I mentioned in a previous post that I’m quite behind publishing activation videos. Much of this has to do with the fact that I’ve been a pretty busy activator (by my standards) the past couple of months.
While I don’t make field reports and videos for each of my activations, I usually do one or two per week. Two is typically the max I can post because my field reports take 3-4 hours each to write-up and publish; it can be difficult carving that kind of time out of my busy schedule!
In order to catch-up, I’ve decided to post shorter format field reports from time-to-time; especially for reports like this one where I give quite a lot of info and detail in my activation video.
Desoto Falls National Recreation Area (K-7473)
In the previous field report (from October 14, 2022), I recounted two amazing SOTA activations in north Georgia (Big Cedar and Black Mountain) with my buddy Joshua (KO4AWH) during the annual W4 SOTA Fall Campout.
Immediately after wrapping up our SOTA activations on Black Mountain, we decided to hit a park on the way back to the campground. Desoto Falls National Recreation Area made for a short detour and a nice way to relax after a few miles of hiking that day.
We pulled into the parking area of Desoto Falls and set up our stations in the picnic area placing some distance from one another to help with any interference.
I pulled out my trusty Penntek TR-45L and two 28’/8.5m lengths of 24 gauge wire. I extended the radiator vertically and unrolled the counterpoise on the ground. The wires were connected to the binding posts on the back of the TR-45L (red=radiator, black=counterpoise). I used the built-in manual Z-Match tuner to match the impedance in short order.