Many thanks to Brian K3ES who submits this awesome report.
As I write this report, we are currently visiting with my parents at their home near San Francisco, CA. Getting here from our Pennsylvania home and back again is a continuing great adventure for my wife Becky, POTA Pup Molly, and me. You see, this is a grand road trip, complete with sight seeing, activating POTA parks in new-to-me states, and lots of driving. While much of the trip has been planned, there have been frequent changes to the route and schedule, as better opportunities presented themselves. One such opportunity was to deviate from interstate highway travel between Montana and Idaho, and divert to lesser-traveled highways. This detour enabled us to fit in a drive through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Sadly, we were only able to take the time to see a small fraction of the natural splendor. We did see enough to create the resolve to return for a proper exploration of the wonders that we had to miss.
The Welcoming Committee: I had to stop again just after the entrance plaza leading into the park. These elk, along with a number of their friends, were standing beside the road to greet us.Mammoth Hot Springs. To get this picture, Becky hiked along planked walkways and climbed a great number of steps. Sadly we could only stop and look for a few minutes during our drive.
We made a handful of stops on our drive through Yellowstone, including a couple of hours at the Old Faithful geyser. One challenge of traveling with Molly, is that dogs are not always welcome in interesting areas. Another challenge is that, having been rescued from an abusive situation, she can respond unpredictably to other dogs. So, Becky and I have often taken turns with one of us exploring the sights, while the other remained in the truck with Molly. At this stop, Becky was the designated sight-seer for an impending eruption of Old Faithful (she takes better pictures), and I stayed in the truck with Molly.
*No explanation needed*Becky got some great action shots Old Faithful!
You might recall that my friends Eric (WD8RIF), Miles (KD8KNC), Brian (K3ES), Kyle (AA0Z), Charlie (NJ7V), and Joshua (N5FY) all played hooky on the final day of the 2024 Hamvention (Sunday, May 19) and instead activated a couple of POTA sites.
Our next stop was Whitewater Canal State Historic Site in Metamora, Indiana, about an hour’s drive from the first park.
Only four of us continued to the next park; Kyle and Charlie needed to head to the airport, and Joshua needed to start his drive back to Georgia.
Whitewater Canal State Historic Site (US-6977)
I was excited about visiting Whitewater Canal because it would be my first official POTA activation in Indiana.
We arrived around 1:00 PM and opted to grab lunch at a nearby pizzeria before activating.
Around 2:00 PM, we grabbed our gear from the car and walked across the road to the park grounds.
The Whitewater Canal State Historic Site offers a glimpse into the 19th-century canal era.
Built between 1836 and 1847, the Whitewater Canal was a 76-mile waterway that connected the Ohio River to Hagerstown, facilitating the transport of goods and agricultural products.
This engineering feat played a vital role in the economic development of the region, contributing to the growth of towns and industries along its path.
Today, the preserved section of the canal, along with the historic grist mill and other structures, stands as a testament to Indiana’s rich industrial and transportation heritage.
I’ve always been fond of railroads and canals, so this site was brilliant as it featured both running parallel to each other!
Eric, Brian, and I (Miles didn’t activate) were careful to set up within the actual park boundaries.
In this case, it was a little difficult to determine the exact boundaries because the town and park blend together.
I used the Parceled app on my phone to confirm our location.
Eric set up his Elecraft KH1 station at a picnic table under a large tree.
Brian set up his KX2 on a covered bench next to Eric, using his Elecraft AX1 antenna mounted on a clamp secured to the bench.
Brian’s site was super stealthy behind the sign–since he operated with earphones, you couldn’t hear him and barely could see him!
Can you spot K3ES in this photo?
I wanted to put some space between my station and theirs, so I set up under the shade of a tree (it was blazing hot that Sunday) and deployed my Helinox camping chair.
Local ducks enjoying the shade–I picked a different tree.
I then deployed my Chelegance MC-750 vertical for 20-meter operation since Brian and Eric were on other bands.
This morning, I’m still at our hotel in Dayton, Ohio, but about to pack up and head out. Eric (WD8RIF), Miles (KD8KNC), and I are heading for a day at the Armstrong Aerospace Museum, then, hopefully, a POTA activation on the way back to Athens, Ohio, where I’ll spend the night.
Tuesday morning, I’ll be up early and hit the road for North Carolina. Really looking forward to seeing my wife, daughters, and Hazel.
I thought I’d share a very brief POTA activation I enjoyed yesterday with friends.
Pater State Wildlife Area (US-9492)
Yesterday morning (May 19, 2024), Eric, Miles and I met up with Kyle (AA0Z), Brian (K3ES), Joshua (N5FY), and Charlie (NJ7V) at our hotel.
Eric, Miles, Brian, and I had planned to activate a park in nearby Indiana that afternoon, as Brian and I had never activated in that state. Joshua, Charlie, and Kyle were planning to join us on an activation in southwest Ohio en route. Unfortunately, Joshua was driving back to his home in Georgia, and Kyle was dropping off Charlie at the airport on his way home, so they couldn’t join us in Indiana.
Eric’s first POTA activation with his Elecraft KH1!
We arrived on-site a little after 10:00 AM local. Eric immediately set up his Elecraft KH1 in desktop mode using his new Tufteln KH1 Right-Angle adapter.
Brian set up under a tree with his Elecraft KX2 and a Tufteln random wire antenna.
The amazing Brian (K3ES)
I grabbed my Elecraft KH1 and we coordinated frequencies. Brian took 30 meters, Eric took 40 meters, and I took 17 meters (thinking either Joshua or Eric might move to 20 meters).
This was another instance where having a fully handheld, pedestrian mobile station truly offered a level of activation freedom.
The bands were in rough shape, but I kept my KH1 in hand and walked around the entire site with the CW Message memory sending out my “CQ POTA DE K4SWL.”
Over the course of 13 minutes, I worked five stations. All the while, I was holding the KH1, chatting with my friends, and petting a sweet local dog that instantly made friends with us.
This pup was a hoot!
This activation also gave me an excuse to try out the new Tufteln KH1 Antenna Angle Adapter which makes it a breeze to keep the antenna nearly vertical while holding the KH1 at a more comfortable angle. Thanks, Joshua!
Eventually, I moved to 20 meters and we all started working each other to help with our QSO count and to simply get each other in the logs. I logged two more stations, plus Charlie, Brian, and Joshua to make my 10.
Kyle (AA0Z) and his brilliant Toyota Tacoma POTA machine.
The idea was to hop off the air quickly so that Kyle and Charlie could use Kyle’s KX3 station to activate the park as well.
L to R: Kyle, Joshua and Charlie
Conditions deteriorated further, so we did rely on a few P2Ps with each other to help Charlie and Kyle finish and hit the road.
Charlie calling CQ POTA
Here’s my QSO Map, but keep in mind that several of the pins are incorrect as Charlie, Kyle, Brian, and Joshua were all on-site:
All in all, we had an amazing time and it was a nice, relaxed way to wind down after an incredibly active 2024 Hamvention and FDIM conference.
Joshua working us P2P with his KH1 and the the most compromised–yet completely effective–antenna of all: a dummy load!
I will report more on Hamvention and share a few photos later this week.
For now, I need to wrap up this post and hit the road! There’s an aviation museum and POTA in my future today!
Heartfelt Thank You
I will add this one extra note: I’m simply overwhelmed with the kind comments and conversations I had with so many of you who took the time to catch up with me these past few days. Thank you so much!
Eclipse totality, as seen from US-8785, complete with corona.
My home QTH is located near Tionesta, PA, and the path of the 2024 eclipse put us near, but not in, the path for totality. At home we would have more than 99.5% of the sun’s disc obscured. I will confess that the distinction between 99.5% and totality was lost on me, but Becky was insistent that she wanted to be in the path of totality, because it gives a unique view when the sun’s disc is completely obscured by the moon. At that point, only a halo of the sun’s corona remains visible. Becky was right. It was well worth the effort to get in the path of totality.
My contribution was to find a public area within the path of totality that would not be swarmed by traffic, cars, and people.
The Eclipse Plan
It turned out that we could be within the totality path by driving less than 20 miles from home. We could also do this by driving away from population centers, rather than driving toward them. Places like Erie, PA were expecting tens of thousands of people to visit. I later heard stories of miles-long traffic jams, and hours of delay experienced by Erie pilgrims. I hoped to, and thankfully managed to, avoid that fate.
After identifying that this section of PA State Game Land 086 was in the path for eclipse totality, a satellite view helped to identify open fields for viewing and activating.
I found that portions of Pennsylvania State Game Land 086 (coincidentally also POTA entity US-8785) lay within the totality zone. Using a variety of on-line maps, I was able to find a parking area near the start of a gated Game Land road.
The road passed next to a series of small fields (satellite images are definitely helpful!). Such fields are not uncommon at Game Lands, because it provides the opportunity for hunters to cross paths with rabbits and pheasants, both of which were out-of-season in April. But, those same fields should have an unobstructed view of the sky. So, we headed hopefully toward our selected parking lot, with plans to set up folding chairs (and a portable radio station) in one of the fields, as long as a parking space remained.
The POTA Plan
I had previously activated US-8785, making contacts on only the 40m band. At that time, the goal had been a quick activation during a rove. Lately, I have been working hard to accumulate contacts on 10 bands at multiple parks, inching my way closer to POTA’s N1CC award for making contacts on 10 bands from 10 different parks.
Prior to eclipse day, I had completed contacts on 10 bands from each of seven different parks. While two or three of those contacts were made using VHF FM mode, my preferred method for achieving my goal at a park is to use CW mode and QRP power levels to make contacts on high frequency (HF) bands from 10m to 80m, and to also make CW QRP contacts on 160m (which is technically a medium frequency band).
The challenge with the 160m band (and the 80m band, to some extent) is that it generally works best after sunset. Given that there would be an abnormal sunset occurring at 3:20 pm EDT, might it be possible to get a 160m contact during or near the period of totality? That would be my quest.
So, I picked my equipment to give me the ability to rapidly move between bands. I paired my KX3, with its excellent tuner and 160m to 6m coverage, with my VK160 homebrew 9:1 end-fed random wire (EFRW) antenna. The story of VK160 design and construction and VK160 testing during Winter Field Day 2022 has previously been told in these pages (links provided), but suffice it to say that the radiating wire is 144 ft long.
If the crowds were sparse enough, I hoped to set it up as a shallow inverted V (I normally get a throw line up 30 to 40 ft, which is small in comparison to the antenna’s total length) along the wood line bordering the field. I also brought two Bioenno LiFePO4 batteries that would normally be able to power my station for the large part of a day. I chose battery redundancy, because there would be no opportunity for a re-do.
My operating plan was to make contacts on as many bands as possible. I would start with 10m before the start of the eclipse, and work my way down in frequency, hopefully after making one or more contacts on each successive band. I also needed to manage my time, so that I would get some time on each of the low bands – 60m, 80m, and 160m as the eclipse neared totality. Since I already had contacts from a prior activation, I would not work 40m unless I had completed contacts on the other 9 bands.
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Eclipse viewing glasses conforming to ISO 12312-2 for direct solar observation
Eclipse Day
My cousin joined Becky and I for the outing to see the eclipse. We all hoped that the afternoon would be memorable. As we drove to our selected location, traffic was unexpectedly light, but the sky was overcast. There had been rain earlier in the morning, but the clouds seemed to be thinning as the day progressed, and we remained hopeful during the drive, particularly as glimpses of blue sky became apparent.
A final stretch on a dirt road brought us to the Game Land parking lot, a cleared patch of gravel, which was… empty!!! It seemed that I had either planned well, or guessed right. Either way, I was happy with the starting point!
We passed out the folding chairs from the back of the truck, shouldered our bags, and started the half-mile walk back the road to find our field. We saw no vehicles and no people on the way in. We did hear a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers drumming on branches near the side of the road, and we saw a Red-tailed Hawk and some Turkey Vultures soaring overhead. It all made for an enjoyable walk, and the clouds continued to thin, with patches of blue emerging as the clouds continued their journey overhead.
Setting Up the Station
Here, I am preparing to throw a line to support the VK160. I selected a tree somewhat distant from my planned operating location, so that apex would be located at about the midpoint of the radiating wire.I used the K4SWL sling method of throwing the arborist line for this deployment. While I am much more accurate using the “granny shot” throwing method, the sling method can get the line consistently higher.I am deploying one of the three radial wires used with the VK160. If you look closely, you can see the antenna feedpoint hanging behind me, level with my hat brim. The cord holding the feedpoint can be seen just above my head.
When we arrived at the field, I scouted out a location for my antenna. A tall tree at the woodline seemed to have a number of great branches high above the ground. I broke out my arborist line, made my throw, and missed. I repeated the process a couple more times, then snagged a light branch just a bit lower than I had hoped, but it would be sufficient.
Unwrapping the antenna (it takes a while to spool out 144 ft of wire) I found that it would stretch across the width of the field, and a bit further along one edge, so up it went in a bent inverted V. A length of 550 cord secured it to a tree branch on the far side of the field, and a bit of light cord held the feed point to a tree branch near my chair. This done, I connected and stretched out three counterpoise wires, connected the RG316 feed line, and started assembling the station.
On the Air
I am preparing for operation. Station equipment is on the clipboard in my lap. The antenna feedpoint can be seen at upper right. The 15 ft RG316 feedline runs downward from the feedpoint, along the ground, and up to my operating position.On the air with the KX3 set for 5 watts CW.Working for a contact on 12m.Continuing to work contacts as the light dims. Chairs for Becky and my cousin are about 100 ft down the field from my operating position.Between contacts I could quickly don my fashionable eclipse glasses to safely monitor progress, as the moon’s shadow progressed across the sun.
I was quickly ready to hit the air. Having scheduled the activation in advance, I was not worried about cell service, but found that I had enough to verify my initial spot, as well as subsequent band changes. As planned, I started on the 10m band. It took some time before my CQ call was returned. After logging it, I called for a bit longer, then switched over to the 12m band, where things took a different turn. Continue reading K3ES’ Eclipse Clean Sweep!→
Ocracoke, NC, home to this iconic lighthouse, was our destination for a week of relaxation. Ten days of QRP operation was a happy consequence.
Ten Days of QRP with Compromised Antennas
by Brian (K3ES)
At the end of a hard (or even a not-so-hard) winter, Becky and I really enjoy the opportunity to spend a week at the beach with friends. Even with the cooler and more unpredictable weather late in the off-season, it provides welcome relief from the cold and snow that we often get in northwest Pennsylvania. This year we chose to visit Ocracoke Island, at the southern tip of the North Carolina Outer Banks.
While driving down and back, I fit in Parks on the Air (POTA) activations at parks in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each of the activated parks was new to me, and so were their states. My time at the beach also included daily POTA hunting. I knew that my radio activity would all be conducted using CW mode, and low power. All of my contacts on this trip were made with 5 watts, except for a brief stint where I increased power to 10 watts to fight band noise during a longer QSO with my code buddy. What I did not expect was that all of my contacts would be made using antenna configurations that were less efficient than normal.
At each of the activated parks, I paired my Elecraft KX2 with a brand new Elecraft AX1 vertical antenna. While it proved very effective at making contacts, the 4 ft high AX1 vertical definitely compromises gain to achieve its tiny form factor for HF operations. Once we moved into our rented house on the island, we knew that storms were expected. In fact, gale warnings were issued for our area twice during our week-long stay. Besides cutting off ferry service to the island, I feared that high winds would bring down any antenna mast that I might try to use. So, I deployed my shortest wire antenna in a low configuration that I hoped would resist the wind, yet still enable some contacts. I certainly did not expect it to perform like it had many times before when deployed in vertical or inverted V configurations, but proof would be in the contacts. I will avoid suspense by saying that this installation was unaffected by the high winds that were predicted and received.
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US M7 Army Light Weight Service Mask pouch: WWII vintage, canvas construction
Monocacy National Battlefield – US-0705
Monocacy National Battlefield, US-0705, is located near the junction of Interstates 70 and 270 at Frederick, MD.
Our trip south took us close enough for a visit to our 3-year old grandson and his parents. Truth be told, any distance would have been close enough, so even though greater-Baltimore is slightly off the direct path, that was the destination for our first day of driving. On the way to Baltimore, we also passed within a couple of miles of the Monocacy National Battlefield, near Frederick, MD. So, we spent a couple of hours exploring interpretive displays at the Visitor Center, and of course, activating the park.
As a Civil War history buff, I knew of the Battle of Monocacy, but little about its details. Briefly, in July of 1864 a small Union force faced off against a much larger Confederate Army led by Lieutenant General Jubal Early. The Confederates were moving against Washington, DC in an attempt to take the pressure off of the defenders around the Confederate capital of Richmond, VA. While the battle was a tactical defeat for the Union, it proved to be a strategic victory, because it delayed the Confederate advance for two crucial days. In that time Washington’s defenses were strongly reinforced, so the Confederate Army withdrew back into the Shenandoah Valley without accomplishing its mission. More on that later.
A picnic table near a wood line outside the visitor center made a perfect, unobtrusive location to activate US-0705.
For the activation, I set up my station at a picnic table. A table top tripod supported the AX1 antenna, with a short piece of RG316 coaxial cable connecting it to the KX2. I operated CW mode with 5 watts of power, and completed the activation with 11 contacts in less than 15 minutes.
The entire station, including table-top AX1, took up less than half of a picnic table.Logging contacts…Cannons overlooking the battlefield…Map of contacts from US-0705. Home QTH for one station is located at the south pole!
Operating from Ocracoke Island, NC
A week at Ocracoke…
We arrived on Ocracoke on the last ferry run to the island before a Gale Warning shut down service for two days. We counted ourselves fortunate to be on the island, but gale force winds complicated deployment of antennas. Except, that is, for the AX1. Continue reading K3ES Travels: Ten Days of QRP with Compromised Antennas→
Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following field report:
Molly is on the trail of a POTA activation. Temperatures are in the 40s, but there is still snow on the ground.
A Hike and a 2-fer
by Brian (K3ES)
When you live in northwestern Pennsylvania, and a February day shows up with the sun shining, moderate temperatures, and nothing pressing on the calendar, it is time to go and enjoy the outdoors.
One of the best ways to do that is to take a hike with your dog. Hopefully your dog is like Molly, who doesn’t mind taking a break mid-hike for a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation. So on Wednesday, February 21 we scheduled an activation and jumped in the truck for a drive to the trail head. The hike to and from the activation site would be a nice change from the short walks we had been taking to the pond behind our house in the colder weather, and from activating while sitting in the truck. And, to better share the joy with our POTA hunters, we would make this activation a 2-fer, giving them credit for both the North Country Trail National Scenic Trail (K-4239) and Pennsylvania State Game Land 024 (K-8725).
Molly is ready to go. She is not at all amused by waiting for me to take pictures.
Since I had hiked the planned route before, both solo, with friends, and with Molly, I expected that the route would be familiar. Some of it was, and some of it was brand new to us. You see, the North Country Trail volunteers had been busy since we last hiked as far up the trail as we planned to go. They had cleared and marked an entirely new route for one section of the trail, bypassing an old favorite activation site! So, we got to do some exploring, and we found a new favorite activation site. Bonus!
Finding a New 2-fer Site
One of the things that I enjoy about POTA is planning my activation.
Since days long ago as a Boy Scout, I have enjoyed outdoor navigation. Map and compass always fascinated me. Things have gotten much easier with Global Positioning System (GPS), online maps, and online satellite imagery. Still, I do most of my activation planning while sitting comfortably at home with a tablet or a computer. For this trip, finding the newly marked trail (that had not yet been transferred to the online map) presented a bit of a challenge. While I could follow the marked trail easily, I needed to be sure that I had entered Game Land property so that the 2-fer activation would be valid.
Thankfully, I had access to an app on my smart phone to help me solve this problem as we walked along the trail through the woods. The On X Hunt app combines GPS, topographic maps, satellite imagery, and tax office databases to identify land ownership (even when the owner happens to be the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania). Full functionality of this app is not free, but as the owner of a parcel of land, it is something I had elected to pay for. Once it became clear that the newly marked trail would not quickly rejoin the prior route, I set up the app to record our track on the map. After confirming that Molly and I had definitely crossed PA Game Land property line (there were no marking signs along the new trail), we went just a bit further, then found a promising spot to set up for the activation.
With a change to the K-4239 North Country Scenic Trail route, we found a new 2-fer site within K-8725, along the partially snow-covered Game Land road that carries this section of the Trail.
Setting Up to Activate
I chose to locate our station in the woods beside a Game Land road that provided the path for the North Country Trail in that particular area. We set up on the inside of a bend flanked by trees with long overhanging branches. I placed my chair in the woods on the inside of the bend, and tossed a throw line over a branch on the outside of the bend, then deployed my Packtenna EFRW with 71 ft wire as an inverted V across the road. I used the throw line to hoist the middle of the radiating wire up about 30 ft, and secured both the feedpoint and the far end of the antenna to nearby trees, about 6 ft off the ground.
Even though I did not expect traffic on this road (shaded areas were still snow covered, and the snow showed tracks only from woodland creatures), I try to deploy my wire antennas high enough that they are not a hazard to others who may travel through.
Temperatures were rising, but with the high only expected to hit 50F, I brought a blanket to give Molly some additional insulation (though she is a rough, tough POTA dog, as a Boston Terrier, her coat is not particularly thick). I laid out the blanket beside my operating position, so that it could provide both top cover and insulation from the ground.
One of the things I like best about living in Western Pennsylvania is that after a stretch of heavy winter weather, we always seem to get a bit of a break. The break never lasts long, but the sun comes out and the temperature warms enough to hold a promise of spring. The first week of February 2024 gave us one of those respites. With rising temperatures, the snow melted, a strange yellow disc appeared in the sky, and this operator’s thoughts turned once again toward POTA activations, and a free Sunday afternoon provided a perfect opportunity.
A Long-Term Goal
For just over a year, I have been working slowly toward POTA’s James F. LaPorta N1CC Award for activators. I am under no illusions. This goal may take me another year to complete on my terms.
The award requires an activator to complete QSOs on ten different amateur bands from each of ten different Parks on the Air entities. To the extent possible, I am working to finish all of the needed contacts using CW mode and QRP power levels. So, one specific part of my afternoon outing would include an attempt to make a QRP CW contact on my tenth band from PA State Game Land 283, K-8977. Two previous activations of K-8977 had given me contacts on each of the nine HF bands from 80m to 10m. So this afternoon, I would attempt to make a contact on top band, 160m.
Molly supervises many of my activations, and even when the weather warms into the 40s, she prefers to activate from the truck.
The Activation Plan
With a little bit of advanced planning, POTA Dog Molly and I packed the truck on a Sunday afternoon and headed out to attempt two activations. First, we would set up at K-8773, Pennsylvania State Game Land 074, a new park for me, where we would have about 2 hours on the air before the time would be right to move to the next park and attempt an activation including 160m. It would be just a short drive to K-8977, and we hoped to arrive there and set up around 2100Z (4pm EST). The goal at K-8977 was to get enough contacts for a successful activation, then shortly before sunset move to 160m and get at least one contact to complete activation of the the tenth band.
Parking areas at Pennsylvania State Game Lands are mostly unpaved, but they are well marked.
Activating K-8773
With temperatures running in the low 40s Fahrenheit, I decided Molly would be most comfortable operating from the truck. She appeared to be quite pleased with that decision. So we pulled into one of the parking lots at K-8773 and parked along the tree line. I tossed my arborist line over a branch near the truck, and used it to pull up my Tufteln 9:1 35 ft random wire antenna into a near-vertical configuration. After connecting the 17 ft counterpoise wire and laying it out along the ground, I attached the 15 ft RG316 feedline and routed it into the truck through the driver’s side door seal.
I clipped the feedpoint of my Tufteln random wire antenna to the 2m antenna on the front fender of the truck.I threw my arborist line over a tree branch, and used it to pull up the far-end of the antenna. A few wraps around the handle for the back window of the cap kept it secure for the activation.The RG316 feedline runs through the door seal into the truck.
Once inside the truck, I set up my KX2, prepared my log book, and made the decision to work my way downward through the amateur bands. Conditions proved to be amazingly good that Sunday afternoon, and my 5 watt signal yielded 54 CW contacts, including 13 DX contacts spread across 7 European countries.
Moreover, I made at least one of these contacts on each of 8 amateur bands, from 10m to 60m. Unexpectedly, getting contacts on 8 bands during a spectacular afternoon at K-8773 also puts that park well within striking distance for completing 10 bands, just not on this particular afternoon.
Not a bad afternoon’s work at the first park, not at all!
The KX2 sits on the console of the truck, with its feet straddling one of the cup holders. This leaves plenty of room for my log book (yes, I’m one of those dinosaurs who uses pencil and paper for logging).Another view of the operating station. Note the home made VK3IL pressure paddles above the log book.Supervising this activation was a particularly difficult task. Molly has decided that a rest is needed. She has tucked her nose in the blanket, a definite signal that serious napping is underway.At K-8773, I logged 56 contacts across 8 bands. I was delighted that 13 of those contacts were DX from Europe.
Activating K-8977
Packing my gear at K-8977 went quickly. As a most excellent POTA companion, I rewarded Molly with a short walk along a Game Land road, then a 15 minute drive on some rugged back roads brought us to K-8773. I had operated from one particular parking lot during previous activations, but a quick look around for places to set up my antenna caused me to head for a different parking lot. I would be using a wire antenna that was much longer than normal, and a nearby power line was too close for comfort.
ALWAYS watch for and avoid power lines when deploying your antennas in the field!
To activate on the 160m band, I intended to use my VK160 antenna. The VK160 is a homebrew 9:1 random wire antenna with a 144 ft radiator and three – 17 ft counterpoise wires. At the new location it went up quickly in an inverted V configuration. With counterpoise wires spread out on the ground, and my 15ft RG316 feedline connected and run through the door seal of the truck, it was time to get the station assembled and on the air. This time the rig would be a KX3 with built-in wide-range tuner. The KX3’s spectacular tuner matches the VK160 on all bands from 10m to 160m.
I was easily on the air at 2100Z (4 pm EST), and had about 90 minutes before sunset. My plan was to begin on 40m, and collect enough contacts to assure the activation before moving to 160m around 2200Z (5 pm EST), about 30 minutes before sunset.
Activating on 40m was a safe bet, even running 5 watts CW. Once spotted, I was working a steady pileup for about 40 minutes. When 40m callers tailed off, I switched over to 30m for 20 minutes and picked up a bunch more contacts on the new band. Then, at 5 pm local, I switched over to 160m. It did not take long to start making contacts. It was not a pile up, but the three 160m contacts were very satisfying: eastern Pennsylvania, western Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
I called QRT at 2215Z (5:15 pm EST), packed up my gear in the remaining daylight, and drove home. I was home in time for dinner, and Molly didn’t say a word about being late for her normal 5 pm dinner time.
At K-8977, I logged 54 contacts. Since I worked them on 30m, 40m, and 160m, it was entirely expected that most would be located in the eastern US and Canada. Logging 3 contacts on 160m made it a perfect outing.
I do owe an apology to QRPer.com readers, because in the pace of the second activation, I failed to take pictures during my operation. If you are interested in visuals, please take a look at previous QRPer articles on building the VK160 and testing it during Winter Field Day 2023.
Gear
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To address this issue, we are implementing changes to our user registration process.
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Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:
Activation at Allegheny National Forest: Remembering a Friend
by Brian (K3ES)
The last few weeks have been rough for the K3ES household. In past activation reports, I introduced you to our two Boston Terriers. Molly and Jojo came to us as rescue dogs in October 2022, and we have worked hard to help them feel safe and loved. Unfortunately, both came to us with unexpected health problems. We were able to get Molly through treatment for heartworm, and she is thriving. Jojo always had something holding her back, but we were never quite sure what. We lost her just before Christmas, and that was a real punch in the gut.
Jojo was a special dog. When we brought her home, she barely weighed 15 pounds. Even after we managed to build her weight up to 25 pounds, she was still thin for her frame. She also came to us hunched, cowering, and emotionally traumatized. It took months for her to start coming out of her shell. We got glimpses of her as a feisty, and loving dog, who took real joy from laying in the sunshine. We were hopeful that she would one day come into her own, and give our jubilant Molly a real run for her money. Sadly, it was not to be. She had increasing problems with mobility. We treated her for a bone infection, for possible tick-borne disease, and for joint inflammation. Steroids and pain medication helped her quality of life a lot. It was only near the end that the likely culprit was identified as cancer, but even expensive diagnostic tests failed to confirm that. Finally, her body just crashed, and we had to let her go…
Jojo supervises a truck activation of Allegheny National Forest in March 2023.
Looking back through pictures of Jojo, I discovered some that were taken during a never-reported “truck activation” of Allegheny National Forest (K-0619) back in March, 2023.
I have never thought that my vehicle-based activations were terribly interesting, so I never spent the time to report them. Suddenly, that particular activation held new meaning, because one of the few times I got Jojo out with me for a POTA activation happened because I was doing a low-impact drive-up, working from the truck. She rode shotgun, and sat happily in the passenger seat while I made contacts. Molly sat in the back seat, napping from time to time. After the radio gear was packed away, the three of us even managed to take a short trail walk along a Forest Service Road that starts at the parking area.
Jojo and Molly lead the way on the Forest Service Road after the radio gear was packed away.
Last week, I found myself in serious need of radio-therapy. Since Molly is always ready to go for a ride and a POTA, I decided to take her along to re-create the prior activation that we did with Jojo. So this is the story of our salute to a departed friend, a tribute activation, as it were.
Activation
Molly and I packed her blanket, picked up my KX2 field kit, and jumped in the truck for a 20 minute drive to the trail-head parking area that we had activated with Jojo last March. It has trees, a decent driving and walking surface that would not be too muddy from recent rain, and the Forest Service road where we had walked after the previous activation. This time, Molly rode in the passenger seat, alternating between napping, and looking at the scenery as we drove. Upon arrival she stayed put, while I used a throw line to put up my Tufteln 35 ft EFRW as a sloper. I hooked the unun around my 2 meter mobile antenna, and ran coax into the truck through the lower part of the driver-side door seal. I set up the KX2 on the center console/armrest, prepared my log, and got on the air to start the activation.
Tufteln 9:1 unun was clipped to my 2m mobile antenna, with the 35 ft radiator sloping up to a tree, the 17 ft counterpoise dropping down to the ground, and the RG316 feedline leading into the truck.
Results
As with almost all of my activations, I ran this one entirely CW QRP. Beginning just after 1900z (2 pm local), I decided to start on 15m and work my way down the bands. The HF bands were in good shape, and 15m netted 2 quick contacts, then 17m yielded 6 more. The pace picked up when I moved to 20m (12 contacts in 22 minutes), and got even faster on 30m (17 contacts in 19 minutes, before it was time to call QRT). While I was on the air, Molly did some supervising and some super snoozing.
Molly is an interested supervisor…But supervising is tiring work.
Working steadily for an hour and a quarter, and finishing with 37 contacts was just the kind of break that I needed. I want to sincerely thank the hunters who made this activation a success. For just a short while, I was focused on CW, call signs, and signal reports, and the sense of loss receded a bit from my consciousness.
A map of 37 contacts on 4 bands.
Equipment
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US M7 Army Light Weight Service Mask pouch. WWII vintage, canvas construction.
Molly and I walked along the Forest Service Road. We felt incomplete…
Conclusion
After I packed up the station, Molly and I repeated our walk along the Forest Service road. With just the two of us, it was definitely a bittersweet experience. I think Molly felt our loss, too. I like to think that Jojo would have been fine with missing this activation. The weather, while not raining, was cool, overcast, and a bit gloomy. The sunshine that she treasured was absent for us that day. Hopefully, she has found a place in perpetual sunshine, and is soaking up the rays. Good bye sweet pup.
We will always remember Jojo in her natural element, bathing in sunshine…
Hold on tight to those you love, and do something special with your four-footed companions. I wish you all the best in 2024.
Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:
The National Park Service welcomes you to Waco Mammoth National Monument
Activating K-0975, Waco Mammoth National Monument
by Brian (K3ES)
At the end of November 2023, my wife and I loaded her minivan, and headed out into the first significant snowfall of the season. I had already been out that morning in my 4WD truck to pull a friend’s car out of a ditch, so I was driving carefully. Our drive took us from our home in northwest Pennsylvania to Baltimore, MD. Happily, weather conditions improved as we went south and east. We were meeting our son, daughter-in-law, and 2-1/2 year old grandson for a family trip to Waco, TX (we flew out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport early the next morning). My wife and daughter-in-law are particular fans of Fixer-Upper and Chip and Joanna Gaines, all based in Waco. Us men-folk were to be educated in the finer points of appreciating this pop-culture phenomenon. Ultimately, we certainly did appreciate the finer points of dining in Waco.
One side-trip that amazed us all was a 10 minute drive up the road to Waco Mammoth National Monument. This relatively new addition to the National Park system is also listed as Parks on the Air (POTA) entity K-0975. Back in the days when the area occupied by the National Monument was private land, two exploring teenagers, who may not have had proper permission, found a bone, a big bone. This bone was delivered to a local museum for identification, and ultimately determined to have been the femur of a female Columbian Mammoth. Legalities being as they are, it took a while longer for the location of the discovery to be made public. An interested and civic-minded land owner made the process less traumatic than might have been, particularly for the wandering teenagers. He also started the process to preserve the site and its archaeological treasures for the public, ultimately leading to its designation as a National Monument. Over subsequent years, archaeological excavation discovered a lot more bones – skeletons from an entire nursery herd of Columbian Mammoths, along with skeletons from other species that visited what was apparently a dangerous waterhole during the last ice age.
A view of the interior of the building constructed to protect the archaeological site. Near the entry door is a full-sized artist’s rendition of a Columbian Mammoth. Standing up to14 feet high at the shoulder, Columbian Mammoths were significantly larger than their better known Woolly Mammoth cousins. This site is unique in that the bones of an entire nursery herd, including multiple females and their young, were found together here.Some of the partially excavated mammoth skeletons contained in the enclosure building.Also found in this excavation site was a Western Camel skeleton. It is thought that the large number, numerous species, and wide range of ages of the skeletons discovered at this site resulted from entrapment in thick mud that formed the bottom of a persistent waterhole.
Since the discovery, many skeletons have been excavated and removed for study, but many more remain at the site awaiting future recovery. A building has been constructed to cover the excavation and protect the remaining skeletons, and this building is the amazing focal point of the Waco Mammoth National Monument. Ranger-led tours are available, and very much worthwhile.
Operating QRP CW on a beautiful afternoon at K-0975, Waco Mammoth National Monument. My station is set up in a grassy field sometimes used for overflow parking.
Setting Up to Activate K-0975
After the tour and a look at the excavation site, I excused myself and set up to activate K-0975. Before the trip, I had sent an email to Phil – WA5PQL, who is the most frequent activator at K-0975. He was gracious and helpful in providing information about the park, the staff, and the locations most suitable for activating. His assistance made a quick, low-stress activation a near certainty. After checking in with the Park Rangers, I had directions and permissions, so all that remained a concern was HF propagation.
While the previous day had been overcast with drizzle, Friday, December 1, 2023, was sunny and warm. It was perfect for walking around the site, and for an outdoor activation. Unfortunately, the same sun that gave us the bright, warm day, had been active producing solar flares that could interfere with radio communications. The only way to know for sure that I could make contacts was to set up my station and call CQ, so that is the path I chose.
Field kit contained in a re-purposed Peltor 4” x 6” x 9” padded headset pouch. This compact kit was easily packed in a carry-on backpack for airline travel. The pouch’s integral handle also made for easy transport to the activation site.
Field kit contents from the upper-left (click image above to enlarge):
33 gal trash bag for dry seating,
15 ft RG316 feedline with BNC male connectors,
Two pieces of nylon cord,
Medium-sized pill bottle to be filled with dirt or stones and used as a throw weight,
80 ft of Marlow Excel 2mm arborist’s throw line,
BaMaTech TP-III paddles with connecting cable carried in an Altoids tin,
Nail clippers as a TSA-approved tool,
Elecraft KX2 transceiver with SideKX end-panels and polycarbonate cover,
Tufteln 9:1 end-fed random wire antenna with 35 ft radiator and 17 ft counterpoise,
Generic ear-bud headphones,
Homebrew VK3IL-designed pressure paddles with adjacent protective sleeve sitting atop a plastic ziploc bag,
Rite in the Rain notepad for logging,
Pentel Twist-Erase 0.9mm mechanical pencil,
Miscellaneous cable ties.
Not pictured is a Packtenna 10m collapsable fiberglass mast that was available, but not used for this activation.
I brought a very small, but capable, field kit based on my Elecraft KX2 and a Tufteln End-fed Random Wire antenna. A couple of CW keys, a short feedline, and generic earbuds completed the station. I also brought a notepad and a pencil for logging, a plastic garbage bag for seating, and some cordage. The most peculiar part of my kit was a small pill bottle with a hole in its lid. I filled the pill bottle with dirt, passed the end of a 2mm line through the lid and secured it with a knot. I was able to use the dirt-filled bottle as a throw weight to get the line over a tree branch for raising the antenna, then I detached the bottle and returned the dirt. All elements of the kit worked as intended, and TSA asked no questions during my trips through airport security. Continue reading K3ES Activates Waco Mammoth National Monument→
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