Tag Archives: Hamvention 2024

Accessories, Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel, Videos

POTA Activation at Strouds Run State Park: A Rainy Morning and Ham Radio Memories!

6 Comments

On Tuesday morning, May 14, 2024, I hopped in my car and headed north to Athens, Ohio. It was in Athens, back in 1997, that my ham radio journey truly began, and where I met my friends Eric (WD8RIF) and Mike (K8RAT).

For over 14 years, Eric, his son Miles (KD8KNC), and I have made the annual pilgrimage to Hamvention and FDIM, with few interruptions. My routine is to drive to Athens, catch up with Eric and his wife, Vickie, stay overnight, and then head to Dayton the next day with Eric and Miles. I enjoy this because it breaks up my travels and usually allows for some POTA activating along the way.

This Wednesday morning, Eric had an appointment and a meeting, so our plan was to leave for Dayton around noon. This gave me the morning free to play radio!

Breakfast at Miller’s Chicken

I left the house around 8:00 AM with the goal of activating Strouds Run State Park, conveniently located near downtown Athens. But first, breakfast!

I try to avoid chain restaurants when traveling, preferring local spots. I was delighted to discover that Miller’s Chicken, an Athens institution, served breakfast. I had no idea!

Miller’s Chicken holds fond memories for me. When my wife was a graduate student at Ohio University, for a brief period of time, she lived within walking distance and we often ate there. She even acted in a student film shot at the restaurant!

Walking in, I realized it had been 23+ years since my last visit. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit with coffee as a group of students left, leaving me with the place almost to myself.

POTA at Strouds Run State Park (US-1994)

I arrived at the park around 9:15 AM. It had been raining all morning, so I sought cover under a picnic Shelter.  Eric, a frequent activator of Strouds Run, had told me where to find all of Strouds’ shelters.

Check out Eric’s standing on the park’s POTA page:

You can also read all of Eric’s hundreds of field reports on his website.

I found an empty shelter by the lakeshore (no surprise given the weather). I brought several radios with me on the Dayton trip: my Elecraft KX2, KH1, Index Labs QRP Plus, Venus SW-3B (always in the car), and my Yaesu FT-818.

Propagation has been a hot mess lately. I figured 40 meters and 20 meters would be the best bands to try, and the EFHW is resonant on both, eliminating the need for an antenna tuner.

Setup was easy, with trees near the shelter providing ideal suspension points for the EFHW.

(Note about audio: As I prepared this activation video, I discovered that my wireless mic wasn’t connected, so you won’t hear me when I walk away from the camera. My apologies! There’s also more wind noise than usual. However, you’ll hear plenty of waterfowl and other birds enjoying the park.)

Jeweler’s Bench Block

Only a couple of days prior, I received a Jeweler’s Bench Block that I purchased on Amazon.com (affiliate link). Several friends had recommended I pick up one to pair with my lightweight, portable keys that have embedded rare-earth magnets.

The key I paired with it was my BamaKey TP-III. You’ll hear me rave about this combo in the activation video.

It weighs 13.7 ounces and has a silicon base: I found that with the TP-III (which has a light action), it was rock-solid on the picnic table.

I wish I would have purchased one of these ages ago!

Gear:

Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

On The Air

I started calling CQ and, fortunately, hunters started replying! Continue reading POTA Activation at Strouds Run State Park: A Rainy Morning and Ham Radio Memories! →

Events, FDIM, News, People, QRP, QRP Radios, QRPers

Mike’s 2024 Four Days In May (FDIM) Photo Gallery

4 Comments

It’s hard to believe that Four Days in May (FDIM) took place two weeks ago! What a blast it was!

If you’re a QRPer, and you’ve never attended FDIM, you’re in for a treat when you finally do. This gathering is truly my favorite thing about the Dayton Hamvention weekend.

It’s a truly QRO event for all things QRP!

I was so busy at FDIM talking with fellow attendees that I took very few photos. Fortunately, my buddy Mike (VE3MKX) created a nice photo gallery to share with us!

Thank you, Mike!

Photo Gallery

Click to view the entire photo album–> Continue reading Mike’s 2024 Four Days In May (FDIM) Photo Gallery →

Field Reports, Hams, New Products, News, People, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, QRPers, Travel

Post-Hamvention Activation with Friends

4 Comments

The 2024 Dayton Hamvention is in the books!

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!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

News, QRP

It’s not you, it’s the bands! (Also, see you at Hamvention!)

30 Comments

I’ve received a few messages from readers and subscribers about failed park activations over the past few days.

It’s no surprise, really, since we’ve had several extended periods of HF radio blackouts with powerful solar flares and CMEs bombarding our planet.

I experienced this firsthand on Sunday. We celebrated Mother’s Day with a picnic and hike at Tuttle Educational State Forest on our way to visit my father in the hospital in Hickory, NC.

I didn’t plan on activating, so I didn’t bring my radio pack or camera gear. I wanted the day to focus on celebrating my amazing wife. After we finished eating and before hitting the trail, everyone encouraged me to get on the air for a bit.

I didn’t have my radio pack, but I did have the Elecraft KH1 in my EDC pack. I went back to the car, grabbed it, and then started calling CQ POTA after spotting myself on 20 meters.

I only heard crickets. After 25+ CQ POTAs, not a single hunter responded. I knew conditions were terrible, but I figured I’d work at least one station. Nope!

I tuned around to try contacting one of the half dozen or so activators on the air, but I couldn’t hear any of them. In fact, I only heard one ongoing conversation on the entire 20-meter band. Even the FT8 frequency was quiet.

In fact, I only heard one rag chew in progress on the entirety of the 20 meter band. Even the FT8 frequency was pretty quiet.

If I had my radio pack (and my goal would have been to activate) I would have deployed a 40M EFHW and settled in for a very long activation. I’m sure I would have eventually worked 10 stations, but it could have taken a couple of hours or more.

All this to say, if you had a failed activation in the past few days, it’s not you. The HF bands have simply been dead at times.

I packed up the KH1 without making a single contact, which was fine because we were there for family time, and that part was absolutely amazing!

Hamvention 2024

I’m heading to Ohio today for the first leg of my journey to FDIM (Four Days in May) and Hamvention. I’ll be at FDIM all day Thursday and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings.

At Hamvention, you’ll find me at the Halibut Electronics/Ham Radio Workbench Podcast booth #3011 when I’m not browsing the indoor and outdoor exhibits. Stop by and say hi!

Also, during Hamvention, I’ll have very little time to check email and comments, and I expect a backlog by the time I’m back home next Tuesday. I appreciate your understanding.

If you have a pressing question, please sign up for our discussion group at QRPer.net. There are loads of mentors there who can help you!

If you’re also going to Hamvention, travel safely!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)