Tag Archives: Mount Mitchell State Park (K-2747)

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Tabletop QRP POTA: A Father’s Day Getaway to Mount Mitchell State Park

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When our family needs a change of scenery without a long drive, Mount Mitchell State Park is our go-to destination. I’ve mentioned before that it’s my “happy place” here in North Carolina. Mount Mitchell is only about 6 miles from our home as the crow flies, but it takes about 50 minutes to drive there, and it’s not in the direction of any of our usual destinations. Heading up the Blue Ridge Parkway and watching the flora change with elevation makes it feel like a proper getaway.

On Sunday, June 16, 2024, we wanted just such a getaway, as my wife and daughters were treating me to some Father’s Day fun. After visiting my father-in-law in the hospital in the early afternoon, we drove to Mount Mitchell.

Mount Mitchell State Park (US-2747)

Sundays on Mount Mitchell tend to be busy, especially in the summer. However, on this particular Sunday, it was rainy, foggy, and there were storms in and around the area.

Weather like this never bothers us on Mount Mitchell, as it can shift in an instant, as long as thunderstorms don’t intrude.

As soon as we arrived, I grabbed my radio bag from the car and found an empty picnic shelter. I’d been hoping for a free shelter since it was raining, and fortunately, we got our pick!

One of the first things I did after dropping off my pack was to tie Hazel to a picnic table because she was laser-focused on a chipmunk she saw run up a tree next to the shelter. That dog drives chipmunks and squirrels crazy, I’m sure.

My wife and daughters dropped off some art supplies at one of the shelter tables, then went on a short hike while I performed my POTA activation.

Note that Mount Mitchell is also a SOTA summit, but the picnic area is not within the activation zone. I could have easily gone to one of my go-to SOTA spots on the summit and knocked out a SOTA activation quickly (only four contacts are needed), but I wanted to save that for another day. Plus, being in the shelter meant that I could have a nice leisurely, dry activation!

I brought along my Penntek TR-45L and planned to pair it with a random wire antenna for the activation. However, since the weather was iffy—again, my primary concern was any thunderstorms that might sneak up on us—I decided to skip the wire antenna and go tabletop instead.

Fortunately, my Elecraft KH1 lives in my EDC bag at all times, so I set it up for tabletop mode.

New Tufteln KH1 Right Angle Adapter

KH1 “tabletop mode” gave me the perfect excuse to try out an accessory my friend Joshua (N5FY) sent me: his version of a KH1 right-angle antenna adapter.

You might recall that I have used the Elecraft KH1 adapter in previous activations and I think it works brilliantly. The first version of Elecraft’s adapter had one issue: the parts would fall apart if you weren’t careful with how you attached it to the KH1.

Joshua designed his right-angle adapter with captive components so that it’s all in one piece and can’t come apart.

I should note here that Elecraft actually updated their right-angle adapter design so that it also has captive components as well—so you have two choices! I’ll use the new Elecraft adapter in a future video and field report.

Joshua’s Tufteln design works really well (it’s also less expensive than the OEM adapter), and I like that it’s bright red, which means I’m less likely to leave it in the field!

Gear:

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On The Air

I assumed that 20 meters might be the most productive band that afternoon, so that’s where I started calling CQ POTA after snagging a Park-to-Park with K9NUD. Continue reading Tabletop QRP POTA: A Father’s Day Getaway to Mount Mitchell State Park →

Antennas, Field Reports, Morse Code, New Products, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Skills, Videos

POTA on Mount Mitchell: The new REZ Ranger 80 and how to use the Over/Under method to coil wire and cable

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The REZ Ranger 80 antenna system ships with everything you need, including a nice backpack.

Back in March, I received an email from Mike Giannaccio (W5REZ) the owner of REZ Antenna Systems–he was curious if I’d like to check out his REZ Ranger 80 antenna system.

At the time, my plate was pretty full, so he arranged to send it to me on loan in July.

If you’re not familiar, the Ranger 80 is a portable vertical antenna with a tuning coil at the base that employs a sliding tap for tuning. The Ranger 80 will cover anywhere from 80 – 15 meters without needing any sort of external matching device (like an ATU).

The Ranger 80 Tuning Coil.

If you’re familiar with the Wolf River Coils antenna systems, then you’re familiar with this type of vertical antenna. The difference is that the Ranger 80 is built to what I could only describe as MilSpec standards.

Much of the Ranger 80’s components are CNC machined from premium materials. It sports a Delrin body, black anodized 6061 aluminum, and all stainless steel hardware.

This is not a featherweight antenna: it has the heft to match the caliber of materials used in its construction. It’s not an inexpensive antenna either–it’s currently about $560 US at DX Engineering.

The base of the Ranger 80: note the beautifully CNC-machined holes for the four counterpoises.

The Ranger 80 is also rated for 500W SSB and 250W CW/Digital–in other words, quite a bit more power than I’d ever use in the field, but this design will make activators and field ops happy that like to push some wattage.

I was curious how easy the Ranger 80 would be to deploy and tune, so on Sunday, August 6, 2023, I took it to one of my favorite parks on the planet.

Mount Mitchell State Park (K-2747)

I wasn’t alone on this trip: it was a proper family picnic with my wife, daughters and, of course, Hazel.

The weather was very moody that day–driving up to the park, we watched clouds and mists rise up through the trees like waves crashing on a rocky coast line. Continue reading POTA on Mount Mitchell: The new REZ Ranger 80 and how to use the Over/Under method to coil wire and cable →

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

Testing a new Tufteln knee board and antenna during this beautiful SOTA activation on Mount Mitchell

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On the morning of November 4th, I woke up with one thought on my mind: “I need to activate Mount Mitchell before it’s too late!”

It’s not like Mount Mitchell was going to disappear, but I knew I was already on borrowed time since the long section of the Blue Ridge Parkway I use to drive to Mount Mitchell from Asheville typically closes in the early part of November for weeks at a time. The park itself will close to guests too–in fact, last year, it closed its gates as I drove out of the park! There are often other roads open to Mitchell in the winter, but they’re very much out of the way for me and frankly, weather can shift and the park close at the drop of a hat.

As the crow flies, Mount Mitchell is actually very close to my QTH. If I wanted, I could hike there directly from my home. I’ve yet to do this, however, because with the 3,000′ elevation change and the anything-but-direct trails that skirt the Asheville watershed, I’d need a full day or more to hike it one way. I will for sure do this sometime, but only when I can pack appropriately and reserve a campsite.

Morning drive

As soon as I surfaced that morning, I check the weather map. I noticed that the temp at Mount Mitchell was actually slightly higher than at my QTH. I looked out the kitchen window and could see fog in the valley. This meant one thing: inversion!

When we have inversion, the cold air is pushed down into the valley and warmer air can be found at higher elevations. The flip opposite of what you’d typically expect.

I ate a quick bite, grabbed come coffee, and hit the road.

As I drove past Warren Wilson College’s farm, it was absolutely gorgeous. I had to stop and take a photo or two [click images to enlarge].

The drive up to Mount Mitchell on the BRP was ideal: clear skies and quite warm!

Mount Mitchell State Park (W4C/CM-001 and K-2747)

In fact, I felt like I really struck it lucky that day. I didn’t even need a heavy jacket or gloves. Continue reading Testing a new Tufteln knee board and antenna during this beautiful SOTA activation on Mount Mitchell →