by Vince (VE6LK)

On Sunday July 28 I needed some shortwave therapy. I headed west from Longview Alberta to find a location on Highway 541 where I could have the perfect convergence of having cell service and be within a POTA entity and near to the mountains. This would allow me to receive any updates about a family member (none happened) while getting a break from home and to play radio.

Along the drive I took time to listen to the IARU beacons and was pleased to hear bits of VK and ZL on 15m so I was hopeful that my plan for two QRP activations -one CW and one SSB- would be successful.

I would discover just how difficult it was at the second activation … but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Activation One: Sentinel PRA

After some driving around and testing cell service at a few roadside points, I landed up at the Sentinel Provincial Recreation Area which is just inside the boundary of Kananaskis Country. This would offer me the luxuries of a bench or table along with a stunning view. While it’s not a unique entity itself in the POTA system, it is part of the larger CA-6112 that is K-Country.

Sentinel PRA is at the confluence of the Highwood River and Cataract Creek and is, like many in this area, an equestrian-focused facility. Unlike many, it’s mixed-use so day-users like me are also welcome here. Upon my arrival I was fortunate to see a few equestrian users heading out of the backcountry. What was unusual to this city-raised kid was the covered wagon a small team was pulling. Perhaps the team was training for a future cattle drive?

I set up my cameras and my radio gear and got to work at a park bench overlooking the river. I released a video of the river suitable for background white noise and to practise your Zen and/or Yoga.

I secured my carbon-fibre mast to the bench, used a small weight to hold down the 17′ counterpoise, and deployed the 41′ main segment out to a 10′ fishing pole lashed to a sign nearby. I used my carrying totes (sometimes used for groceries) as a makeshift desk. It all worked out well enough. I began my CW activation at 5 watts.

I did a basic video of the activation which you can see here:

Thirteen contacts and about 20 minutes later at 1930UTC, I called it a wrap and packed everything down to head to my next site. I wouldn’t say that conditions were stunningly good or anything, and some were downright hard to copy while others were incredibly loud. Given what I heard of the IARU Beacons on 20, 17 and 15m I wasn’t too surprised. I would later on learn that meant some solar action had happened as you’ll see in this chart.

Activation Two: Bar-U Ranch NHS

About an hour’s drive from my last stop and just south of Longview is the Bar-U Ranch National Historic Site (CA-4774). It’s a working ranch and it takes you back to the late 1800s once you set foot beyond the gate. As I’m fairly certain the Ranch would take a dim view to radio technology beyond the gate, I operated in the visitor parking lot. Once again, I set up my cameras and gear and got to work. Continue reading A tale of two back to back activations →