[I] know you’ve operated abroad a number of times, in some cases with a country-specific call (UK, for example), but I was wondering if in your travels you have every operated or know someone who has with an American license in Germany.
I travel there for work occasionally and another trip is coming up in the next month or two and it has spurred me to study for my Extra license (I’m taking the exam remotely this Thursday with HRCC). I know that Germany is a CEPT country and to use the Germany-authorized full HF privileges (“Class A” license), I need to be an Extra (or else as a General, I would get a hybrid of a Technician and General band privileges).
In any case, I’m touching base to make sure I’m not oblivious of something out of left field. I know I need to carry the FCC document that indicates the international agreement, but is there anything else that I need to prepare or bring to operate over there? I understand that as an extra, my call would be DL/WD4AWD.
Just looking for some “proofreading” of my preparation from another traveler who is infinitely more experienced in operating abroad than I am. Thanks for any tips!
Thank you for reaching out Spencer! First of all, congrats on working on your Extra exam. It’s brilliant that your travels are inspiring you to bite the bullet!
Readers, I asked Spencer for permission to post his question here, because I’ve never actually operated in Germany (or any other EU country) with my American call. On those occasions, I was living in the UK, so used my UK call, M0CYI. I’m not sure if the procedure is the same.
In fact, I never even operated in the UK with my US callsign because almost immediately after moving, I obtained a UK license (which was, in fact, a very simple process).
If memory serves, I thought at one point there may have been an extra step: to register with the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA). I’m not sure if that’s required anymore or, in fact, if it ever was for CEPT. I do know that operating in a CEPT country is usually very simple and hassle-free.
Readers: if you have experience operating with a US license in Germany, can you please comment with any tips or additional information that would help Spencer? In addition, if you have tips about operating in other CEPT countries, please feel free to comment.
Recently, OM Witherspoon (K4SWL) wrote a blog here and shared a POTA activation video in which he described the benefit of changing up your operating location within a large park to keep things fresh or simply to be able to activate within a given schedule.
Activation zone looking over the Pacific
That got me to thinking about my own “home” park, Presidio of San Francisco US-7889, a large park which is also part of an even larger reference, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) US-0647. Recently my XYL, who is very patient, has been subjected to my complaining about being bored by doing the same activation over and over.
Classic vistas from the Presidio of SF
My typical POTA outing is after work, I drive ten minutes down to the East Beach parking area, set up a base-loaded vertical on the roof of my car and plug in the trusty FT-818. Mind you, this is not a bad setup. The location combined with repeatable antenna installation reliably produces contacts and I usually have a complete activation in about 30 minutes.
GRA-7350T antenna deployed
The XYL’s suggestion was, “hey, why not play radio somewhere else?” and K4SWL’s blog and video were an inspiration as well. So I left the FT-818 in the shack, packed up a QMX kit, and headed for the high bluffs in the Presidio that overlook the Pacific Ocean to the west. I setup on an out of the way granite bench that was part of a World War II memorial to servicemen who perished in the coastal waters of the Pacific.
World War Two commemorative wall
My plan was to get on 15 meters in the hope of catching some early JA’s or other Pacific rim DX. The vertical antenna deployed easily and though the location was substantially protected from the strong wind gusts, I did stake the tripod down with a pair of tent pegs.
Tent pegs keep the tripod secure
With an SWR of below 2:1 on 21 MHz I set to calling CQ and posted a spot on pota.app advertising that I was in US-0647 GGNRA, even though I was also still in US-7889. Turns out 15 meters was dead, for me at least. Not a single nibble after 15 minutes of calling.
Good SWR on 15 meters
After a QSY to 20 meters, another half hour brought in only four QSOs! This location and radio combo was certainly a nice break from the usual and even though the QSO pace was glacial, it was quite satisfying and refreshing to do something different.
The QMX station ready for action
Since the clock read just after 00 UTC there was plenty of opportunity to gather the needed contacts for a complete activation. If necessary I could even come out the next day before 23:59 UTC. But since I had no particular time constraint for the evening, I decamped for East Beach where I was pretty sure I could wrap up the activation in short order.
Sunset over SF Bay
Even though I was back at my “usual” spot, starting the activation somewhere else was the change I needed to break the routine. Six more QSOs validated the activation in a matter of minutes. I swear being down close to the waters of San Francisco Bay adds at least 3db to my signal. There is a reason I frequent this particular spot.
Sun going down behind the Golden Gate
I feel fortunate to have so many locations within US-0647 and US-7889 that are quite close to home. I plan to take advantage of this diversity of operating spots, knowing that the “East Beach Amplifier” is always available if my QRP is not cutting it.
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, I had a bit of time in the middle of the day to perform a park activation, but I couldn’t go too far afield because I needed to pick up my daughters from school around 3:00 PM.
Where to go?
I didn’t want to activate the same spots I’ve been activating a lot lately; I wanted to find a new spot, but my window of time limited my options.
Here in the Asheville area, we only have a few POTA entities within, say, a 25-30 minute drive of downtown, but a few of the sites we do have are vast. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, and Pisgah Game Land are massive and it would be easy to activate every day of your life and set up at a different site each time if you’re willing to bring your own chair and table/kneeboard..
It was such a beautiful day, I ideally wanted to find a spot with a picnic table under the shade of a tree. I know of a couple sites on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I’d activated them recently. Also there was the Vance Birthplace, but again, I’d been there a lot lately.
Then it dawned on me that Lake Powhatan, in Pisgah National Forest (US-4510), might be a good option. It’s close to Asheville, a beautiful site, and I was almost certain I remembered seeing picnic tables there when I camped there with friends some two years ago. I made a quick call to the park office and confirmed.
Lake Powhatan requires a day use permit of $5 per person–you pay at the entrance and then have access to the lake and beach area for the full day. I didn’t mind paying this fee at all because I will typically leave that same amount in the donation box of many of the state parks I frequent anyway.
It’s a really short walk from the parking area to the lake and picnic sites.
I grabbed my TR-45L Skinny (in its padded camera pack) and my GoRuck GR1 backpack that had all of my antenna supplies and even my Elecraft KX2 inside.
Had this been a summer day, the lake would have been packed with families!
Why bring two radios? I really wanted to use the TR-45L, but I also thought about testing the waters on the 15, 12, and 10 meter bands. Since the TR-45L only covers 80, 40, 30, 20, and 17 meters, I needed another option.
Lots of picnic table options around the lake.
Turns out, the higher bands weren’t in great shape, so I didn’t need to use the KX2 after all.
I didn’t pair the TR-45L Skinny with an ATU, thus I needed an antenna option that would be resonant or matched on each of the bands I planned to operate. I decided to deploy my KM4CFT EFHW that I’d cut as a 30 meter end-fed half-wave with a 40 meter extension. This antenna would give me all of the bands of the TR-45L (save 80M). As a 30M EFHW, I’d have 30 and 17 meters, then by adding the 40M extension, I’d have both 40 and 20 meters as well.
Setup was quick and easy (even though it took several tries with my throw line to hit the branches I wanted).
Gear:
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I deployed the antenna as a 30 meter EFHW and started calling CQ POTA on the 17 meter band.
I quickly found out that 17 meters was not in great shape. I did work N5PJ after a few minutes (thanks, Perry!) but didn’t hang around 17 meters much longer.
The poor state of 17 meters was likely a good indicator of what the higher bands might be like, so I abandoned the idea of going up to 10 meters. Instead, I QSY’d to the 30 meter band.
30 meters was in better shape. I worked five more stations in short order, then there was a lull in activity for several minutes. My thinking was that the bulk of the POTA activity would be on 20 meters, so I lowered part of my antenna, connected the 40M link, and raised it again.
Turns out, 20 meters was pretty active.
I ended up adding 16 stations to the logs including at least one Park-to-Park with AC9OT (thank you!).
All-in-all, I logged 22 stations on three bands. Propagation was a bit rough for sure, but the activation was a lot of fun!
Here are my logs:
QSO Map
Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map (click image to enlarge):
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.
I’m so glad I decided to give Lake Powhatan a try. I’m very tempted to pay $40 for an annual pass.
There are several other picnic sites in/around the lake that I’d like to try and, frankly, next time I think I’ll bring my mountain bike! There are loads of trails on-site that also connect up to the (very popular) Bent Creek network.
Thank you
Thank you for joining me during this peaceful 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 week!
Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report:
QRP Fun Despite the Conditions!
by Christian (IX1CKN)
The weekend passed without rain, nor snow, but with temperatures that didn’t exactly encourage spending too much time outdoors. It seems that, despite the date, winter has returned. Nevertheless, the POTA call was hard to resist. So, since the midday cold didn’t seem too harsh, I hopped into my car.
I wanted to avoid the surroundings of Aosta, the town in north-western Italy where I live, and explore less frequented references for a different experience. I chose IT-1196, the Xeric environments of Gran Brison-Cly.
The reserve consists of two “sub-zones”: one around Cly Castle (in Saint-Denis) and the other above it. I set up in the first one, partly because the view of the ancient castle ruins while I transmitted was charming.
I had the most minimal setup possible: a Xiegu G-106, pushing no more than 5 watts, and a quarter-wave vertical antenna planted in the ground.
This antenna comes as a single telescopic whip, over 5 meters long, supplied with a braid of radials to lay at the base. Despite the feeling it gave me when I took it out of the package, it positively impressed me with its performance.
Propagation conditions hadn’t been impressive for a couple of days, but not trying at all is the surest way to make no contacts, so there I was, making my first calls from the promontory on 20 mt.
The response rate wasn’t particularly impressive, indeed, but it confirmed what I had already experienced in February 2023 during the first activation of this reference. The northern path was open, as evidenced by several stations responding from the northern part of the UK.
However, the unexpected surprise came at 13:27 UTC when NL7V answered my call. It was Paul, from North Pole, a town in the Fairbanks borough, Alaska. He gave me a 22 signal report, but I still couldn’t quite believe my ears. I’m working with 5 watts, and I never would’ve thought my signal could reach that far (distance from here is about 7.532 km). I thanked him sincerely and told Paul he literally made my day.
Here’s a video clip of the Alaska QSO:
As for the rest of the activation, the 10 and 12 meters bands were far from lively, and even the attempt on 15 meters didn’t yield anything interesting. So, I switched back to 20 meters and resumed calling.
In the final log, there are 31 contacts (in about an hour and a half of activation), including 5 with colleagues in other references. As has happened before, just when it seems like nothing suggests going out to activate, that’s precisely when you need to go.
A reader reached out to me this morning asking about the Mountain Topper MTR-3B. It reminded me of a teaser LnR Precision posted earlier this month in an MTR-4B update on their website. Here’s what they said:
Update: 4/1/23: We do not have MTR4 V2.3 available for purchase now but will be releasing more for purchase on May 1, 2024.
Apologies on the delay but we needed more time to get parts that are in short supply and fabricate. This will be the only and last offering of the MTR4b V2.3 radios as we are shifting focus on a redesigned and re-engineered version of the popular MTR3B!
It is our hope to have these out in Fall of 2024 if possible, but no guarantees.
I’m very excited about this news! I own two MTR-3Bs and absolutely love this model. When I checked in with LnR a couple of years ago, they said they had no plans to produce the MTR-3B again. They must have noticed the strong customer demand.
I assume the new model might incorporate some of the upgrades found on the MTR-4B, like an SWR and Power Output meter and a more accessible sidetone control. We’ll have to wait and see!
LnR is a small “mom-and-pop” company, so we’ll need to be patient as they introduce the new MTR-3B. I’m sure they’ll struggle to keep up with demand. I, for one, am eager to see this super-compact transceiver back on the market.
Many thanks to a number of readers who’ve sent me the following email announcement (that, unfortunately, I also received today) from Martin Jue at MFJ Enterprises:
Heavy Sad Heart
Dear Fellow Hams and Friends,
April 25, 2024
Dear Fellow Hams and Friends,
It is with a sad heart as I write this letter.
As many of you have heard by now, MFJ is ceasing its on-site production in Starkville, Mississippi on May 17, 2024. This is also the same for our sister companies’ Ameritron, Hygain, Cushcraft, Mirage and Vectronics.
Times have changed since I started this business 52 years ago. Our product line grew and grew and prospered. Covid changed everything in businesses including ours. It was the hardest hit that we have ever had and we never fully recovered.
I turned 80 this year. I had never really considered retirement but life is so short and my time with my family is so precious.
I want to thank all of our employees who have helped build this company with me over the years. We have many employees who have made MFJ their career for 10, 20, 30, 40 and more years.
We are going to continue to sell MFJ products past May 17, 2024. We have a lot of stock on hand. We will continue to offer repair service work for out-of-warranty and in-warranty units for the foreseeable future.
Finally, a special thanks to all of our customers and our dealers who have made MFJ a worldwide name and a profitable business for so many years. You all are so much appreciated.
Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the following field report:
QRP POTA & SOTA on Killington Peak, Vermont
By Conrad Trautmann (N2YCH)
Peter (K1PCN) and I decided to travel from Connecticut to Vermont to view the solar eclipse that occurred on April 8, 2024.
We got an early start on Sunday morning April 7th to drive to Rutland, Vermont where we stayed overnight. This positioned us well for a short drive the next morning to drive North towards Burlington, where we’d be under the path of totality.
Knowing we’d have some extra time on our hands on Sunday afternoon, Peter planned two park activations. Our first stop was Calvin Coolidge State Park (POTA US-5541 & SOTA W1/GM-002), which encompasses Killington Peak and is also a two-fer with the Appalachian Trail (US-4556). We also activated Gifford Woods State Park (US-3115), which isn’t too far from Killington.
For the trip up the mountain, we “walked-on” the K1 Gondola ski lift to get up most of the way.
From the top of the ski lift, we hiked another 360 feet, up 100 feet in elevation, in the snow, to get to the actual summit at approximately 4,230’ above sea level.
Photo of Peter and me on the summit
Our kits needed to be self-contained and not too heavy for the hike. Peter packed his Icom IC-705 along with a fiberglass mast and an end-fed half wave wire antenna to do a sideband activation. I brought my Elecraft KX-3, 3Ah Bioenno LifPo battery, and the Elecraft AX-1 antenna to do a digital activation. We both activated on 20 meters and were far enough apart that we didn’t interfere with one another. We also tried 17 meters.
After the hike up, we surveyed the area to see where the best spots would be for us to set up. Peter took one side of the summit while I set up on an exposed rock so I wouldn’t be sitting in the snow. Peter wore his ski pants…I, on the other hand, ended up with wet jeans by the end. I’ll re-think my attire the next time I do this. I got the radio equipment right but not the clothing selection. Priorities!
Conrad, N2YCH on the summit of Killington Peak in VermontPeter, K1PCN with EFHW antenna, which you can see if you look very closelyPeter, K1PCN and his radio and antenna
In addition to the HF radios, we both brought our VHF/UHF handhelds to make contact with each other as well as anyone who might be nearby. Peter brought a Baofeng UV-5R and I brought a Kenwood TH-D72. I was lucky enough to complete a QSO with someone who was mobile and driving along US Route 89, which at its closest point to Killington Peak is a solid 20 miles away. I verified that via email with the other ham after the fact. Continue reading SOTA, POTA, and a Total Solar Eclipse Adventure: Conrad and Peter Pack It In!→
Many thanks to Scott (VA3EKR) who shares the following field report:
Apr. 15, 2024, Great Lakes Waterfront Trail Recreation Site (CA-6003)
by Scott (VA3EKR)
Decided to try the other side of the harbour for the activation, in Tannery Park.
For the setup, I picked a picnic table on the north side of Walker Street, as there were larger trees there.
This is the view of the harbour from the picnic table.
The bands were misbehaving, and interestingly, I have never experienced listening to the band go very quiet suddenly, due to the solar flare and the R1 radio blackout that resulted.
I used the trusty QRP-Guys random-wire antenna with 9:1 matching transformer.
Here is a map of the QSOs. The longest distance was to the Czech Republic, 6,970km away. I also pleased at getting some California QSOs, especially using only 10 watts. Three park-to-park QSOs. Orange markers indicate 20m, Turquoise represents 15m, and Red is 17m.
Screenshot
After the activation, I scouted the other side of the park. This is a fairly newly-renovated park, and so I was interested in seeing what they had done with it.
I met a new friend, Pierre, who is retired from IBM, and is very into astronomy. He showed me a very nice image of the sun with sun-spots. He even has a virtual-reality display that allows you to see the images! This was nice, as my recent viewing of the solar eclipse was a complete wash-out.
The Bronte Astronomy Group has public viewings, so I will have to monitor the Facebook page and go out some time to see some nice astronomy images!
The last thing I noticed is that the sculpture they put up, is rusty and tall.
I am hoping that next time I can bring an alligator-clip, a small counterpoise wire, and I can attempt to tune up this and use it as an absurd but fun antenna!
Lately, it’s been a proper challenge to get out and activate.
I’ve had a number of projects that have kept me at home working and when I do head out the door, my timing has been tight. While I love squeezing in park activations when I’m otherwise busy running around town, I also never activate if it’s truly inconvenient.
I’m a big believer in never feeling pressure to activate. Rather, I believe in enjoying the radio journey and therapy.
This is why I don’t pay close attention to my stats in either the POTA (Parks On The Air) or SOTA (Summits On The Air) programs. Maybe when I’m an empty-nester in a few years I’ll spend some time working on my numbers–for the fun of it–but for now, it’s just not in the cards. (Admittedly, when I have more free time, it’ll be fun to achieve my first Mountain Goat award!)
On Monday, April 15, 2024, I planned a trip to my hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, to take my father out to lunch at the airport café.
A 2020 photo from KHKY
If you’ve been a subscriber/reader for long, you’ll know that for the past five years, I’ve spent a lot of time in Hickory doing caregiving for my mother. I would typically spend a night or two in Hickory per week and take her to her frequent oncologist and specialist appointments. .
When she passed away in January, and my sister and her daughter moved in with my father, I no longer had a need to do weekly overnight trips. Indeed–I have no place to stay as the house is full. It’s all worked out really well and now our family trips to Hickory are mostly day trips with my wife, daughters, and Hazel.
It was during those overnight trips that I would fit in park activations–there are a number of parks around Hickory that I would frequent.
Thwarted Rove
I’d plotted a proper POTA rove en route to Hickory on the 15th. I planned to hit a number of parks I used to activate frequently–at least two parks on the way and one or two parks during my return home.
I packed my car with three different radios and a variety of antennas with the idea of using a different pairing at each park.
Twenty minutes into my journey to the first park that morning, I received a call from my daughter’s physician who reminded me that she had an appointment at 2:00 in the afternoon. Doh!
Somehow, that appointment didn’t make it into the family calendar and it was too late to shift it to another date.
I’ll admit: I was bummed.
This dramatically changed my schedule, but I was determined to fit in at least one activation and lunch with my father. As I was driving, I did the mental time math–if I activated Lake James, it would be a very modest detour and I would have an hour or so to play radio. I’d need to pick up my father no later than 10:45 to take him to a (now early) lunch.
This would give me just enough time to get back to the QTH and pick up my daughter no later than 1:30 PM.
I called my father and confirmed it all.
Lake James State Park (US-2739)
I arrived at the Lake James entrance around 8:45 AM. The weather was beautiful and ideal for POTA.
I knew I had about one hour to fit in this activation and I wanted it to be relaxed since the rest of the day would be pretty pressed, time-wise.When I first arrived at the Lake James parking area, I thought I was going to be the only visitor on the site. After hopping out of the car, though, I heard a group of people shouting and then noticed a load of cars and a school bus at the opposite end of the lot.
Turns out, at least two school groups were visiting on a field trip.
I made my way to the lakeshore and picked out a picnic site in the shade and with a nice antenna support (i.e. tree) just waiting to assist in my activation!
I decided to pair my Elecraft KX2 with an end-fed half-wave my buddy Steve (MW0SAW) built for me a couple years ago.
As I started setting up the antenna, a school group, led by one of the park rangers, moved to a site nearby to do some hands-on science. Part of me hoped they might venture past my site and I was ready to tell them all about amateur radio, if asked, but they remained at the same site during my entire activation.
Gear:
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Our friend Alan (W2AEW) just published this excellent short video demonstrating how to quickly tune the Penntek TR-45L’s Z-Match ATU. Of course, this same technique can be applied to the Emtech ZM-2 or any other manual Z-Match tuner:
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