Tag Archives: Morse Code

A Case for Making the Morserino Your Ultimate Traveling Morse Companion!

Many thanks to Paul Patsis (W7CPP), who shares the following guest post:


A Case for the Morserino-32

by Paul Patsis (W7CPP)

Morse Code is more popular than ever now. More and more Hams are discovering the joy of CW and the advantages it brings to communications from Parks, Summits, and remote locations as well as in our own back yards and QTH. It’s astonishing to witness how we can reach far corners of the world on only 5 watts with small and lightweight radios and antennas.

CW is a productive and rewarding mode of operation and like all worthwhile endeavors we get out of it what we put into it. It takes commitment and dedication to become a proficient Morse Code Operator and fortunately for all of us we have more tools available to us than ever before.

One of those tools is a powerful and small training and learning tool called the Morserino. It is a very capable little device that incorporates many features designed to help a Ham achieve proficiency at Morse Code.

When it comes to learning Morse Code, there is no substitute for time and repetition. Akin to leaning a new language the more you can immerse yourself the better you will become. Practice tools on the Internet, the Morserino, Organizations like the Long Island CW Club and “Code Talking” every day are great ways to get up to speed and increase proficiency.

Practice, practice, practice is the key.

I have found the Morserino to be a very valuable tool and wanted to find a way to take it along safely on my travels. Borrowing a page from my fellow hams who are activating parks and summits, I sought a way to protect the Morserino  whether traveling by land, sea or air. Whether in a backpack, suitcase, or other travel bags how could I keep the little Morserino protected and yet be ready for use?

To answer that question I started do some research on how people kit out their gear for field radio operations. I’ve seen good use made of the ubiquitous Pelican Micro M40 Case for lots of Ham Radio Gear and most recently for the Elecraft KH1.  I wondered if the mighty little Pelican case would work for the Morserino? I gave it a try and discovered that  with no modifications it is a great option for bringing your Morserino along on all your travels.

The setup that worked for me required very little to make it a nice and safe fit.

The first thing I did was to remove the very small spacers in the bottom of the Morserino Case that comes with the radio.

Those spacers are generally included to give a bit more space under the unit to accommodate the battery that is put underneath to power the Morserino.

I found that by using Velcro to hold the small battery in place those spacers are not needed, and the result is that it lowers the profile of the Morserino by about ¼”. This is just enough clearance to allow the top of the Pelican Case to close and not be obstructed by the dummy load on top of the antenna.

Alternatively, one can leave the spacers on the bottom of the Morserino and leave off the dummy load. My feeling is that it is better to leave the dummy load on just to be safe and with this setup the spacers are not needed.

Although the Morserino comes with Capacitive Paddles I prefer to use my own paddle which in this case is the Bamakey TP-III.  There is a 3D Printed Case for the TP-III and when the key is housed inside the case the entire package nests nicely inside the Pelican Case alongside the Morserino. I store the Capacitive Keys in the space alongside the battery on the underside of the Morserino as a backup Key.

There is also room for the Key Cable which nests nicely alongside the Morserino towards the back of the case.

I generally bring along a set of small, wired headphones and they sit comfortably atop the Morserio in a small plastic bag. I placed a small micro fiber eyeglass cleaning cloth under the headphones just as an added layer of protection for the Morserino Screen. The headphones are a great option when using the Morserino in a noisy environment or in public places like an airport waiting room or on a ferry.

The bottom line is that everything you need to practice CW with the Morserino is in the Pelican Case and ready to go wherever your travels take you. Most recently I have used it while waiting at an airport to catch a plane and on a ferry headed from a small Island to the Mainland. I also found a little bonus use for the case.

After taking the Morserino out of the case, I found it sits quite nicely on the lid at the perfect angle to view the screen with just the right amount of clearance for my headphones and key cable.

The Morserino is a capable little tool to keep you “immersed” in the learning process, sharpen your skills or dust off the cobwebs if you’ve been away from CW for a while.

The Morserino and Pelican Micro M40 Case…don’t leave home without it!

Gear:

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Bird Dogging POTA in Augusta, Georgia

As I had no appointments scheduled for Monday, February 26 during the day, I planned a POTA outing in the Augusta, Georgia area which is a two-hour drive from my home QTH. The destination: Spirit Creek Educational State Forest (K-4654).

Source: Google Maps

Apple Maps routed me west on I-16 and then northwest through Statesboro, home of Georgia Southern University (the Eagle Nation). On the drive, I passed acres and acres of farmland, some of it for cotton. I noticed a few of the fields had a reddish tinge and were full of a plant I had not seen before. I did some detective work once back home and  think the plant is red sorrel, a member of the buckwheat family that is native to Europe. I am guessing the red sorrel is a cover for the field between crops.

Source: https://1000logos.net/georgia-southern-eagles-logo/

Red sorrel?

Apple Maps also routed me through Waynesboro which is the “Bird Dog Capital of the World.” The city hosts the largest field trials in the world. Field trials are a competition to evaluate a dog’s ability to find and point coveys of quail. Waynesboro is bird dog crazy; even the town’s water tower is decorated with a bird dog. Wow – the interesting stuff I learn about my home state!

Source: http://thetruecitizen.demo.our-hometown.com/wp-content/uploads/images/2006-08-23/008p1_xlg.jpg

However, we aren’t here to discuss bird dogs but POTA. After sitting longer than I usually drive to a POTA destination, I arrived at my destination. The 570-acre property is surrounded by private land with the entrance tucked between two residences. The road through the forest appears decently maintained and is easier on which to drive than my previous forays into such properties.

Not far into the forest was an open area for parking and a kiosk with hunting information. Upon checking the kiosk, I read the only thing in season right now is small game and knew I’d be unlikely to come across anyone on a Monday morning hunting. However, to be on the safer side of things, I set up in the parking area rather than somewhere else in the forest.

Source: https://georgiawildlife.com/spirit-creek-forest-wma

Speaking of hunting, Bob WK2Y who lives in Atlanta, reached out to me after my Hiltonia WMA article. He emphasized the need for ops to wear blaze orange in such places whether in hunting season or not because of hunting violations which are more frequent than I realized. (I plan on addressing that topic in a future WMA article.) Because of this, I now always keep a blaze orange vest in my kit for Daisy and me. I’ve ordered a blaze orange hat as well as purchased hot pink magnetic decals for my car. (The website said “hot pink” though I think “bright pink” is more like it but close enough.)

In the parking area was a pine tree perfect for my EFRW. Continue reading Bird Dogging POTA in Augusta, Georgia

Leap Year Day report from the Great White North

by Vince (VE6LK)

It seemed easy enough on paper. Famous last words, right?

It’s a leap year in 2024 and how many chances will I ever get to activate on February 29th, at least that was the reason for the multi-entity rove. That and the fact I hadn’t been up close to the mountains in at least a month despite living in close proximity.

The day before departure for #POTAThon240229 my heart sank when I saw the forecast of 4-8″ of snow. I’d already done my planning and secured most of the day off work. The plan was bold, including 3 National Parks and 2 National Heritage Areas in two provinces and would take about 9 hours to execute from end to end. I was also badly in need of some mountain therapy as it had been a couple of months since I’d been close-up to the Canadian Rockies. I went to bed not hopeful for the next day but kept an open (hopeful?) mind.

The next morning, the forecast had changed drastically and the snowfall had been cut in half; 2 to 4″ of snow is pretty normal this time of year and that means the roads are usually no problem, and yes that is a foreshadowing .. The route planned was to go out along the Trans-Canada Highway to Field, British Columbia, and work my way back towards home with stops along the way. A simple out-and-back as it were.

I hit the road and aimed the F-350 for Yoho National Park in Field B.C. where I snapped the photo below. Two-thirds of the way there, the roads turned terrible, and a two or three lane road was open with only a single lane. Whiteouts happened on and off and travel was Sierra Lima Oscar Whiskey, to say the least.

Pottymouth made some short inward appearances, mostly exclamations about my lack of luck. With conditions like this, the basic rules are to take your time and allow twice the following distance you think you need. “Why not turn around?” you ask? Because I was already two-thirds of the way to the endpoint, thus deeply invested in the travel and I figured it would not get much worse.

Mount Dennis as seen from Field B.C.

It didn’t get much worse, and arriving at the Field Visitor Centre, I was parked within 100′ of the Kicking Horse River National Heritage Area by being in the parking lot pictured above. In the summer months, this lot is jammed with cars and the view is stunning as you are in a narrow valley with a small town across the fast-moving river. It appears that the 2-4″ of fresh snow was more like 8″ as the parking lot had not yet been plowed and it was up past the chest of Red Wrangler the Shiba Inu.

Red Wrangler the Shiba Inu, totally within his element

The parking lot is at ~1225m (4045′) Above Sea Level and the mountains nearby are ~2400m (7920′) and are just about right beside the road. The narrow valley runs Northeast to Southwest so it for certain affects takeoff angles on any antenna. Given the temperatures were plus or minus the freezing point, I opted to stay in the cab of the truck for the day. I completed my activation 25 minutes later and started driving. At this point I’m close to 2 hours behind plan and I made the choice to visit Lake Louise and do a food stop, but not to activate.

Lake Louise, lakeside and pretty snowy

If you are wondering what Lake Louise looks like without 2′ of fresh snow, you can do that here with Google Street View. Even though I was behind plan, it was a must-do visit in order to refresh my soul and get some fresh mountain air.  Mister Dog and I made a quick trip to the lake’s edge and back to the truck to continue along with our day, as even if I had the time, I did not bring snow-clearing equipment -like a front-end loader- to clear off a park bench to set up!

About 45 minutes later, I crossed over the fifth mountain pass of the day and ended up in Kootenay National Park (CA-0045) at the Alberta/BC border on Highway 93. It’s a geographically unique spot as it is also at the Continental Divide. It was the third point of the Continental Divide I’d cross during the trip. At least by now the snow has stopped falling.

The Continental Divide at AB/BC Highway 93

Once again, I arrived to a fresh 8″ of snow in the unplowed parking lot and Wrangler was most pleased to cavort about and stretch his legs. At this point, I was surrounded by ~3100m and ~2600m mountains while sitting at ~1631m ASL. Again, a narrow valley with rocks on either side of me and, thanks to low-hanging clouds, I couldn’t see much of them at all, sigh.

I’ve travelled up and down this valley before so I know that, as long as I’m not right next to the rocks, my signal will be heard someplace. I’d learned first-hand just how much close proximity to the side of a mountain can impair your signal during my trip to Montana’s Glacier National Park last August. The noise floor and signals will drop out as you drive along beside the rocks and then comes back up as you move away from them even by 50′ or so. Continue reading Leap Year Day report from the Great White North

The POTA Babe Goes Fishing (Sort of)

Parks on the Air offers a diversity of properties. In addition to those that commonly come to mind like state parks, forests, and national wildlife refuges, there are wildlife management areas (WMA) about which I’ve written and fishing lakes. This past week the POTA Babe visited Evans County Fishing Lake (K-7464) here in Georgia.

Source: Google Maps

The drive to the property was pleasant and relatively quick. On the way, I drove through the town of Pembroke. According to Wikipedia, this small community was a railroad town and turpentine shipping center and named after an early resident, Pembroke Whitfield Williams.

I took to heart Thomas’ advice in his recent post “Building Positive Park Relations” and contacted the office managing the property before my visit. I spoke with an employee who confirmed they had no problem with me putting a temporary antenna in a tree at any of the properties that district office manages. I also made a point to introduce myself to the DNR employee on site when I arrived. As soon as I said the words “ham radio operator”, he responded that they love having ham radio folks on the property! (Kudos to all those who have activated there before and were good ambassadors for our hobby.)

park office

Fisherman enjoying the gorgeous day

As I did for the Hiltonia WMA activation, I checked the satellite view of the property on Google Maps beforehand. There are three lakes with Bidd Sands Lake being the largest. (Bidd Sands is named after a beloved member of the local community who gave his life in Vietnam  in support of the men he was leading.) At the east end of the lake is a dyke. That seemed a great place to set up, partially because of the openness but also I was likely to not be in anyone’s way.

Source: https://georgiawildlife.com/evans-county-pfa
Source: Google Maps
Close-up view of the dyke. Source: Google Maps

It was still rather chilly despite the sunny sky overhead so I chose to operate from the car rather than set up my Helinox chair and be out in the open. At the end of the dyke was a large oak tree just begging for the Tufteln EFRW antenna. I had the new Chelegance MC-750 with me but I’ve grown partial to putting antennas in trees. I love the flexibility of effortlessly changing from one band to the other without adjusting a whip and/or counterpoise as you have to do with a vertical. Continue reading The POTA Babe Goes Fishing (Sort of)

QRPer Notes: One CW Question, CW Haptic Device, and Easy Elecraft KX2 FT8 & FT4

Because I receive so many tips from readers here on QRPer, I wanted way to share them in a concise newsletter format.  To that end, welcome to another QRPer Notes, a collection of links to interesting stories and tips making waves in the world of radio!


VE6LK’s “One CW Question” YouTube Series

My good friend, Vince (VE6LK), came up with a great idea a few weeks ago: reach out to CW ops and ask one question that might help newcomers to Morse Code. Each video is 2-3 minutes long and features a number of ham radio operators who operate CW (I’m chuffed to be one of them).  I’ve learned something from each of these videos. Click here for the full playlist, or start watching via the embedded player below:


LICWC CW Haptic Device

Many thanks to Perry (N5PJ) who shares this video from Kyle (AA0Z):


Simple FT8/FT4 via a KX2 and iPhone

Many thanks to Jason (KD9ZHF) who shares the following video from Mark (KD7DTS):

POTA with Jonathan (KM4CFT) at the Zebulon Vance Birthplace (K-6856)

On Thursday, December 28, 2023, I had the good fortune of meeting up with Jonathan (KM4CFT) at the Zebulon Vance Historic Birthplace (K-6856) to play a little POTA.

You might recognize Jonathan’s callsign because he has a popular YouTube channel and also produces excellent EFHW antenna kits.

These days, Jonathan lives in Colorado, but he’s originally from western North Carolina. We met once before when he was in town visiting his folks. That previous time was very short, though; this time, we wanted to meetup and fit in a POTA activation together.

We arranged to meet around 2:00 in the afternoon at the Vance Birthplace.

We decided to deploy one of Jonathan’s End-Fed Half-Wave antennas. He cut this particular one for 20 meters.

We set up under the picnic shelter with the antenna essentially in a sloper configuration.

Gear:

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

I brought along a couple of radios that Jonathan had yet to operate. He chose to use the Penntek TR-45L (great choice!).

One wrinkle: Jonathan operates with his paddle in “reverse” with the left paddle sending dashes and the right sending dits.

Unfortunately, the TR-45L doesn’t have a software function to flip between “normal” and “reverse” settings. No problem, though: Jonathan simply turned his key (a BaMaKey TP-III) upside down! Problem solved!

The only annoying issue was the 45L speaker–something inside the chassis or speaker assembly was rattling/buzzing with louder signals and with the sidetone. After noticing the speaker vibration at an activation in South Carolina a few months ago, I opened up the TR-45L at the QTH and tried to tighten down anything that could resonate inside the chassis. My fix seemed to work until we powered it up for Jonathan to use. I may have to add some padding around the speaker assembly if I can’t locate the culprit inside the radio–it could be pretty much anything.

Jonathan plugged along and paid no attention to the buzz, nor my fiddling with the radio while he operated. (You’re a good sport, OM!).

Here’s Jonathan’s QSO Map:

After he completed his activation, Jonathan handed over the radio to me.

Since I couldn’t sort out the acoustic buzz/vibration without opening the radio on the picnic table, I opted to swap out the TR-45L with my Discovery TX-500.

I hopped on the air and logged quite a few stations on 20 meters. It was serious fun!

Here’s my QSO Map:

Activation Video

Here’s our real-time, real-life video of the entire activation.  As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.

Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:

Click here to view on YouTube.

POTA Meetups

Jonathan, it was great hanging with you and, again, I’m so impressed with your CW progress. It seems like only yesterday when you started your CW journey!

When folks are passing through western NC it can be difficult for our schedules to align for a POTA meetup,  but I’m so happy when they do.

Thank you!

Thank you for joining us on this joint activation!

I hope you enjoyed the field report and ctivation video as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Of course, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon and the Coffee Fund. While certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo make it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free, but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me! Have an amazing weekend!

Cheers & 72,

Thomas (K4SWL)

Braving the Polar Vortex at Yuchi WMA

by Teri (KO4WFP)

It has been two and half weeks since the final activation of my winter-break Florida POTA trip. Despite a polar vortex dumping frigid weather into Georgia, I was determined to activate and continue working on my 60 new-to-me park activations goal for 2024.

Google Maps

About an hour and a half from my home QTH is Yuchi Wildlife Management Area (K-3778). The property is managed by the Georgia Department of Wildlife Resources and located next to the Savannah River, the border between the states of Georgia and South Carolina. The site consists mostly of pine uplands and hardwoods with some acreage of openings for wildlife. One can hunt for deer, turkey, small game, and doves as well as utilize the public shooting range located on the property.

Given the time of year, I pulled out my copy of the GA Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Hunting Regulations booklet to see what might be in season right now. Looking at the specific regulations for Yuchi Wildlife Management Area (WMA), only dove season might be an issue while I activated the park. Just to make sure, I contacted the appropriate DNR office and spoke with a helpful employee. He assured me I was not likely run into anyone hunting on a weekday for doves or small game. Of course, Daisy and I would wear blaze orange just to be careful when outside the car.

My time for an activation was tight given my previous commitment as a K3Y/4 operator for the Straight Key Century Club the same afternoon. However, if I got an early enough start, I could make it work.

Daisy and I left the house around 7:30 AM with a quick stop at Lowe’s. I really didn’t want to sit outside in the chilly temperatures; it was 26 degrees according to the weather app. The stop at Lowe’s was to take advantage of an idea generated by a comment from John KK4ITX, an idea I hoped would keep me warm in the car during my activation.

The drive to Yuchi WMA was pleasant. I enjoy driving in rural Georgia. This particular drive went through the towns of Oliver, in which I found another diminutive and cute U.S. Post Office, and Sylvania. Sylvania had that typical small-town feel. I snapped pics of the two murals I saw, something I look for and often find in these communities.

Daisy and I finally arrived at the WMA about one and a half hours after departing Bloomingdale. Before we reached the site, its neighbor, Plant Vogtle, revealed itself.

The plant is a four-unit nuclear power plant managed primarily by Georgia Power. The first two units went online in the late 1980s. Units three and four were the first nuclear units in the United States approved since 2016. Unit Three is operational and Unit Four is supposed to be up and running this year. When all four units are operational, Plant Vogtle will be the largest nuclear power plant in the United States.

Daisy and I found one of the open dirt roads on the property and begin our search for a suitable QTH. Thankfully my Subaru Crosstrek has four-wheel drive as there were soft spots on the road. I wouldn’t want to drive here after a heavy rain.

We drove past plantings of pine as well as areas of hardwoods. After rounding a corner and driving up a slight incline, a wider opening in the canopy appeared. On one side next to a planted pine field, there were several taller deciduous trees now devoid of foliage. It looked to me like a perfect QTH for today’s activation with abundant sunshine. Continue reading Braving the Polar Vortex at Yuchi WMA

POTA Postcard Field Report: Finally Snagging a Kilo on the Blue Ridge Parkway (K-3378)

It’s funny: I’ve met POTA activators who’ve been hitting the field for only a couple of months and have already obtained a “Kilo” award for confirming one thousand QSOs from the same Parks on the Air entity. Most of my active POTA friends have multiple Kilos.

Me? Until December 29, 2023, I had never obtained a Kilo at any POTA site!

Something you should know about me: I don’t check my POTA stats or awards frequently…as in maybe once or twice a year–?  I’m the same with my YouTube stats and even website stats. I’m just not a terribly numbers-motivated person.

That said, I fully recognize that numbers give us a snapshot of how and where we activate. Only recently, I checked my awards page to see if I’d ever snagged a Kilo and was surprised to find that no, I had not.

I say “I was surprised” but truth is, my activations tend to be really short. I think my average number of logged hunters per activation is probably 20-25.

I checked the POTA website and I had 48 activations in the books for the Blue Ridge Parkway (K-3378). My total number of contacts confirmed was 994.

Yeah, I was six contacts short of a Kilo. What!?! This needed to be remedied!

So technically…

The KX2 was my NPOTA companion (pictured here at the Carl Sandburg home during NPOTA).

In truth, I probably could have achieved a Kilo much earlier because POTA allows you to submit logs from 2016’s ARRL National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) event. During NPOTA, I activated the Blue Ridge Parkway (guessing here) about 50 times; it was my most accessible NPOTA park and I hit it several times a week. However, I have not submitted my NPOTA logs to POTA, so my POTA numbers do not reflect my NPOTA activities.

Postcard field report

I’m still catching up after a challenging first few weeks of 2024. In fact, since I made that post, so much more has happened. January 2024 has been a tough month.

I’m nearly a month behind on email, so if you’ve written to me with questions, you likely haven’t received a reply. I’ve simply needed a break during this time.

Speaking of busy, I have a pretty hectic day in store, but I’m eager to post one of my field reports (I enjoy this) so we’re going to do it “postcard” style. I’ll let my activation video and logs tell the story of this brilliant little activation on December 29, 2023.

Spoiler alert: I got my Kilo!

Gear:

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

QSO Map

Here’s what this five watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map:

Logs

Activation Video

Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation.  As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.

Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Check it out!

Thank you

Thank you for joining me on this activation!

I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Also, thank you for your patience while I’ve been offline and spending time with my sweet family. 

Of course, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon and the Coffee Fund. While certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo make it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free, but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me! Have an amazing week ahead!

Cheers & 72,

Thomas (K4SWL)

The Final Fling in Florida

by Teri (KO4WFP)

It is Sunday, December 31st, the final day of 2023 and, coincidentally, my winter-break Florida POTA trip. Time to return home. But, as I promised at the end of my last article, the journey is not yet done. A POTA Babe is not going to squander the opportunity to fit in another activation or two on the way home.

Google Maps

Joseph and I loaded up the car one final time after our stay at an Airbnb in Umatilla. I found two parks at which to attempt activations – Lake George State Forest (K-4627) and Pellicer Creek State Conservation Area (K-8367). I chose Lake George because I had yet to activate a state forest and Pellicer because of its proximity to Interstate 95, my route back home.

Lake George State Forest is named (unironically) for Lake George, the second largest lake in Florida. The forest is formed from lands previously used for timber, production of naval stores, cattle grazing, and hunting. It consists of over 20,000 acres of land that offer trails for hiking, cycling, and horseback riding as well as access to hunting, fishing, and birding.

I was unclear as to where to easily access Lake George State Forest. We found the Dexter/Mary Farms Tract entrance at which is a checkpoint for hunters. I learned I needed to purchase a pass before accessing the property and could do so via an off-hours phone number. I really didn’t want to set up shop in proximity to hunting, partially because it seemed like a bad idea (duh) but also I didn’t bring my blaze orange vest on the trip.

We learned of another entrance for the forest and headed that direction. Along the way, we ran into the Barberville Yard Art Emporium who billed itself as offering the largest variety of unique handcrafted outdoor art. I believe it judging from what I saw. Anyone for a giant chicken?

After gawking at the sculptures, we headed to the Fawn Road entrance for Lake George State Forest. This entrance looked more like what I expected.

My brother Joseph donned his bright orange rain poncho and headed up the road for a hike. I, on the other hand, looked for a place to set up and get on the air. I’d need to stick to the road as it was flooded on both sides and I didn’t bring the footwear to tromp through water. Most of the trees were very tall pines. I didn’t think I could get a line on their lowest branches.

Thankfully, I found a few trees of lower height. Once the Tufteln EFRW was installed and my station set up in the road (it was closed to vehicular traffic), I commenced my activation.  I ran later than my original estimated start time but the RBN still picked me up.

As usual, I was tight on time. In 30 minutes, I had 20 contacts on 20 meters. Two days ago, I had a contact from Etor F6VMN in France. I figured why not hop onto 17 meters to see if he would hear me again today. Guess what? He did hear me and we logged another contact. The band gave me nine contacts in 10 minutes for a total of 29 contacts at this park.

QSO Map for Lake George State Park http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/

By this time, Joseph had returned from his hike. We packed up and were off to our next destination – Pellicer Creek State Conservation Area. Continue reading The Final Fling in Florida

More Surprises in Florida

by Teri (KO4WFP)

It is Friday, December 29th and my winter-break POTA trip is drawing to a close. My brother Joseph and I are spending Friday and Saturday nights at an Airbnb after six days of camping. However, before we do that, I have two more parks to activate today – Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve (K-5330) and Lake Apopka North Shore (K-8353).

Google Maps

Overnight, a cold front began its march through Florida. We woke to temperatures in the low 50’s and a brief glimpse of the rising sun before clouds took over the sky again.

The drive to our first park – Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve – was a pleasant one. The preserve is divided into five management districts. We ended up in the West Tract as that is what I chose in Apple Maps. There are 65 miles of hiking trails though the tract is also used for hunting, canoeing, fishing, camping, and equestrian activities. There is a variety of habitats in the preserve – sandhills, flatwoods, oak hammocks, river swamp, and cypress ponds.

I chose an oak tree just inside the West Tract entrance perfect for the Tufteln EFRW antenna. A sunny location was necessary as the temperature was chilly in the breezy conditions. As I set up, two ladies rode in with their horses. Salty, a red roan, was unsure of Daisy and I at first. However, he eventually settled down enough to walk by and check out my POTA flag. Being a horse owner previously, I have a soft spot for these intelligent and sensitive creatures.

Salty and his owner

When Salty moseyed on, Daisy and I got down to business. I went straight to 20 meters which had no noise at all. In 35 minutes, I had 20 contacts. I needed to wrap up the activation soon to have sufficient time to fit in the second activation today but thought I’d check 17 meters for any DX contacts. I had four contacts on that band including Etor FH4MN in France!

QSO Map for Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/

In short order, I packed up my equipment and we headed to Lake Apopka with a stop at Costco for gas. On the drive, we saw five sandhill cranes. I had heard sandhill cranes at Little Manatee River State Park while walking Daisy one day. But I never spied them. These cranes were wary of me and the pictures I snapped weren’t great.

We finally arrived at Lake Apopka North Shore which features an 11-mile wildlife drive. The park reminded me of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge back home in which I’ve spent some time. Lake Apopka is the headwaters of the Ocklawaha Chain of Lakes. The North Shore area consists of former farmlands that are now used to clean up Lake Apopka’s waters by circulating the lake water through restored wetlands thereby filtering it before it is returned to the lake. Those former farmlands polluted the lake with phosphorous which caused a host of problems. Continue reading More Surprises in Florida