Antennas, Field Day, Guest Posts, Morse Code, POTA, QRP

Experimenting during Field Day 2024

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by Vince (VE6LK)

Field Day 2024 started out with the best of plans to be spent with the best of friends and ended up totally different – and, unexpectedly, I had a hoot! With my carefully made plan behind me, my new last-minute plan was to run solo for Field Day in the backcountry of Kananaskis Country and bring along my new-to-me Nikon D3400 and lenses and rekindle my interest in (D)SLR photography at the same time as doing some experimentation with radio gear.

I grew up in a home with a scratch-built enlarger and a darkroom, so a love of taking pictures has been with me for a long time. My Father taught me patience to get the shot as he would set up a 120 format bellows camera on an air-triggered remote release to get closeups of chipmunks while we were camping, a process that took hours and yielded excellent results. My Brother, AG7GM, has attempted to instill within me the basics of composition, rule of threes and such and his wonderful skill in editing both stills and live video. While I have plenty of patience, with composition I think I’m fair to middling at best.

Thus photography has always been on my mind.

With a recent sale of a few ham radio related items, I had fun money, so just for fun I started looking [on Thursday before I activated] at used DSLRs and was shocked at how much camera I can get for such a relatively low cost compared to new. I had said once, 25 years ago when I divested out my 35mm kit, that when I could get a DSLR with a 25 to 300mm lens for <$500 I’d jump in… and finally that day is here, even if it means carrying two lenses. Of course, I started looking on the day before Field Day for deals – and scored them too! 🙂 Around these parts, good quality pre-owned consumer grade DSLRs are easily available. I purchased this as much for still photography as for ability in shooting high-quality video for my YouTube channel.

These peaks form part of the border between Alberta and British Columbia to the west

For me, Field Day has always been about the experimentation rather than chasing points. Trying new things. Changing up from the normal way I operate in the field. Comparing, analyzing and making notes as I go.

For example, and as a tribute to Chip Margelli K7JA (SK) after corresponding with his brother David, last year I attempted to wet a piece of string and see if the KX3’s tuner would match it and radiate a signal. Chip was known for many things, among them his proficiency in CW as he demonstrated on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2005. David told me that he and Chip would do crazy and fun experiments like loading up clotheslines and wet string to experiment .. and it fostered a new direction I could take each FD and on some days between. The string experiment was a failure last year but I haven’t given up yet!

This year, I wanted to work with a few different antennas and a Charmast 100W battery pack from Amazon along with a USB-C PD 12v power cable for my KX3 [note: Amazon affiliate links!].

I wanted to know, in no uncertain terms, that the Charmast would or wouldn’t be as quiet as my trusty Talentcell LiFePO4 pack. The Charmast is also used in my field soldering kit with a Pinecil as it delivers USB-C PD. What better way to test this out than to head as far away from noise sources as possible, see the Canadian Rockies in their early summer glory with snow on the peaks, rivers running high (and cold) and the sun in the sky? Just for grins I would ensure that I was in POTA entities while doing Field Day.

Continue reading Experimenting during Field Day 2024 →

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

On a POTA Mission with the RGO One!

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On Thursday, June 6, 2024, I had two missions:

  1. To help fellow volunteers at the Asheville Radio Museum assemble shelving.
  2. To fit in a POTA activation over lunch.

I started out the day pretty early at the QTH sorting out a few chores, then I made my way to the museum around 9:30.

The Asheville Radio Museum

I’m a member and volunteer of the Asheville Radio Museum, a small – but brilliantly curated – museum on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

That Thursday morning, we organized a shelf-building party to assemble a shipment of new shelves we’re going to use to house our collection in a new space A-B Tech has given us on the third floor of the Elm building.

We’re super excited about the new space not only because it’s much larger, but there’s even a dedicated workbench where we can invite students and guests to learn some soldering and repair skills.

If you’re ever in the Asheville, North Carolina area, I’d strongly encourage you to check out the Asheville Radio Museum. Check our website for directions and hours.

We ended up working on the shelves for a couple of hours, and once assembled, I decided to grab lunch at Bridge & Tunnel Coffee in the Coman Student Activity Center next door. The food and coffee were absolutely amazing. A-B Tech students are so lucky to have a café of this caliber on campus!

I spent more time hanging with my friends at lunch than I had planned. No regrets there.

I knew there was still plenty of time to make my way to the Vance Historic Birthplace and fit in a POTA activation! Twenty minutes of driving later, and I was pulling into the Vance parking lot.

Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace (US-6856)

As I made my way around the visitor’s center, I was very pleased to see that the picnic shelter was unoccupied. School was still in session for many districts in the area and field trips tend to take place near the end of the term. Had there been a school group at this small historic site, I would have gone elsewhere to activate so as not to disturb them.

The weather was pretty amazing – the perfect day to be outdoors playing radio.

Speaking of radio, I brought a special one with me that day.

The Mission RGO One

As I mention in my activation video below, I receive more questions about this radio than any others I take to the field. Some have seen it in previous activation videos, and many see it in my QRPer.com banner rotation.

Typically, I’ll get a message with the following question, “Thomas, what is that cool radio with the white faceplate I see in the banner on QRPer?”

It’s no wonder I get a lot of questions about it. The Mission RGO One is a very low-production run modular transceiver – the creation of Boris Sapundzhiev (LZ2JR).

Boris produces the Mission RGO One in small batches at his facility in Bulgaria. This is very much a cottage industry radio – one you won’t find in many shacks or on Field Day because there just aren’t a lot out there (compared with Yaesu, Elecraft, Icom, etc.).

I’m a massive fan of the RGO One. So much so, that if I had to pare down my radio collection to only two HF transceivers, the RGO One would be one of those two.

I love the RGO One’s legacy design and the fact it’s a down-conversion superhet receiver with 9MHz IF. The receiver is absolutely amazing.

You don’t see the RGO One in many of my POTA videos mainly because I tend to use my smaller, portable radios in the field. That said, the RGO One was designed with field operating in mind – it’s a very capable radio and lightweight compared to other tabletop radios.

The RGO One is my main HF radio in the shack, so it actually gets heavy use. If I’ve ever hunted you at the QTH while you were activating a park or summit, it was likely with the Mission RGO One.

As I mention in the video, I will plan to make a “Getting To Know You” video with the RGO One in the near future, so I’ll speak a bit more about it then.

In the meantime, you can read my full review of the Mission RGO on The SWLing Post and check out more about any upcoming production runs on Boris’ website.

Setting Up

I decided to deploy my KM4CFT EFHW kit that I trimmed for 30 meters with a 40-meter extension. This antenna is brilliant because it resonates on 30 and 17 meters as a 30-meter EFHW, then if you link the 40-meter extension, it’ll give you 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. That’s six bands on one antenna without the need for an ATU.

Next, I paired my Begali Traveler paddles with the RGO One.

Although the RGO One has a maximum output power of 50 or 55 watts, I had it set to my standard 5 watts QRP.

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

Being in the early afternoon, I decided to hop on 20 meters first, as I assumed it might be one of the more productive bands. Conditions – as we all know – have been quite rough as of late, so I tend to start my activation on the band where I think I’ll accumulate the most contacts. Continue reading On a POTA Mission with the RGO One! →

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

M0VKR’s Lewesdon Hill SOTA activation with the Elecraft KH1

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Many thanks to Lee (M0VKR) who shares the following field report and video:

Activating Lewesdon Hill with the Elecraft KH1

by Lee (M0VKR)

After taking a day off from work my wife Joanne and I pondered about what we could do. “Shall we go over to Dorset to that hill you have spoken about and take your new radio?” There is no need to ask me twice to get outside and activate so we were quickly packed.

The KH1 came as the Edgewood package, so everything is contained in its own pack, ready for moments just like this. I grabbed it off the shelf in the shack, along with a KX3 as backup.

Within 10 minutes we had our labradors Toby and Konnie in the car and set off on a new CW ham radio adventure to activate Lewesdon Hill in Dorset for a SOTA activation. It was mid-morning by this point and things looked promising for a perfect day of outdoor radio operation.

With my Elecraft KH1 and KX3 as a backup snugly packed, along with my trusty home brew antennas, we embarked on the journey. The drive was scenic, with the rolling hills of the Dorset countryside providing a beautiful backdrop, Traffic was light too – Perfect.

After 45 minutes or so we arrived at the base of Lewesdon Hill. I took a moment to appreciate the tranquility of the area, breathing in the fresh air. The only downside was no nearby carpark, so we parked the car in a layby making sure it wasn’t going to be in the way of any farm traffic.

Finding the right spot to set up was the first small challenge.

Lewesdon Hill is only 279 meters (915 feet) to the summit, not exactly a mountain but it is the highest point in Dorset. We set off up the concrete driveway to a local farm, then turned right through a gateway and began ascending. The ascent is marked as a footpath and is pretty much through woodland until you get to the summit. It is a relatively steep climb, and we stopped every so often to take in the expanding view of the countryside through the trees.

Joanne had completed a 10K run a few days before so was happy to stretch her legs.

We arrived at the summit in good time. I needed a location with good elevation and a clear view to maximize my reach.

After a brief walk 1KM’ish, Joanne found the perfect spot—a clearing with a panoramic view of the surrounding area and a fallen tree which made the perfect workstation. I could already feel the anticipation building as I began unpacking my gear.

Setting up the antenna is always a mix of art and science, but mostly just plain luck. Today, I was using my favourite home brew random wire, which had served me well in previous activations. I found a stone to act as a weight and tossed the wire into a tree on the first shot and with a few quick adjustments, it was up and ready. Next came the radios.

The Elecraft KH1 and KX3 are compact yet powerful, ideal for portable operations like this. Because the KH1 had been configured already at home and previous activations, I hit the tune button. It tuned the random wire within a second or so and I double checked the keyer speed and set it to 16 WPM. Luckily, there was good phone service, so I sent out a spot on the SOTA website and I was ready to start.

The band conditions were not exactly favourable, however the clear blue skies hinted at a good run. I powered up the KH1 and began calling CQ. A station in Northern Ireland came back instantly and exploded out of the speaker, at a lovely cadence. One by one, contacts started rolling in. Each successful connection was a small victory, a testament to the power of CW communication and the effectiveness of my setup and of course the superb performance of the Elecraft KH1.

The weather was kind, with a gentle breeze keeping things cool. Throughout the activation, I logged 4 contacts, each one a story in itself. Notable among them was a contact from my good friend Steve MW0SAW from across the Bristol Channel in Wales, a testament to the reach of my modest setup. Steve and I had been in the same CWOPS class last year, so it’s always great to get him on air, even though we speak most days on the phone.

By the end of the session, I had made 4 contacts. I was really satisfied and could have sat for longer working the bands but, content, we decided to pack up and go grab some lunch from the nearby bakery in the village of Beaminster. The KH1 had performed flawlessly, and the homebrew wire antenna had once again proven its worth and overall, it had been a successful activation.

Reflecting on the day’s achievements as we hiked back down, the sun now a little higher in the sky, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. Having just completed a 10 week comprehensive ICR course with CW innovations and being a relatively new CW operator, I was pleased that the contacts had come back at a predictable pace. This made copying the callsigns easy. As I complete more activations, I am finding each activation is a unique experience, and today with the Elecraft KH1 was no exception. We are looking forward to the next adventure, with new challenges and new stories to tell.

Back at home, I reviewed the logs and relived the day through the video footage I had been encouraged to make by my family and friends. For those who want to see the activation in action, you can check out this video on my YouTube channel:

73 and see you on the airwaves!

Lee (M0VKR)

Readers: Would you do me a favor and subscribe to Lee’s new YouTube channel? Lee kindly shared his field report at my request and this activation video was a first for his new channel. Let’s support him by giving his video a thumbs up and subscribing! Thanks for sharing your report, Lee! -Thomas (K4SWL)

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

UK POTA Rain and Shine

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by Matt (W6CSN)

Bletchley Park

Most readers of this blog are probably familiar with Bletchley Park and the significance of this place in breaking the codes used by the axis military forces during the second world war.

The electromechanical systems developed and used here to aid the codebreakers in their daily work led directly to the electronic digital computers of the mid-twentieth century, and then to the modern world as we know it.

After boarding the London Northwestern Railway at Euston station, the hour long train journey took us from central London, through the suburbs, then the pastoral English countryside to the station at Bletchley, just south of Milton Keynes.

Bletchley Park is a five minute walk from the train station at Bletchley, the town of the same name. In keeping with the formerly clandestine nature of the work at Bletchley Park, there are no loud signs to welcome you, just the Union Jack flying over the nondescript visitor center in Block C.

Exiting the visitor center, any ham will quickly spot the three-element SteppIR Yagi perched atop a roof-mounted tower. Also from the tower, a folded dipole extends over the the Block B building which houses the Alan Turing museum exhibits. The other end of this antenna farm is plugged into GB3RS, the amateur radio station for the National Radio Centre of the RSGB.

The friendly and helpful staff of amateurs at the NRC played a crucial role in my hoped-for plan of activating Bletchley Park for Parks On The Air.

Surprisingly, the POTA page for GB-0507 showed only a handful of activations of this iconic location. Seeing as this is a heritage site, I sent an email to the NRC about week before my visit asking for advice on how to be a welcome guest POTA operator.

Note, the NRC is colocated on the grounds of the museum but they are not a part of Bletchley Park. The NRC is a separate organization.

Martyn G0GMB, the Director of the NRC, kindly responded to my enquiry and informed me that individual amateur radio activity is not generally permitted on the grounds of Bletchley Park due to the number of visitors they receive and concerns about RF safety. This could explain the low number of activations.

The sharp eyed will spot the GB3RS beam across the pond.

Martyn suggested I could set up in the overflow car park few minutes walk down the road from the visitor center. While not on the grounds of Bletchley Park proper, the parking lot operation would still be in the spirit of POTA and would reasonably count as a valid activation location.

When I arrived at Bletchley Park on Friday afternoon, I was met by Mervyn G4KLE who was expecting me thanks to a note left by OM G0GMB. Mervyn asked where all my equipment was and I motioned to the pack on my back.

Because my radio and antenna was a low impact, minimal footprint QRP setup, I was told that I could make use of the picnic table just out the side door of the GB3RS shack, with my antenna setup just beside it. This dead-end spot was not on any of the paths frequented by park visitors and my antenna would not be easily visible.

The antenna is low profile

This was a much better arrangement than trying to activate from a car park without a car! I quickly deployed a GRA-GNT micro tripod with center spike pushed easily into the soft ground. The GRA-7350T loaded vertical and a set of short radials provided an SWR of 1.05 to 1.

I chose the QMX as a travel radio while in Britain because with it, the overall kit is very lightweight and compact. With the exception of the tripod the whole kit fits in my carry-on. The GRA-GNT antenna mounting kit has to fly in checked baggage due to several aggressive looking spikes that would certainly be flagged by airport security. Continue reading UK POTA Rain and Shine →

Field Reports, Morse Code, New Products, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, SSB, Videos

Xiegu X6200 SSB Field Test: A Morning POTA Activation at Lake James

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On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, I needed to make a morning trip to Hickory, NC, to take care of some family business and visit my father.

I started my day early because I also wanted to be back in the Asheville area by noon. Some quick calculations over morning coffee and I decided I had just enough time to fit in one POTA activation en route to Hickory.

I left the QTH around 7:15 AM and made my way to the Paddy’s Creek Access of Lake James State Park, arriving around 8:15 AM.

Lake James State Park (US-2739)

Two other reasons I fit in my activation en route to Hickory instead of on my way back:

  • Paddy’s Creek has a lakeside beach area that gets very busy in the summer, especially on clear, sunny days (like Tuesday).
  • Temperatures that day were forecast to push near 95F/35C.

When I arrived at the parking area, I was pleased to see I was one of the only cars there. This made it much easier to find a spot to set up!

I started my activation video (see below) then walked to a picnic table under some trees that would not only provide shade but also antenna support!

I deployed my KM4CFT end-fed half-wave kit that I cut as a 30M EFHW with a linked 40M extension. When I launched the arborist line into the dense canopy, I thought I snagged a high branch, but it turned out I hadn’t.

In the end, my 40M EFHW had more of a low inverted vee, almost NVIS-height, configuration. I was fine with that, though, knowing on the 40M band that early in the morning, I’d snag contacts in NC and the surrounding states.

My goal was to finally make some SSB contacts with the Xiegu X6200. My previous mid-day activation with the X6200 provided no results, so I was hoping I’d be more successful in the morning.

One other thing I did that I haven’t done in over four years: I started out my activation with more than 5 watts of power. I added an external battery to the X6200, turned off its internal charger, and ran the transceiver at its full output power of eight watts.

My goal was to see how warm/hot the chassis would become during the activation. This is one of the questions I’ve been asked the most about the X6200 so far.

Setting up the radio was simple. I was careful to make sure that the internal ATU was bypassed on the 40M (and later 20M) band.

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

One of the other reasons I chose the Paddy’s Creek access of Lake James is that I knew for sure that I had mobile phone reception there, which I would need to self-spot in SSB mode. Continue reading Xiegu X6200 SSB Field Test: A Morning POTA Activation at Lake James →

News, Pedestrian Mobile, Portable, QRP, QRP Radios, SOTA

From Customs to Summits: Steve’s KH1 journey into Wales and onto summits!

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Many thanks to Steve (MW0SAW) who shares the following guest post:

Getting a KH1 into Wales and activating a couple of SOTA summits

by Steve (MW0SAW)

I suspect like many QRP enthusiasts, when the brochure of the KH1 surfaced on the Elecraft FTP site, and the YouTube videos appeared, I worked myself into a frenzy of radio desire for the KH1. I knew I had to have one, end of story!

I was so keen to place my order, I totally missed the small print about not being able to ship to the UK or EU because of the lack of CE certification. Or UKCA for that matter. So I placed an order online with Elecraft on 21st Oct 2023 and later it was cancelled because of my location.

Waters and Stanton used to be Elecraft dealers in the UK, in fact I got my KX2 from there a few years ago. But sadly they no longer sell Elecraft products.

Looking on the dealer list, I turned my attention to Rene and Carine at Lutz Electronics in Switzerland. Although a more expensive route to ownership, Lutz have an agreement to buy the KH1 in as a kit and assemble the unit as a service before shipping on to the customer.

So after quite a few emails back and fore with Carine, I learnt I had reserved one of a batch of 40 units destined for the Swiss border. This was around early April.

A few weeks later, on 26th April, I got the email from Lutz requesting international bank transfer payment.

It felt I was really close to getting a KH1 in my hand now, or so I thought!

2nd May I got the tracking number, and by this time I was about to pop with excitement. I was checking the tracking at almost an hourly basis by now! It arrived in London Heathrow and that’s exactly where it stopped for a week. 🙁

The unit was held by customs and I just could not find any information on who to talk to. So after a week of radio silence, a letter from UK Borderforce arrived requesting I assign myself a customs agent to get my parcel cleared. There was even a mention that the parcel would be returned or even destroyed!

Long story slightly shorter, after several more stressful days of worry, I managed to find an extremely efficient company called UK import services. It did cost me a fee, but within a couple of days of providing the invoice and seller information, they got the parcel cleared.

Saturday the 25th May 2024…the big day! I remember pacing around the house looking up the street for the postman. The parcel was handed over and I dashed inside my home to open the box.

OMG there is was, in my hands, wow so small and such a thing of radio QRP beauty!

My friend Lee (M0VKR) also received his that morning and immediately packed his car to head for his nearest SOTA summit: High Willhays (G/DC-001).

Conditions had been terrible with the solar activity, but I managed to get my first QSO with Lee on 40m, in fact KH1 to KH1. I did have to plug it into my home QTH ZS6BKW to make the trip.

So two days later, I was presented with the opportunity and decided to grab a local summit: Craig yr Allt (GW/SW-037).

Conditions weren’t great but I wasn’t put off trying. I managed to qualify with the whip antenna and 17m came up with the goods to qualify.

I was struck by how small and light the unit is, and just how quick the station is to deploy.

In the distance the Bristol Channel and the islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm. Flat Holm being the place where Marconi sent his first oversea radio signal to Lavernock Point.

The following weekend I took the KH1 out to the SOTA summit of Mynydd Y Glyn (GW/SW-027). Another day of terrible radio propagation. This time I deployed one of my MW0SAW EFHW antennas and the Bamatech TP-III key.

So despite the difficulties getting the radio, and despite the poor radio conditions it was great to be out with the KH1.

I absolutely love it.

It now goes everywhere with me, it’s insane how quick you can deploy it. Even managed to chase a German SOTA station from the office carpark, on 30m with the standard whip and 13 foot counterpoise!!

73 from Wales.
de MW0SAW

New Products, News, Product Announcements, QRP, QRP Radios

There’s a Venus SW-6B on the horizon!

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Many thanks to Dale (BA4TB), who reached out this morning to announce that he’s working on a new product, the Venus SW-6B.

Dale gave me permission to share the following photo:

This will be a six band radio with a built-in rechargeable battery and small speaker.

The front panel reveals some other features:

  • Dedicated CW speed control
  • Dedicated AF and RF gain controls
  • Separate charging and external power ports
  • Two dedicated CW message memory buttons
  • It also appears to be enclosed in a case with lid

It’s still in the early stages of development, so some details may change, but I think this looks quite promising! I’m very impressed with the Venus SW-3B, so I suspect this will be a great little radio.

Just take my money, Dale!

Speaking of which, this radio is still in development, so I don’t have pricing or availability information yet. When those details are available, you’ll hear it here first! Follow the tag: Venus SW-6B

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s never been a better time to be a CW operator!

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

Joe’s Adirondack Adventure: POTA activations in the Independence River Wilderness

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Many thanks to Joe (N0LSD) who shares the following guest post:

Independence River Wilderness – Adirondacks, NY

by Joe (N0LSD)

A recent family engagement offered me the perfect opportunity to travel to a part of my state I rarely get the chance to visit.

This trip would be a single over-nighter, but allow for the activation of three POTA entities by hitting two different locations.  One stop would be a two-fer, while the other location would be a single-park activation.  Additionally, this trip would offer the potential for ‘late-shift’ contacts:  always a nice feature of overnight activations.

The Planning

In northern New York lies a vast, 6-million acre (over 2.4 million hectare) area that has been set-aside in the State’s constitution as protected land, and half of this area contains wildernesses that are meant to be kept ‘forever wild’.  This area, known as the Adirondack State Park, is fully 20% of the land area of the state of New York, and constitutes the largest area of state-protected land in the United States.

By way of comparison, one could fit Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Everglades, and Great Smoky National Parks all within the Adirondack State Park boundary – at the same time.  (Wood-Tikchik State Park, in Alaska, has more *contiguous* protected land, at 1.6-million acres, and the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge is the largest Federally-protected area.)

My goal was to probe the very western edge of this region.  Situated east-southeast of the town of Lowville, NY are two parks that straddle the Blue Line, which serves as the official border of the Adirondack Park itself.

To the west is the Independence River State Forest (POTA US-5067):  this park falls outside the Blue Line.  Bordering this park to the east is Independence River Wild State Forest (POTA US-10295) – which falls within the Blue Line, and thus within the border of the Adirondack Park (POTA US-2001).

My Amateur operations over the last number of years have been primarily utilizing digital modes; however, because the destination is a place I can seldom travel, and solar activity has been unkind to the HF bands as of late, I’d not leave anything to chance.

This meant having the ability to activate these parks via SSB Voice, if necessary.  I’ve been activating parks with the TruSDX, because it is a light-weight radio.  In addition to carrying this, however, I also took the Xeigu G90, and a Bioenno 12Ah battery.  A good bit of extra weight, but it provided a bit of insurance against the possibility of a failed activation attempt.

On Arrival

In Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey, one of the great writers of the 20th Century, wrote, “In the first place you can’t see anything from a car; you’ve got to get out of the [G.D.] contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus.  When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you’ll begin to see something, maybe.  Probably not.”

Map reconnaissance showed it would probably be feasible to drive through the Independence River State Forest park on a forestry road, then hike a couple miles further into the Independence River Wild State Forest along established trails to make camp on Little Otter Lake.  This would be my overnight location and first activation opportunity – a two-fer, as this place lies entirely within the Adirondack Park border.  This would put my vehicle at a midpoint between the two POTA entities.

I tend to pour over maps in preparation for trips like this, but I know better than to trust maps implicitly, especially in the wilderness.  A couple enterprising beavers can turn a whole forest into a pond; and a stroke of a pen in a far-away capital can make a road disappear back into the woods within a few short years.  Topology rarely changes, but what is on that topology can only be trusted once one sets eyes on it. Continue reading Joe’s Adirondack Adventure: POTA activations in the Independence River Wilderness →

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

Xiegu X6200: Second POTA activation with rough propagation, but CW saves the day!

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On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, I took my production run Xiegu X6200 (on loan from Radioddity) to the Blue Ridge Parkway for its first POTA activation. The activation was a success, with good band conditions on 40 and 30 meters. You can read that field report by clicking here.

Later that day, I had a second opportunity to use the X6200. My daughters were kayaking near Lake Powhatan in Pisgah National Forest, so Hazel (my activational support animal–!) and I went for a quick POTA activation.

Pisgah National Forest (US-4510)

I usually set up near the lake at Lake Powhatan, where there are picnic tables and shade. However, mobile phone reception is poor there. Since I planned to operate in single-sideband mode, I needed a way to self-spot or have a friend spot me, thus a little mobile phone reception (else, use my Garmin In-Reach).

I decided to set up at a picnic area at the top of the hill near the main parking area for the lake/beach. I’ve never seen anyone use this site before, likely because it’s not close to the lake.

The site is surrounded by trees, making it a great spot to deploy a wire antenna.

Setting up

I used my PackTenna 9:1 UNUN random wire antenna, which was already in my pack from the morning activation. It’s a good choice for the higher bands (20 and 17M) I planned to use.

I set up the PackTenna so it wouldn’t interfere with anyone walking through the site. Hazel found a sunny spot to relax.

Gear:

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

On The Air

I began by attaching the X6200 microphone and spotting myself on the SSB portion of the 20M band. I called CQ POTA for quite a while with no response.

Once again, propagation conditions were poor. Continue reading Xiegu X6200: Second POTA activation with rough propagation, but CW saves the day! →

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QRP in Thailand: Drew’s Journey to Get Licensed and On the Air

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Many thanks to Drew (W8MHV) who shares the following guest post:

QRP in Thailand

by Drew (W8MHV)

I travel to Southeast Asia each year and usually have a few weeks in Thailand, but this year we planned on a longer stay. My XYL (N8MHV) has family in Thailand and we own a condo in downtown Bangkok. This year I was intent on getting my Thai ham license; I have never previously been licensed there.

You might be surprised to know that Thailand doesn’t make it easy for a casual American visitor to be awarded a ham license, even though the country has a bilateral agreement with the US on licensing.

For starters, you must have a visa for a long stay. A visitor can stay in Thailand for 30 days without a visa, and I have always limited my stay accordingly. But this year we stayed for of two months and getting a visa was necessary. That wasn’t especially difficult once my Thai-speaking wife helped figure out the necessary paperwork. In Thailand my wife’s calls to government offices led to a contact with the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST). Once I joined the organization, they helped push through the application and award of the license.

The RAST Secretary whose nickname is Top was a very great help. I felt like this was a big achievement as there are fewer than 1,000 ham licensees with HF privileges in a country of about 70-million.

QRP operating from anywhere in Southeast Asia requires great patience. This is because if you operate in a DX location, then everyone you work is DX to you, as by definition there are few if any local stations!

I brought my newly-acquired Elecraft KH1 for on-air use. Its tiny size made it easy to pack for overseas travel. It worked flawlessly, but the built-in whip antenna was far less useful than a 20.5 foot random wire with counterpoise I included in my kit.

Operating the KH1 from my condo.

In my 12th floor condo noise levels were terrible—typically S7, but at the top of the building on the 24th floor there is a garden where the noise levels were a manageable S3. See the photo above.

I also operated from an island in the Gulf of Thailand at a resort and noise levels there were even more quiet, as you would expect. Also, this was a comfortable operating location as the photo shows.

During my stay propagation conditions were poor mostly and I struggled to work any stations. A typical example is my final night in Bangkok I repeatedly called a station in Hong Kong whose signal was about S5, but I never got an answer. It was about the closest station I heard, but the signal path was about the same as the distance between New York City and Caracas, Venezuela.

I have operated from other Asian locations with QRP radios many times and the results have varied, chiefly depending on the kinds of antenna I could erect. Sometimes it has been lonely, other times control of a big pileup has been a challenge.

Finally, a few thoughts about the KH1.

It is an unparalleled performer for its size. It has most features you would want and its ergonomics are good. The weakest point was the paddle set, and since returning, I have replaced them with the KM4CFT aftermarket set. That said, in my travel to Thailand next year, I think I will take a KX2. It offers a few more features at a small increase in packing size.

Thanks for listening es 73 de W8MHV

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