, Jonathan let us keep the units we tested. I worked with Jonathan and Dan to return the Beta unit and compensate them for the difference.

In truth, there were only a few changes, mostly cosmetic, between the Beta and production units. The biggest improvement for me was that the Beta unit lacked a way to adjust the sidetone level independently from the AF gain. The production unit has this feature, which was my primary motivation for upgrading.

In addition, I prefer using radios that match what my readers and subscribers have. When I use a Beta unit, even if the changes are purely cosmetic, it generates more questions.

Interestingly, this wouldn’t be Vlado’s first time using the CFT1. He must have been one of the first people outside the Beta testing team to try it because we used it on Field Day alongside the TR-45L and X6200 (although you won’t see it in my report since it was still somewhat of a secret project at the time).

We paired my MW0SAW 40-meter EFHW and Bamakey TP-III with the CFT1. I also used my Anker Soundcore Mini speaker for audio.

Time to POTA!

Gear:

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On The Air

Beforehand, Vlado and I decided to set up just one station and take turns activating.

Vlado went first! He called CQ POTA, and hunters started replying. Continue reading CFT1 QRP: Labor Day Morning POTA with Vlado at Lake James State Park! →

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

Jeff’s Backcountry POTA Adventure: Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve Activation

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Many thanks to Jeff (VE7EFF) who shares the following guest post:

Off The Beaten Path – Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve, CA-3925

by Jeff (VE7EFF)

This is the 2nd backpacked-in POTA activation outing that my wife and I have done this summer.  I’m the 2nd person to have ever activated the Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve (CA-3925).  Last year was the first time I activated this eco reserve and that was also my first ever backpacked-in POTA activation.

After studying my GPS and Google Maps/Satellite view of the area, my goal this time is to trek about twice as far and twice as high as last year’s outing.  There are no documented trails here.  Access is a mixture of old overgrown and abandoned forestry road (or fire break, not sure which) and some crisscrossing animal game trails.  The actual mileage/Km’s isn’t really that far, but it’s all uphill and a mixture of bushwhacking and scaling slippery grassy slopes.

The reserve borders along the busy highway 97, between the cities of Vernon and Kelowna, BC.  The area overlooks the beautiful Kalamalka Lake, as you will see in some of the photos.  There’s no actual parking lot, just a small gravel pull-over spot just off the highway.  There is no formal pathway into the reserve either, so we had to scale the gated fence to start our journey.

I’m a little bit familiar with the route we took last year, but I heavily rely on my Garmin 66sr GPS and Google Maps/Satellite view on my Pixel phone.

My wife Alexis (VE7LXE), accompanies me on all my POTA outings.  She packs the food and water while I pack the ham gear and other outdoor essentials.  We both carry IC-V80 VHF handhelds for comms in the event we ever get separated.  And of course we always carry bear spray when doing backcountry treks.

We do have some relatively flat areas in sections, but there are also a lot of deadfall trees to either step over, climb over, or go around.

This grassy meadow is where I activated last year.  Actually at the top end of the meadow.  But today’s goal is to find another open grassy meadow higher up the mountain.  Higher usually means better radio propagation, not to mention spectacular views.

Beyond the grassy meadow, we followed some semblance of a trail.  But it wasn’t long before I realized that it wasn’t taking me where I really needed to go. So, according to my GPS and Google Satellite, we needed to head straight up-hill.

This was actually a real slog uphill (especially for us 73 and 72 year olds). 🙂

We decided that we have gone high enough.  Time to off-load our packs. Continue reading Jeff’s Backcountry POTA Adventure: Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve Activation →