Category Archives: Travel

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The POTA Babe Strikes Out – Day 3

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by Teri (KO4WFP)

As my friend Jon KC1FUU says “Some days are diamonds, some are stone.” The third day (Tuesday, July 16) of my North Carolina trip definitely fell into the “stone” category.

The day began nice enough with a slow but steady pace. As our next overnight stay was at Lake James State Park, it was time to break camp and set out northward for Linville Gorge Wilderness Area (US-10262). According to the US Forest Service website, “the gorge is formed by the Jonas Ridge on the east and Linville Mountain on the west and is bisected by the Linville River which drops 2,000 feet into the valleys below.” The gorge is also known as the “Grand Canyon of Eastern USA”.

source: GIS Geography

When you activate parks out of the state and with which you are unfamiliar, you never know what the actual conditions will be until you arrive. In case we didn’t want to hike into the gorge, I figured there would a parking lot at which we could set up as is typical of many parks. However, that is NOT the case here. The roads that run along the gorge are also not in the park boundary. All the trails to hike are rated difficult except for one which doesn’t go into the gorge.

After the previous day, I was loathe to do any major hiking, especially for Daisy. The weather didn’t help either as it was sunny and warm.

There was one hike – Spencer Ridge Trail – whose description said there was a moderate section. Plan B was to ride to the other side of the gorge and hike enough to be in the park boundary and try an activation on Spencer Ridge Trail.

Spencer Trail circled in black on Linville Gorge map

Have you ever ridden any forest service roads? Whew! They are a rough bunch of characters. This one – Table Rock Road – was no different. Roads like this is why I drive my Crosstrek Kai, as he is made for these kinds of adventures.

This photo doesn’t begin to convey the bumpy condition of this road!
A huge rock along the forest service road

We parked in the lot for Spencer Ridge Trail, geared up, and began the hike. A little ways down the trail, we stopped and I set up for an activation. There was no way to put up an antenna in the trees as this was a  narrow trail and likely there would be hikers coming along at some point. I opted for the AX1 and hopped onto 20 meters. After 10 minutes of calling CQ with no answers, I thought about moving to 40 meters. However, there was no room for that long of a counterpoise and, by this time, I was ready to admit “uncle” to the gorge. Sometimes, as another acquaintance says, “the juice ain’t worth the squeeze,” and it wasn’t by this point.

The trail
My view – looking straight into the foliage with the trail behind me

We rehydrated, loaded ourselves back into the car for the bumpy, crazy service road ride, and went on our way to the next activation – Table Rock Fish Hatchery (US-8012).

The hatchery, built in 1946, has 17 ponds as well as a flowing water flume for holding trout. Its water supply is nearby Irish Creek. It is the only coolwater hatchery in the state due to its location which  raises fingerling smallmouth bass, walleye, and muskallunge as well as channel catfish.

Maybe I should have taken the rain I encountered as an omen this activation was not to be. It poured on the drive to the hatchery and for about 15 minutes at the site. There was blue sky in the distance and the clouds seemed to be clearing when all of sudden, the sun was out! However, with the sun came intense humidity, almost south-Georgia level humidity.

I set up in a picnic area outside the hatchery gates but still on hatchery property. I found a spot I could park Kai under branches for shade. As there were dogs loose on the property and the ground was soggy, I left Daisy in the car with the windows down and the Koonie fan on high to keep her cool.

Picnic area
Kai in the shade
Daisy keeping cool in the car

Due to the rain, there was no lack of wildlife. As I set up, I disturbed a bunch of tiny (and I mean tiny) frogs. During the activation, I kept an eye on the ground while calling CQ over and over and spied a little beetle crawling nearby.

One of the frogs I inadvertantly disturbed

I deployed the EFRW antenna and hopped on the air. I’m not sure if it was the location or bad propagation or both but I had only one nibble. (Thank you Tim VA3UZ for that single contact!) I tried 20 meters for two periods as well as five minutes each on 40 and 30 meters. It was hot and humid. While setting up, the feed-end of my EFRW had dropped out of my pocket unbeknownst to me and I tore my hair out for over 20 minutes trying to locate it. Between the weather, the frustration from temporarily losing the antenna feed-end, and the lack of contacts, I had had enough and called QRT.

Throwing the arbor line to snag my branch
The creek at the hatchery
My QTH

We drove onto Lake James State Park to set up camp for the night. What a pretty and open landscape this park has. I booked a spot in the Paddy campground, spot #1 right near the bathhouse. Given the rainy weather we encountered, this proved to be a good spot.

Lake James campsite

I planned for an evening activation at Lake James; however, the weather had a different idea. It rained several times over the course of the evening. So, the POTA Babe struck out – zero successful activations of the three parks planned for the day.

Yes, it was a stone kind of day. The good thing about stone days is they don’t stick around. At some point, the diamond days show up again. Was day four of my North Carolina  trip a diamond day? Stay tuned…

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QRP Dreams in the City of Lights: Rand’s Eiffel Tower Beacon Attempt

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Many thanks to Rand (W7UDT) for sharing this short field report:

Eiffel Tower QRP (Failed) “Activation”

by Rand (W7UDT/FR)

Earlier this Spring, my wife & I went on a ten day vacation to Paris. What a beautiful city, and a memorable time we had! Amongst our many excursions, was a visit to the Eiffel Tower.

As an iconic Paris structure, it has few rivals, save perhaps the Great Wall, or Pyramids of Giza. Gustave Eiffel and just 200 or so men, assembled this pre-fabricated masterpiece, with 2.5 million hot rivets, in around two and one half years. And no one died! Imagine that, all 1,000 feet or so, built in the 1890’s. Wow!

The Eiffel Tower is truly an amazing structure, and soooo… (In the spirit of Eiffel), I had an idea. Why not stealthily activate its summit, and send out a beacon signal, just to see what propagation may be achieved.

Here’s a link: The Eiffel Tower and science – OFFICIAL Eiffel Tower Website

My QRP Kit…

  • QRP Labs QCX Mini Twenty w/K6ARK CapKey Mod
  • TalentCell 3aH 12v w/DC Lead (Velcro’d, banded & handheld)
  • 20m T-Whip Antenna (measured & tested SWR) & φ 20″ (counterpoise)

My unsent beacon message… (In two Parts)
“Test Test de W7UDT W7UDT/FR Liberte’ Egalite’ Fraternite!”
“Vive la France! de W7UDT/FR Eiffel Tower Paris Test Test”

But alas, the crowds, the anti-suicide/base jumping (faraday) cage at its summit, and my wife, all served to dissuade me from extending the whip, and sending out the beacon. So sadly, no attempt was made.

I personally would love to have some relative of Ol’ Gustave do it, and activate the summit. Why not? He’d intended its heights to be used as scientific platform, and to be admired by all who visited.

Vive la France!

72 de W7UDT ID (dit dit)

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The POTA Babe Becomes a SOTA Babe – Part 1

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by Teri (KO4WFP)

Monday, July 15, the second day of my North Carolina camping trip for POTA and SOTA, started chilly with overcast skies. Today I would attempt my first SOTA activations. I chose two easy summits – Black Balsam Knob and Richland  Balsam.

map source: blueridgepark.org
map source: bluedridgeparkway.org

Daisy and I headed out after a simple breakfast up US Highway 276 through the Pisgah National Forest toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. Along the route, we encountered Looking Glass waterfall. The last time I visited this waterfall, it was packed with spectators. Today, I shared it with only one other person. It was a nice way to begin what turned out to be a very long day (spoiler alert).

Looking Glass Waterfall

If you haven’t driven the Blue Ridge Parkway, put it on your bucket list! I’ve been on the parkway more times than I can remember. I relish driving it. Surprisingly, I encountered very little traffic this day so I could move at my own pace along the banked turns and stunning vistas.

The parking area for Black Balsam was already full when I arrived; however, several other cars were making use of the side of the road and I pulled in behind a couple who were suiting up for their hike. It turns out the husband of the couple had a father who was a ham and learned CW during World War II. It is a small world indeed.

Lots of cars already at parking area.

The hike to Black Balsam Knob  is not one I’d consider easy, especially scrambling over the rocky surfaces. Before the trip, I was concerned as to how Daisy would handle hiking given she’s done nothing like this before. It became obvious why she is a POTA pup – the terrain didn’t bother her in the least!

Part of the trail to Black Balsam summit

On the hike up, we saw Carolina lilies growing wild along the trail. There were also bees everywhere, especially in some yellow wildflowers I could not identify.

Carolina Lilly
Yellow flowers in which the bees were active

I was grateful the skies were overcast and the temps on the cooler side (upper 60s). There was a light breeze when we arrived at what I thought was the summit and the tall grasses stirred in it. You could see for miles! The hike was worth the view.

Overcast skies from the top of Black Balsam

I originally thought I would use my EFRW mounted on a fishing pole for my SOTA activations. However, cleaning, stripping, and re-waterproofing the tent/rainfly took so much time, I didn’t follow through with a solution to support it on a summit with no woody vegetation. I opted to use the AX1 instead with the configuration Thomas has had the most success – mounted to the side of the KX2. I also took with me the counterpoises (20 and 40 meters) that came with the antenna.

Once on the air, I called CQ SOTA to make sure I worked those ops first given they are fewer in number than POTA hunters. Since the activation would count for both SOTA (Black Balsam Knob W4C/CM-003) and POTA (Pisgah National Forest US-4510), I gave my location (NC) for all exchanges. (I think SOTA just requires an RST.) I worked seven stations in ten minutes, a good rate.

Operating

I moved down one Hertz as I began faintly hearing someone else on the frequency. (Yes, I cleared it first; however, given I was operating QRP, fighting for the frequency was probably a losing battle.) It was at this point I began calling CQ POTA and the callers dried up. I did have cell service here and worked one park-to-park with Kenneth NS1C at US-11632 in Massachusetts. I continued to call CQ both on 20 and 17 meters with no luck. I didn’t opt to try 40 meters as I figured it wouldn’t be any better.

QSO map for Black Balsam Knob/Pisgah Nat’l Forest source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/

About the time I had packed up my gear, Gary W5GDW contacted me asking about 40 meters. I was loathe to pull my equipment back out. He also advised me there was a solar flare. (Maybe that was why I suddenly didn’t hear anyone.)

At this point, I had a valid SOTA activation but not for POTA. I figured the campground at which I was staying – Davidson River Campground – is in Pisgah National Forest so I could finish my activation at my campsite later in the afternoon.

As I headed down the mountain, I began questioning whether I had actually reached the summit. Something didn’t feel right. I checked the map at the trailhead and noticed Black Balsam Knob has a plaque honoring Art Loeb and I didn’t recall seeing any such thing. Uh oh. Maybe I hadn’t had my first SOTA activation. My heart sank.

Map at trailhead for Black Balsam Knob

First of all, it was demoralizing I had botched my very first SOTA. Second, how humiliating because of how public it would be. Honesty is one of my values and I’d have to admit the mistake. I almost scrapped the remainder of the day I was so bummed. However, I didn’t drive all the way to North Carolina to scrap activations so onward I went to the next one – Richland Balsam – which would give me a SOTA activation and two POTA parks. Did I redeem myself? Stay tuned…

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A Radio-Active Day in the Triangle: POTA, Satellites, & Southern Hospitality in the Summer Heat

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As mentioned in previous field reports, my wife and I spent the week of July 7th, 2024, in Wilmington, North Carolina, while our daughters were at summer programs at NCSU and UNCW.

We had an amazing time and I managed to squeeze in some Parks on the Air (POTA) activations at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, Carolina Beach State Park, and an epic activation at the Battleship North Carolina!

On Sunday, July 14th, we packed our bags and drove to Raleigh where we visited the NC History Museum and NC Museum of Natural Sciences. We were in the midst of a heat wave, so the time spent indoors at the museums was much appreciated.

A beautiful display of vintage radios in the NC History Museum.

I had my Elecraft KH1 packed and planned to activate the State Capitol (US-6852), conveniently located next to the museum parking lots. The State Capitol grounds truly requires a super low-impact radio like the KH1 due to the strong security presence and limited setup space.

Upon arriving at the State Capitol, we found a large gathering (possibly a protest) and sweltering heat (104°F/40°C)! I decided to postpone the activation and instead opted for an early morning activation, the following day, at William B. Umstead State Park, just a ten-minute drive from our hotel.

I checked the park’s website and discovered that the gates opened at 8:00 AM. This was perfect: I could grab breakfast at 6:00 AM, catch up on emails, head to the park, activate until 9:30 AM or so, return to the hotel, and still have enough time for our 11:00 AM Duke University tour. (The reason we spent extra days in the Raleigh/Durham area was so that our daughters could tour NCSU, Duke, and UNC Chapel Hill.)

William B. Umstead State Park (US-2755)

I arrived at the park just a few minutes after the gates opened.

Although I had never been to William B. Umstead State Park, I had studied a map beforehand and knew there was a picnic area accessible from the entrance I chose (the park has multiple entry points, and I selected the one closest to our hotel).

It’s a beautiful park, and the contrast between the morning commuter traffic and the oasis of trees was striking! I parked at the first picnic area I found, grabbed my radio pack, and chose a picnic site.

This early in the morning, the picnic area was deserted – I only saw runners, walkers, and park staff.

Setting up

For this activation, I brought my Penntek TR-45L and paired it with my KM4CFT 30M end-fed half-wave with a 40M linked extension.

Although I found an ideal setup spot, the surrounding trees proved to be a challenge! The branches were either too low or too high. After some effort, I managed to snag a suitable branch with my throw line, deployed the antenna, and was ready to get on the air!

Gear

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On The Air

Being this early in the morning, I started the activation on 40 meters.

I called CQ POTA only for a short time before the hunters found me. Fortunately, band conditions were pretty respectable! Continue reading A Radio-Active Day in the Triangle: POTA, Satellites, & Southern Hospitality in the Summer Heat →

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

The POTA Babe Goes North – Day 1

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by Teri (KO4WFP)

Sunday, July 14 finally arrived, a day for which I prepared the past five weeks. It was time for Daisy and the POTA Babe to head to North Carolina for a week of POTA, SOTA, and camping. The drive was straight-forward and easy – Interstate 95 to Interstate 26.

About four hours after leaving Savannah, we arrived at my first POTA location: the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site (US-0804) in Flat Rock, NC.

map source: GIS Geography

I LOVE visiting North Carolina. Nearly everywhere you look in the countryside you see green, green, GREEN. There are ferns (one of my favorite plants) in the understory. There are wildflowers in the fields I don’t see back home. There is a certain earthy smell when one walks trails. And the roads! Don’t get me started on how much fun I have driving the winding mountain roads with their banked curves! (Can you tell I love visiting North Carolina?)

Ferns in the woods of the Carl Sandburg site

Back to the story at hand, the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site is 264 acres and contains the home of Carl Sandburg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and poet. He and his family moved to the site in 1945. It suited his need for seclusion and his wife’s needs for raising her prize-winning goats. In fact, the park service actually maintains roughly fifteen goats in a historic herd on site today.

Property map with my notes

The Sandburg home sits atop a hill and one gets glimpses of the house as you walk along the lengthy driveway winding up the hill toward it. The drive is shaded and benches dot the pathway beckoning one to sit and enjoy the quiet. I longingly looked at them as an activation site but the intermittent presence of pedestrians nixed that idea.

Daisy is ready to go!
The trail around the lake was necessary as a pedestrian bridge was under construction
View of the house from the driveway looking up the hill
Path along the driveway

Both Daisy and I were surprised by the heat of the day. The temperature was 91 degrees! Thankfully, outside the house I spied some trees with shade beneath them. Their orientation would allow me to run my antenna toward the northwest and their shade was a welcome respite from the heat.

The Sandburg home
Our QTH in the shade

Given I saw no restrictions on antennas in the trees when reading the rules of using the property, I promptly set about getting the EFRW up. Trust this hobby to keep you humble, though. On my last activation at Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area, it took just one perfect throw to snag the branch I wanted. Today, it took four! Some days you have it and others you don’t.

Creatively displaying the POTA flag!

The activation proceeded slowly, I think mostly due to the inconsistent band conditions. It took an hour to log twelve stations. There were several stations I heard but they were too faint or they disappeared on me. Continue reading The POTA Babe Goes North – Day 1 →

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Video: IX1CKN & IW0HK’s Friedrichshafen ’24 POTA Rove

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Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) for sharing the following video recorded during his multi-park rove with Andrea (IU1APL).

The video was only recently published, but I’ve added it to Christian’s original field report. We’re highlighting it here for those who may otherwise miss it. (Note: Some of the video is in Italian, but YouTube closed captioning can auto-translate.)

Click here to view on YouTube.

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

Beautiful POTA activation at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson and Afternoon in Southport!

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On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, my wife and I were in the middle of a week-long stay in Wilmington, North Carolina, while our daughters attended residential programs at NCSU and UNCW.

That particular day, we couldn’t decide what to do because the weather was fickle! Temperatures and humidity were high, fueling a constant string of isolated thunderstorms rolling over Wilmington and the Cape Fear River area. Every hour or so, a new storm would roll past.

Heather suggested I fit in a POTA activation, and, of course, I loved the idea. I just didn’t want to play radio anywhere near thunderstorms.

We decided to drive south to one of my favorite coastal towns in North Carolina: Southport. Based on the weather radar, it looked like we could drive to Southport on the west side of the river, then return via the Fort Fisher Ferry on the east side, potentially avoiding most of the isolated thunderstorms moving north along the coast.

After stopping in Leland for supplies, we made our way to Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson State Historic Site, directly across the Cape Fear River from where I’d activated the previous day at Carolina Beach State Park (US-2722).

En route, we drove into a thundershower with rain so intense that most cars on the road turned on their hazard lights and slowed to a crawl. Visibility was nil.

Fortunately, the heaviest rain only lasted 10 or so minutes, and by the time we were two minutes from the park entrance, it had slowed to a drizzle. As we parked at the visitor’s center, it had all but cleared up.

Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson State Historic Site (US-6834)

Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site is unique in that it offers a blend of colonial and Civil War history along the beautiful Cape Fear River.

Founded in 1726, Brunswick quickly grew into a bustling port town known for exporting naval stores. However, the town was burned by British troops in 1776 and never rebuilt, leaving behind ruins for visitors to explore today.

During the Civil War, Confederate forces constructed Fort Anderson atop the remnants of Brunswick. The fort’s earthen walls and impressive gun emplacements now stand as a reminder of the region’s strategic importance during this turbulent period.

Visitors can explore the colonial foundations and Civil War earthworks, while enjoying the river waterfront.

There’s also a visitor’s center with exhibits detailing the area’s rich history.

I was pleased to spot a picnic area on the opposite side of the parking lot from the visitors’ center. This would allow me to set up close enough to the car that if another storm approached, I could pack up quickly.

First, I introduced myself to the staff and asked for permission to activate. I was confident they would grant it, as this site had been activated 39 times already (mine would be the 40th).

The two park rangers inside were incredibly kind and accommodating. My wife and I ended up speaking with them about history for nearly 30 minutes. I also gave them more insight into the POTA program and asked if activators were following their rules. Fortunately, they gave a very positive report. NC State Historic Sites protect both the archaeology of the site and the natural resources, so I always ask for permission to activate because some sites have restrictions about putting lines in trees or stakes/spikes in the ground. Fortunately, this was not an issue at the picnic area.

Setting up

Since weather was iffy and since Heather and I wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon in nearby Southport, I decided to pair my Elecraft KX2 with my AX1 antenna.

This also gave me a chance to try out a new 3D-printed bipod that my friend Mike (KE8PTX) sent me.

This Bipod consists of a 3D-printed clip and knob designed by Adam (K6ARK) and two legs designed by Mike.

I was really amazed at 1.) how easy it was to attach the clip to the antenna’s BNC base and 2.) how incredibly stable this Bipod felt even compared with the OEM bipod.

Thank you, Mike (and Adam)!

With the radio set up, I was ready to activate!

Gear

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On The Air

I assumed 20 meters would be the best place to start and, frankly, I hoped it would be productive enough to cap off my activation in short order so that my wife and I could continue our travels.

Unfortunately, propagation was not compliant. Continue reading Beautiful POTA activation at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson and Afternoon in Southport! →

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Carolina Beach State Park: A QRP Oasis Amidst the Summer Heat and Activities

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Tuesday, July 9, 2024, was a very radio-active day!

I was in Wilmington, North Carolina, and that morning, I had the privilege of activating the Battleship North Carolina from inside the battleship. Click here to read the field report and watch the video.

In short? It was amazing and certainly a fabulous way to start the day.

We were in Wilmington because one of my daughters was attending a week-long program at NC State University, and the other was attending a similar program at UNC Wilmington.

That Tuesday afternoon, after dropping my daughter off on the campus of UNC Wilmington, my wife suggested we hit Carolina Beach State Park for a POTA activation. It didn’t take me a microsecond to agree to that plan!

Carolina Beach State Park (US-2722)

Carolina Beach State Park, located just south of Wilmington, is a unique spot full of natural wonders. The park covers over 760 acres of Pleasure Island, with diverse habitats ranging from the impressive 50-foot Sugarloaf Dune (which used to be used as a navigational aid) to the fascinating limesink ponds, each with its own special plant community.

The park is also home to the Venus flytrap, a rare carnivorous plant found only in a small part of the Carolinas. You can explore the park’s trails, winding through maritime forests and maybe even catching a glimpse of these fascinating plants in action. The park also has a marina for easy access to the Cape Fear River and the Intracoastal Waterway, making it a great spot for boating and fishing.

We arrived at the park a little before 4:00 PM local time. Had it not been so hot and humid, we would have hit one of the park’s trails before finding a spot to do POTA, but the weather being what it was, both of us were happy to spend time in the shade.

We pulled into the main picnic area and quickly found a spot to set up. As I pulled out my radio and camera gear, my wife, Heather, pulled out her travel watercolor kit, all packed in a Tom Bihn HLT1 (we’re a pack geek family!).

When Heather joins me on POTA activations, she almost always sets up somewhere and paints while I activate. I love the fact that we both enjoy the experience in different ways.

In fact, my buddy Steve (KC5F), who is also an avid POTA activator, performs almost all of his activations with his wife, who also paints while he activates. He told me that she likes a good couple of hours of painting, so he typically racks up a lot of contacts in that amount of time.

Setting Up

The first thing I did was set up my Thermacell mosquito repeller–it needs a few minutes to do its thing and clear out the mozzies. The model I carry, the “backpacker,” fits a standard backpacking stove canister. I’ve recommended this one to many other POTA ops who operate in areas with mosquitoes–so far, it’s never let me down!

Also, I want to send a big shout-out to Alanna (K4AAC) and Bob (K4RLC) for making this activation even more civilized.

After watching an activation earlier this year at Tuttle Educational State Forest, where I placed my KX2 and logbook on a wet and dirty picnic table–covered in pollen and other tree bits–Alanna ordered a blue Gingham picnic tablecloth and whisk and had it sent to me.

I’ve had this tablecloth packed in the go-box I keep in the Subaru, and this activation was the perfect time to put it to use because the table I chose needed cleaning!

Thanks, Bob and Alanna!

Next, I deployed my PackTenna 9:1 End-Fed Random Wire antenna and paired it with my Elecraft KX2.

New paddle mount!

I did (finally) get to try out a new piece of kit in the field: a newly-designed paddle mount from Steve (KB3SII) at QRPworks.

Steve handed this prototype mount to me at Hamvention this year. It’s an updated design of one we tested last year.

You basically attach the mount to the front of the KX2 (or KX3) and place a paddle like the Bamakey TP-III that has strong rare earth magnets. The paddle locks onto the metal pad and makes for a rock-solid, ergonomic keying experience.

Steve also sent me two short 3.5mm angled cords to connect the key to the radio, but I forgot to pack them for the trip. My standard paddle cable worked fine, although I had to angle the TP-III slightly.

Note that Steve plans to have these paddle mounts in production and available on the QRPworks website in the coming weeks. When they’re available, I’ll post a direct link.

With the KX2 set up and ready to go, it was time to hit the air!

Gear

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On The Air

I started calling CQ POTA on 17M and discovered that it was a fairly quiet band. Nonetheless, I worked two stations in about six minutes. Secretly, I was hoping there might be a 17M path into Europe, but then again, it was a bit late in the day for that (and it seemed 17M wasn’t terribly energized). Continue reading Carolina Beach State Park: A QRP Oasis Amidst the Summer Heat and Activities →

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Sweat, Signals, and History: A POTA Activation from the Battleship North Carolina’s Radio Room!

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Those of you who know me know that I’m a huge World War II history buff. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by the stories of bravery, sacrifice, and technological innovation that defined this era.

That’s why the activation I performed on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, was very special.

I activated the Battleship North Carolina from inside the ship, using a modern transceiver, and one of the original vertical antennas mounted on the ship.

The Battleship North Carolina State Historic Site (US-6831)

The Battleship North Carolina is a World War II-era battleship that served in the United States Navy from 1941 to 1960. It is currently a museum ship in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The ship was launched in 1940 and commissioned in 1941. During World War II, it served in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, participating in several major battles, including the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The USS North Carolina in Pearl Harbor in November 1942 for repairs. (Photo Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)

The Battleship North Carolina was decommissioned in 1960 and donated to the state of North Carolina in 1961. It has been open to the public as a museum ship since 1962.

Growing up in North Carolina, I’ve always considered the Battleship North Carolina the icon of Wilmington. You can’t cross the Cape Fear river and miss this brilliant bit of naval history–it’s so prominent and accessible.

I had not actually toured the battleship since I was a child–some 40+ years ago. Last week, however, our family spent the week in Wilmington and the battleship was first on the to-do list.

Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club

A couple months ago, I mentioned to my buddy Bob (K4RLC), in passing, that one of my daughters was attending a week-long residential program at NC State University while the other daughter would be attending The University of North Carolina Wilmington. My wife and I would stay in Wilmington for the week and I would somehow love to activate the Battleship North Carolina for the POTA program.

Fortuitously, shortly thereafter, Bob attended a presentation about the Battleship North Carolina by Mike Hartmann (NI2S) at a radio club meeting in Raleigh. Mike is with the Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club, the caretakers and curators of radio central in the battleship.

Bob put me in touch with Mike who then graciously accommodated my schedule, even though it required his presence throughout the activation.

Mike did make it clear that the radio room is three decks below, has no air conditioning and is a proper “sweat box.” Turns out, too, that the week we were in Wilmington coincided with a bit of a heat wave which was affecting much of the eastern US. Because of this, I asked if we could meet on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at the earliest possible time–8:00 AM, when the museum opened.

It was a beautiful morning and I arrived on site perhaps 15 minutes in advance. I needed to pull my camera gear out of the car and allow some time for it to adjust to the humidity (which was extremely high).

I thought my lens had finally acclimatized when I started the video before Mike arrived, but it turned out the lens was still a bit foggy for a minute or two.

Mike arrived and we walked into the ticket booth where I purchased my ticket. He then led me onto the deck and into one of the roped-off entrances to the lower decks.

He kindly allowed me to film walking through the ship into the radio central area. I’ll admit that it was difficult for me to keep my attention on the camera as I was walking through a ship I remembered from my childhood! Since my video is real-time, real-life, you experience it with me–I didn’t check out the ship in advance.

I was amazed at how much of the ship was open to the public and in superb, original condition.

In radio central, Mike allowed me to peek behind some of the closed off sections with my camera, so you’ll get the follow along with me.

What I didn’t realize was just how much signal intelligence was happening on a fast battleship like the USS NC.

There were rooms dedicated to listening posts, decryption/encryption, and sharing of intelligence. This was all so fascinating and enlightening.

Next, Mike opened up the actual radio room where an Icom IC-756 Pro III was hidden in one of the original ship radio desks. This being a museum, all modern gear was hidden as well as possible.

Mike was right about the room being a sweat box–even in the early morning, it was pretty hot and humid in there. Fortunately, he had two fans he turned on and pointed at us.

The view from my operating position.

Mike set up the IC-756 Pro III by connecting it to a power supply, then attaching a Bencher paddle.

The vertical–again, one of the original Battleship North Carolina antennas–also required a little bit of matching for 20 meters.

Any movement of 10 kHz or so, required engaging the 756’s internal ATU.

As I set up the camera and made a comfortable operating position, I realized just how noisy the room was with the normal ship sounds (it has its own fresh air ventilation system) and the two fans running full-bore.

I set up my wireless mics–one on me and the other inside the portion of the desk that housed the radio.

In truth, I wasn’t confident the audio would work out at all. First thing I did when I made it back to the house that day was to check the audio–turns out, it came out pretty darn well all things considered.

In fact, the audio in the video was much better than my own two ears experienced while operating. Having one of the mics much closer to the speaker and protected from the wind blowing really made a difference.

Case in point: In the video, you’ll see I struggled to copy OE6GND–his signal was weak, but I copied it first go when I listened to the video. Continue reading Sweat, Signals, and History: A POTA Activation from the Battleship North Carolina’s Radio Room! →

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

Guest Post: Combining POTA with an FBLA national competition road trip!

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Many thanks to Doug (KO4WDE) for sharing the following guest post:

POTA and FBLA

by Doug (KO4WDE)

I have recently found myself fully immersed in the world of Future Business Leaders of America, as my wife is the chapter leader for the middle school where we teach.  She started the program with just a handful of kids, and they performed so well their first year that six students qualified for national competition in Atlanta, Georgia last year.

To save money, and help provide this experience, we loaded them in our camper and took to the road.  Fast forward to this year and they have continued to grow and develop to the point where they now have more than twenty four members!  Now here’s the cool part: they didn’t just grow, they have developed into a powerhouse of Kentucky’s FBLA. Of the twenty four members, fifteen placed either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at the state level competitions and qualified for national competition in Orlando Florida this summer.  Of those fifteen, eleven went to Florida.

The costs for this trip were huge.  Fuel alone for the vehicles to get us there was nearly $1000, and lodging, registration fees, and food drove the cost per student to well above $1500 per student.   The students voted that they would not go unless they could all go.  So they hit their computers and applied for grants and scholarships.  They were successful in obtaining a local  grant for $3500 to cover their registration fees, and came up with a battle plan for fundraising as much as possible. They formed a team that would go out into the community and present to local business owners in efforts to gain sponsorships to help lower the cost of the trip.

Goal Achieved

To say that they were successful was an understatement.  The students were able to gain enough financial support to lower the cost of the trip to $300 each.  This includes opportunities for the kids, (some of whom have never been out of Kentucky) to see the ocean, and experience many attractions that Orlando has to offer including Universal Studios and downtown St. Augustine.

That Ocean experience is where POTA plays a part.  Our travel plan had us staying at Anastasia State Park (US-1832) for two nights.  A couple of the FBLA members attending are also members of the School’s radio club (KQ4CWT) and were looking forward to the club’s first POTA activation (although the ocean was far more fun for them).  I had not activated Florida  myself and was greatly looking  forward to the experience.

Traveling with fourteen people total, in two vehicles (a Nissan Armada, and a Honda Pilot) space is extremely limited so I started the process of streamlining several separate systems into one specific mission bag.

The Field Kit

The host radio was my Xiegu G90 kit seen here combined with a small folding camp table and a Wolf River Coils vertical antenna to use on the beach.  My G90 kit is designed to be as simple possible for voice and digital modes, but it is completely based on using trees and wire antennas to get on the air, and picnic tables to operate from, so a few changes needed to be planned.

The nature of the beach itself is the most important change to plan for: no trees… no wire antennas.  I don’t own a mast, so the WRC needed to be in the kit.  Secondly, we would be on the beach for our planned activation, so I would need a small portable table to keep the gear out of the sand.  I chose a cheap amazon table [QRPer affiliate link] that is small enough to fold up into my host backpack (a maxpedition Riftcore) and sturdy enough to hold the G90 and my Evolve III laptop.  Preliminary testing on this little table was promising.

Testing the Amazon table

The Bioenno battery can wedge under the table while also supports lowering the center of gravity and freeing up the table top. The radio itself has lost the cooling stand as it was just too big and clunky for my go kit.  It now rests on a small laptop stand [affiliate link] that is suspiciously similar to the radioddity version for a quarter of the price.  I planned on sitting in the sand, under an umbrella using this little table to activate the park.

The Merging of the Bags

The G90 bag consists of the radio, battery, laptop, coax, power cables and adapters, stand, Digirig and backup wire antennas and tree line kit.  The coax has been replaced with RG-316 to save weight but the kit is essentially the same as seen in the article linked.

The Wolf river coil bag is an old camelback hydration pack.  It contains the SB-1000 coil, three legs, three radials, a 25 foot run of RG8X, and the whip.

The Riftcore has two main compartments and two secondary compartments. The front the main compartments consist of a large deep area in the back, and a slightly smaller and thinner area directly in front of that.  The main compartment holds the table top, the table frame, and the WRC system with just enough room to zip up.  The zippered pouch opposite holds the coax.

The main rift core compartment

The second compartment holds the radio, battery, stand, and ground coverings that double as padding and chargers, as well as the evolve III POTApotamus laptop.

The secondary rift core compartment

The front compartments hold the backup wire antenna, tree kit, power cables and Digirig.

The small outer rift core compartment

The kit, as planned, was much larger and heavier than the Redrock outdoors bag I’m used to carrying, but I thought it to be better since I would only have to keep up with one bag.  Especially since I would be carrying other beach gear out to the beach, and would have the kids with me.

Success All-Around

So how did it go? Success, and major FBLA success!

We arrived in St. Augustine around 7:00pm.  The boys and I setup camp, three tents.  A boys tent dubbed “Brozone Zero”, a girls tent “The She Shack”, and “Smalls” a small tent for my youngest daughter, my wife and me. The girls took the Armada into town to get pizza for dinner on the beach.

I usually RV camp, but when I do tent camp it’s in a Kelty.  Our little tent wasn’t a Kelty. We stayed in a Walmart special 3 man tent while the ladies enjoyed the Kelty tent.

When they arrived back, my wife laughed at our little tent and asked if it was like the magic one in Harry Potter.  Bigger on the inside.

It wasn’t.

The boys blowing up floats to use as mattresses in “brozone zero”
Pizza on the beach

The kit worked out better than I had planned. I was able to snag eleven SSB contacts between rain storms on the beach.  I was unable to sit down and really do an activation because of a change in plans. We planned to stay two nights but we canceled one and moved to the local Hilton to avoid tent camping storms the second night, so it was more of a “set up as fast as you can and get ten” type deal.

The table worked perfectly, although the beach wind blew my WRC vertical over.  Propagation was fair on 20 meters and I was able to get my last couple contacts via P2P hunting.  I was excited to add Florida to my list of activated states.

Admittedly, it was a fun challenge to setup and get those contacts as fast as possible and repack. I need to pack some flags for the radials in the future.

The camp table was perfect
Even with the feet of the WRC dug into the compacted sand the wind still managed to knock the system over

Once we left the beach for the hotel, radio time was over and I dedicated myself to the FBLA mission at hand. We spent five days competing and exploring Orlando. Our FBLA chapter performed very well overall and my daughter placed 2nd in the nation for her performance in the learning strategies competition.

My lovely wife was named the middle school chapter advisor of the year!  We had many, many more successes across the event but we will learn final scores in August.

My daughter winning 2nd place
The entire chapter before the closing ceremony party

This adventure was so much fun. It was very tiring, but worth every second of work to make it happen, and of course it’s always okay to sneak a little radio wherever you go.

73!

Doug (KO4WDE)