Tag Archives: Morse Code

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

Giving the Xiegu G106 a thorough workout at Fort Dobbs!

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On Thursday, February 9, 2023, a rare opportunity opened up for me: a 3.5 hour activation window–!

I was visiting and helping my parents in Catawba County, NC, so considered the park options, almost all of which are within a 35-45 minute drive.

I thought about fitting in two shorter park activations that day, but it has been so long since I’ve had the opportunity to simply hang at one park and play radio for more than an hour, I chose the extended activation option.

Although the forecast was for clear skies that day, a front was moving through that afternoon and the skies were overcast with gusty winds. I could tell rain was a very real possibility, so I chose a site with a picnic shelter to make things a bit easier.

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site (K-6839)

Fort Dobbs was a no-brainer: not only was it the closest park (thus less travel time eating into my on-air time), but the staff there are very POTA-friendly, the site is quiet, and they have an excellent shelter that I suspected (due to the dodgy weather) would be unoccupied.

When I arrived on-site, I checked in at the visitor’s center to make sure the picnic shelter hadn’t been reserved. Fortunately, they said I could have the shelter all to myself!

I had a number of radios in my car and decided en route that I would use the Xiegu G106 once again.

I packed the G106 in a waterproof Husky radio gear box I keep in my car trunk/boot. I grabbed it and my Spec-Ops EDC pack and carried it to the picnic shelter.

My plan was to pair the G106 with MW0SAW’s 40 meter EFHW antenna.

This would give me two resonant bands (40 and 20 meters) so there’d be no need to connect an external ATU. Continue reading Giving the Xiegu G106 a thorough workout at Fort Dobbs! →

Antennas, Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Stealth

Lunch Box POTA: Pairing the Elecraft AX1 with the Penntek TR-45L!

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As I mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been using the Elecraft AX1 in heavy rotation this year. I made a commitment to myself to do a string of activations with it in January and February and also pair it with a wide variety of radios beyond the Elecraft KX2 and KX3.  So far, I’ve paired the AX1 with the:

In truth, the AX1 can be paired with any radio when you use a tripod mount.

It’s a bit trickier when connecting the AX1 directly to a radio and using the Bipod as a support because 1.) the antenna connector on the radio mustn’t be too high off of the surface, 2.) there needs to be enough clearance on the back of the radio to accommodate the bipod legs and 3.) ideally, it’s nice to have a ground point on the radio, else you’ll need to clamp the counterpoise to the shield of the BNC connector.

In addition, if your radio doesn’t have a built-in ATU of some sort, then you’ll also need a capacity hat or external ATU to finish off the impedance match. (For more notes about the AX1 and AX2, check out this previous post.)

Of course, you don’t have to use Elecraft’s bipod to support the AX1 when directly connected to a radio–you can build or 3D print your own support–but the bipod is really convenient when it does work.

Objective: Lunch Box Radio

One radio I’ve been eager to pair with the AX1 is the Penntek TR-45L.

Why? Because I love the form-factor.

Something about having a lunch box-sized radio sitting on a table with a telescoping whip protruding out the back and, with that combo, the potential of making contacts all over the globe. Continue reading Lunch Box POTA: Pairing the Elecraft AX1 with the Penntek TR-45L! →

Antennas, Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

Postcard Field Report: Pairing the Mission RGO One with the Elecraft AX1 at Lake James for some QRP DX

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Welcome to my first Postcard Field Report!

If you’ve been following QRPer.com and my YouTube channel for long, you’ll notice that I typically post two field reports with videos per week when my free time allows. Each report takes about four hours to produce along with a video. I’ve currently got a small backlog of videos I need to post, so in order to squeeze them into my schedule, I’m going to use a slightly more abbreviated field report format: a “postcard” format!

My Postcard Field Reports will still be information-packed, just slightly more concise and distilled than my average field report. I’ll primarily post these for sites I visit frequently.

Speaking of which….

Lake James State Park (K-2739)

Thursday, February 2, 2023, was a rainy, dreary day so the perfect time to play a little POTA, right?  I made time in my morning to visit Lake James State Park (K-2739).

When I arrived at the Catawba River Access, the parking lot was empty. Not too surprising considering it was a Thursday morning on a chilly, rainy day.

Of course, I had the picnic shelter all to myself, so why not use it to stay dry? Continue reading Postcard Field Report: Pairing the Mission RGO One with the Elecraft AX1 at Lake James for some QRP DX →

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

Speedy POTA: An impromptu post-hike activation with the Elecraft KX2 and AX1

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On Friday, January 27, 2023, I dropped off one of my daughters at the library for a creative writing session.

Hazel was along for the ride, so we decided to hike on the nearby Mountains To Sea Trail (MST) while my daughter was in the meeting.

During the hike, I realized that I should have taken my field radio pack along because it would have been so easy to activate both the MST and Blue Ridge Parkway as a two-fer.

Instead, Hazel and I enjoyed our hike and got back to the car with about 35 minutes or so to do an activation–including set-up, on-air time, and pack-up.  That would leave me just enough time to pick up my daughter at the library before they closed for the day.

Challenge accepted!

Because I had been using the Elecraft KX2 and AX1 recently, I had both packed in my Spec-Ops EDC backpack.  In theory–even filming a video at the same time–I knew I could probably fit in a whole activation with 25 minutes on the air. I only needed 10 contacts, and I’ve never been in a situation where the AX1 couldn’t achieve that goal.

Hazel and I grabbed my bag from the car, I started recording a video, and we made out way to the nearest picnic table at the Blue Ridge Parkway HQ parking lot! Continue reading Speedy POTA: An impromptu post-hike activation with the Elecraft KX2 and AX1 →

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

KX2/AX1: Second quick activation of the day at Lake James State Park!

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As I mentioned in my previous field report, on Saturday, January 21, 2023, I had just enough time to activate two parks in short order on the way back to my QTH

I thought it might be fun to perform both of these activations with the Elecraft KX2 and AX1 combo because they’re so speedy to deploy.

Once again, I wanted to show the whole KX2/AX1 set-up and pack-up process in my activation video.

Lake James State Park (K-2739)

As I pulled into the Lake James Catawba River access, I discovered that there were few other guests there that day. I was expecting more people on a Saturday especially since the weather was so pleasant and South Mountains had been so busy earlier that morning.

Then again, the Catawba River access always has less visitors than the Paddy’s Creek area (which is really the main public access point for Lake James).

I pulled into a parking space, found one of the closest picnic tables, and set up the station in short order.

At South Mountains State Park, an hour earlier, I performed the entire activation on 20 meters. To shake things up a bit, I decided to perform the one at Lake James on 17 meters (note here that the AX1 only works on 20 and 17 meters unless you have the coil which adds 40 meters). Continue reading KX2/AX1: Second quick activation of the day at Lake James State Park! →

Morse Code, News

Limited openings for a free intermediate CW class via CW Innovations

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Many thanks to Andrew (K0AWG) who shares the following news about an upcoming intermediate CW class via CW Innovations.

Andrew writes:

The class will be 10 weeks starting March 13. There are a limited number of seats for this round, but we hope to have many more classes in the future too.

The class is currently free of charge. It will be held on Monday and Thursday from 7-8pm central time. We’re looking for ops currently operating from about 10-15 wpm and having a simple on-air presence. If you are making POTA and SOTA contacts that’s perfect!

This class is a great way to really nail the characters down so that you can start to build speed with head copy in mind. One perk for POTA and SOTA is this skill will really contribute to being able to go “off script” when activating. It will help ops follow along when things aren’t quite what you expect.

Here’s the full press release:

CW Innovations presents The Comprehensive ICR Course

Dated Jan 25, 2023

Imagine being able to advance your present CW proficiency without facing the prospect of getting stuck on a plateau. Imagine too that the characters you hear become easily familiar to copy and send, as familiar as the alphabet itself when you were first learning language.
There’s no need to imagine any of this: An independent, new Comprehensive Instant Character Recognition Course delivers this as a reality, delivering the best of CW training techniques while helping operators understand their own best way to learn, progress and further challenge themselves.

Announcing CW Innovations. This is an independently run course that is module-based. It is built on scaffolding in which each successive module provides a gentle ramp upward through the learning process. This methodical process is created to address the mental and emotional roadblocks that have typically halted learners’ progress via other teaching methods.

Introduced to students in October 2022, CW Innovations has been further refined by a highly skilled and experienced team of operator educators. While there is no “magic pill,” CW Innovations provides a breakthrough process that is unique. Students have gained proficiency beyond their expectations. These results are unprecedented.

The 10-week course is designed for those currently operating with 10-15wpm proficiency, at least a simple presence on the air, and eager to improve both.

See w4yes.com for details.

A few students have shared these thoughts with us:

“I almost gave up. Stuck on a plateau for a frustrating stretch of forever, I had very little proficiency and even less confidence or hope that I could be a decent operator. After receiving 10 weeks of coaching and support from this terrific team, I have all the tools I need in order to teach myself. I can help myself make progress, sharpen both my listening and copying skills and most of all, I can have fun. Being able to do head copy was an unexpected bonus. Plateau? What’s a plateau??”
Licensed Operator since 2014 – New York

“It’s no longer learning dits and dahs…. It’s allowing yourself to hear and comprehend the sound of the characters subconsciously that will allow you to move forward in your CW skills and goals. You’re learning how to learn CW all over again. I’ve made more CW progress in the past 2.5 months than in the previous 6 years.”
Licensed Operator since 2017 – Missouri

“Why should anyone take the Comprehensive ICR course? Because if you put in the time and effort, your CW skills WILL improve. This course enabled me to go from 10 to 15 wpm copy speed as well as begin head copying my QSOs. I also, now, have the tools I need to reach any of my CW goals including listening to books in morse code, something which I never dreamed would be possible for me. The icing on the cake? The friendships I formed with facilitators and team members alike as we shared our successes and difficulties and helped one another find solutions. This course is a game changer for the world of CW.”
Licensed Operator since 2022 – Georgia

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

A quick two park KX2/AX1 POTA run starting at South Mountains State Park!

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You might have noticed that I’ve been taking the Elecraft AX1 antenna out quite a lot recently. At time of posting, I’ve almost used it for a month’s worth of activations.

In December, I thought it might be fun to only use the AX1 for one 2023 calendar month–say, the month of March–but since I evaluate and review radios and antennas, it’s just not realistic to make that kind of commitment.

That said, I did decide to simply start using the AX1 as my primary field antenna for roughly a 30-ish day period and, so far, that’s working out very nicely. I thought it might give some real-world context and usage for those who still believe I’ve just been lucky the days I use the AX1 in the field. No better way to test that theory than to just do it!

Mini rove!

It’s been a while since I’ve had time to do a proper park rove. I hope to do a five park rove within the next month or so, if I can clear out space in the schedule. I find roves so much fun and a nice change of pace.

On Saturday, January 21, 2023, on the way back to my QTH in the mountains of WNC, I had just enough time to activate two parks in short order. Having just been challenged by a short activation window at the Vance Birthplace (which, turned into a normal length activation due to a schedule change in my favor) I thought it might be fun to once again, show the whole KX2/AX1 set-up and pack-up process in my activation video.

South Mountains State Park (K-2753)

I chose South Mountains State Park as my first stop.

South Mountains has a number of public access points. I decided to drive to the main park entrance and set up at the equestrian picnic area. Choosing the main park entrance added about 15 minutes to my overall driving time; the Clear Creek access would have been quicker, but I’d been there only recently. Continue reading A quick two park KX2/AX1 POTA run starting at South Mountains State Park! →

Antennas, Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

POTA Field Report: The Elecraft AX1’s secret power? Speed of deployment.

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I believe I mentioned in the past that when I first purchased my Elecraft AX1, I assumed it would be a bit if a toy or novelty item. I thought it was a fun concept–and that’s why I bought it–but I remember the first time I took it out to the field on an activation, I thought I’d be demonstrating that a compromised antenna delivers compromised performance.

In short? I was wrong.

The AX1 has instead become one of the most valuable tools in my antenna arsenal.

When you are the DX–activating a park or summit–the AX1 is more than capable as long as you live in an area with a reasonable amount of hunters/chasers within your normal propagation footprint.

Speed

The AX1’s secret power, as I mention in the title, is speed of deployment.

Although I can launch a line into a tree and deploy an end-fed half-wave pretty quickly–I’ve literally done this hundreds of times–I can deploy the AX1 even more quickly without breaking a sweat.

Case in Point: Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace (K-6856)

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023, I had a day full of errands and projects in town, but needed to pick up my daughters at a school function around 15:00 local. There were too many variables to accurately predict where I would be at what time, so I didn’t schedule an activation that morning.

As the day progressed, though, I realized I had a very short window and K-6856 was practically en route to the pickup point. After I finished my last errand in south Asheville, I made my way north and based on Google Maps, I had no more than a 25 minute window to fit in a full activation from deployment to pack up.

I stopped in a parking lot en route, pulled out my iPhone, and scheduled an activation at K-6856 on POTA.app.

Keep in mind that my activations are typically short, but 25 minutes for set-up, on-the-air time, and pack-up leaves very little margin for error.

The AX1 is perfect for this type of activation.

A little time math

It takes me two easy minutes to set up the AX1 and maybe one minute to pack it up.  If I wanted to, I could speed that up a bit (I take much longer on camera talking my way through the process). So that’s roughly three minutes to both deploy and pack-up the AX1.

My speaker wire antenna, on the other hand, is also very quick to deploy. With my arborist throw line, I can easily prepare that antenna in four minutes and pack it up in three minutes. Thus, I need to allow roughly 7 minutes to both deploy and pack-up the speaker wire antenna (we have to assume it might take 2 launches of the throw line to snag a branch).

Since it has a built-in ATU and battery the Elecraft KX2 takes maybe 20 seconds to set up. Seriously: pull it out of the pack, connect a key, turn it on. Continue reading POTA Field Report: The Elecraft AX1’s secret power? Speed of deployment. →

Antennas, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios

Jonathan takes the Yaesu FT-818ND on an inaugural POTA activation!

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Many thanks to Jonathan (KM4CFT) who shares the following guest field report and video:

Chatfield State Park (K-1212)

January 20, 2022

by Jonathan Kayne (KM4CFT)

The honorable Yaesu FT-817/818. You all know it and love it. I had been wanting to get myself one for a while but after just buying myself a shiny new ICOM IC-705, I had been planning on getting myself an 818 in the spring to play around with. December came and I find out that Yaesu was going to discontinue the 818, so I went and bit the bullet and bought one from Ham Radio Outlet.

I had been getting into CW for portable operations lately after wanting to learn CW for a while and my friend Zach Thompson (KM4BLG) had pushed me to learn it. I learned it over the course of two months through an app called “Morse Machine” and listening to Thomas’s YouTube videos while working so as to get used to the exchanges and pick up words. Then I activated and all the rest is history! (If you want to see my 3rd time activating see this video here.)

Why is this important? Because the FT-818ND does not have a narrow 500 Hz filter for CW operation by default, and since I consider myself to be still a newbie I wanted to install a Collins Filter before I take my new 818 into the field. Since these filters are hard to obtain, I went with the build your own route. The method I used has been outlined in this blog and I have made a video of it here.

Now that I had my radio all ready to go with a filter, side rails, and Windcamp Battery, I wanted to get it in the field as soon as possible. Unfortunately due to a snow storm, the temperature in the Denver area was quite cold.

I can handle myself pretty well in the cold if I put on enough layers, but my fingers are another story. I have found that I cannot write properly unless my fingertips are exposed. The solution: do the activation in the car! Continue reading Jonathan takes the Yaesu FT-818ND on an inaugural POTA activation! →

Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, POTA

Guest Post: Dan’s first straight key POTA activation

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Many thanks to Dan (W9SAU) who shares the following field report:

My first Straight Key POTA Activation

Dan (W9SAU)

1/22/2023

After 3 weeks of working Straight Key for SKCC, SST, and POTA QSOs, and a lot of practice, I wanted to try a Straight Key POTA Activation, using a Cootie paddle.

My Cootie/Sideswiper is a modified Vibroplex Single paddle, with a switch installed. Converting a paddle to a Cootie is done by jumpering the dot and dash wire connections. Then turn the Electronic Keyer off. The switch allows for Cootie or Keyer operation.

Pullman National Monument (K-7917) is only 10 minutes from my QTH. Pullman is unique, with the National Park borders surrounding a portion of the Pullman factory and neighborhood. You can operate from anywhere within these borders. I operated from the parking lot of the Pullman National Monument Exhibit Hall.

In this busy area in the City of Chicago, the noise floor was near S-Zero. There is occasional interference from a passing Illinois Central Electric Train, with QRN that obliterates everything. Not many trains on a Sunday morning.

With snow falling, my operating position was inside the vehicle, using a Yaesu FT-891 set to 5W for QRP, with a Shark 20 meter Hamstick on the roof.

Some anxiety, starting at 13wpm, but I quickly became  comfortable with 15wpm. My goal was to complete the Activation with 13 or 14 contacts.

I finished with 22 in the log in 35 minutes. I appreciate the patience of all who slowed down for me.

I had plenty of protection from Chicago’s Finest!  Across the street are the Pullman Horse Stables. All employee and visitor horses were housed and cared for here, in the late 1800’s.

Working the Cootie is a lot of fun! I find it easier than the traditional up/down key. But each character still has to be formed manually. I will be doing more of this type of POTA Activation.

A bonus is Ops who sometimes initiate a SKCC QSO when I work them for POTA. I was happy to accommodate them, but using a Keyer, I could not take SKCC credit. With the Cootie, I can use the credit to work towards the next SKCC achievement level. All while working Parks On The Air!