Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post:

Portable/Kite QRP Operation in Central Newfoundland Wilderness by Float Plane: Part 2 – Radio Gear and Portable/Kite Operation

by Scott Schillereff, VO1DR

Introduction

This is Part 2 of a two-part story of a portable QRP adventure with a kite antenna at Mount Sylvester in the Bay du Nord Wilderness Area in central Newfoundland by float plane.

Part 1 described the setting, history, geology, access, and outdoor/survival gear.

Part 2 here describes radio stuff and some dramas with kite antenna operation. I hope you enjoy reading this.

Radio Gear

Given that our hike up Mount Sylvester would be relatively easy (about half an hour up a gentle bedrock slope), I chose to bring a fair bit of radio gear with lots of backups.

Figure 2 – Haversack (originally a free gift to mother-in-law; now pressed into radio service).

Figure 4 – End-fed wire antennas (HB9EAJ designs; Standard (on winder), and Compact (coiled)). The Standard has a 56:1 coupler (white barrel) and in-line latching band switch (black tape). Zip bag is a GODSPC (good ol’ Dollar Store pencil case). Wire is AWG24 speaker wire.

Figure 5 – 5.8 m (19 ft) telescoping fibreglass pole (repurposed from a discarded bird-scaring mast found by a nearby school); collapsed, it doubles as my 1.4 m (4. 5 ft) walking stick. Yellow 1.5 m (5 ft) rope is for tying off to a support (e.g., picnic table) and forms a grip for walking.

Figure 6 – Detail at top of pole. Top fitting is from a broken fishing rod. I added a homemade pulley and split sheave (easy to insert and remove antenna wire).

Figure 7 – Detail of bottom of pole. Black ABS plumbing fitting (plug) fits snugly over base of pole and is tack-glued with cyano-acrylate glue (can be be forced apart if needed). Hiking/achor tip is a filed down 6 mm (1/4 in) steel bolt threaded and glued into plug from inside.

Figure 8 – DIY guy rope system for pole. Stakes are 18 cm/7 in aluminum gutter nails (excellent tent pegs). Red ring is made from the top of a pill bottle that snugly fits over top of pole. Stakes are driven equi-distantly around the pole and tightened with 2.5 mm nylon cordage for rigid support. **Tip:** I tied the guy cords with fixed knots (Constrictor Knot) at the stake heads and moved the tensioning knots up near the ring – less bending over and I can reach them all!

Figure 9 – Back-up base-loaded whip antenna (DIY, modified from QRP Guys DS-1). I call it the “MiracleWhip” it works so well. Too windy to deploy on this trip. It all fits in a GODSPC.

Figure 10 – Nylon ground tarp 2 m x 2 m (6.5 x 6.5 ft). DIY tarp/poncho based on a Russian plash palatka (design dates back to the 1700s). Keeps me dry when sitting on damp ground; many survival uses too.

Figure 11 – Rite In The Rain notebook #363. Waterproof, lays flat, pencil fits in spirals.

Figure 12 – Plastic ammo box for IC705 and my ATU. For this trip, I just looped a nylon strap through handle for carrying. I’ve since made a sling attached to both the hinge end and clasp end (more stable).

Figure 13 – Ammo box open. IC-705 (in WindCamp exo-skeleton) is in blue bag snug in bottom. ICOM mic on right. ZM-4 style ATU in red bag (a cut-down GODSPC).

Figure 14 – Detail of ATU. I built this modified from QRP Project ZM-4 ATU design to fit in an Altoids tin. I have submitted an article on this build to Sprat journal of G-QRP club.

The Kite

A common kite style used for antennas is a sled kite. Rigid sled designs maintain their flying shape with struts, while soft sled designs use a rigid air-filled tube (tapering Venturi tube) to maintain flying shape. Continue reading Part 2 – Kite Operation: VO1DR Goes QRP Portable in Central Newfoundland via Float Plane →

Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post:

Portable/Kite QRP Operation in Central Newfoundland Wilderness by Float Plane: Part 1 – Gearing Up and Getting There

by Scott Schillereff, VO1DR

Introduction

I love getting out in the woods and wilds in Newfoundland for portable QRP operation. Lately, I have been trying kite-borne antennas. This is a two-part story of a portable QRP adventure with a kite antenna at Mount Sylvester in the Bay du Nord Wilderness Area in central Newfoundland by float plane. Part 1 describes the setting, history, geology, access, and outdoor/survival gear. Part 2 describes radio stuff and some dramas with getting a kite antenna aloft.

It is useful to describe the island of Newfoundland setting, since it is unique in North America. You can think of Newfoundland as a wild cousin of Nova Scotia – many similarities, but worlds apart. If you want to play radio in a well-developed, refined setting (where giant manicured lawns are a thing), then Nova Scotia is for you; if you want a wilder adventure with some risk and less people, come to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Central Newfoundland Setting

I live in St. John’s, the capital of the eastern-most Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), situated about equidistant between Boston and Ireland (Figure 1). This means QRP contacts to western Europe are as easy as those to eastern North America.

The island of Newfoundland is about the size of England but, with an island-portion population of only 479,105, we have less than 1/100th of the people in England. There is a lot of empty space here! Most of the people live in small towns and communities scattered along the coasts, originally to pursue various fisheries.

The principal highway (Trans-Canada Highway; Highway 1 on Figure 2) traverses an arc around the northern and western part of the island. The central area of Newfoundland is a vast sparsely-populated area, historically used by indigenous groups for hunting, fishing and gathering, and, since European contact and later occupation, mostly for logging, mining, recreation, and hydro power projects.

Figure 1 – Location of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve and Mount Sylvester

The Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve in southern Central Newfoundland (large green patch in Figure 2) was established by the Province in 1986, primarily to protect the Middle Ridge woodland caribou herd – the largest herd in the island of NL. This 2,895 km2 reserve includes ponds, rivers, bogs and fens, and forests, and is the last major unspoiled area on the island. There are no facilities, amenities, trail markers, or public buildings – just wilderness. This inland area has a cultural history of use by the Mi’kmaq indigenous peoples since the 18th century. The area was first described by European explorer (William Cormack) after his trans-island trek of 1822. Geologist James Howley was the first known person to travel the full length of the Bay du Nord River in 1887. A cairn he built atop Mount Sylvester as a surveying marker still stands today (see below).

Figure 2 – Eastern and Central Newfoundland showing Mount Sylvester within the Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve. Also showing the capital St. John’s (east edge) and Gander (north-northeast), where we started our flight.

Mount Sylvester (Figures 3 and 4) is an inselberg (German: island mountain) created by weathering and glaciation with top elevation of 365 m (1,198 ft) above sea level, and rising 154 m (505 ft) above the adjacent flat glaciated terrain (for more stats search: peakvisor.com). It was named after Sylvester Joe, a Mi’kmaq hunter and guide hired by Cormack for his travels. The yellow arrows on Figure 4 point to Howley’s cairn (about 2.5 m high) at the top, and huge fluted glacial scours along the sides and flanks.

Figure 3 – View of Mount Sylvester looking south

Figure 4 – View of Mount Sylvester looking west, showing Howley’s cairn at the top and fluted glaciated scours along the flanks

Getting There

Mount Sylvester lies immediately adjacent to Diamond Lake, with a gentle glaciated bedrock slope to the summit. A perfect spot to land a float plane and walk to the top for a QRP adventure!

My companion Kerry, a distant relation in Gander, NL, owns a float plane and for years has been interested to land on Diamond Lake and walk to the top – but never had a second person to go (for safety). We were a match made in heaven! My wife and I and our two Havanese doggies drove our motor home to Gander (about 4 hr drive) and Kerry and I geared up for the flight and hike on June 24, 2023.

As luck would have it, hundreds of forest fires were (and are) burning in eastern Canada. Smoke from those fires has drifted over eastern Canada and most of NL producing a tan haze that can block out the full sun (Figure 5) and reduce visibility for flying. Since Kerry is only certified for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flying, it was touch-and-go whether we could fly at all.

Figure 5 – Forest fire smoke haze blocking sun, Gander, NL – June 23, 2023

On the morning of June 24, bright and early, we tried anyway. The smoke had shifted to form a layer above 1,500 ft altitude, but we could safely fly under it at 500-750 ft altitude. We were good to go! Kerry’s plane (C-FAVG) was the venerable Cessna 172 Skyhawk (Figure 6), among the most common small aircraft on earth. The C-FAVG airframe was produced in the 1970s and has been upgraded and certified ever since.

We drove to his float plane dock at Deadman’s Pond adjacent to Gander airport (this airport was the site of the massive commercial aircraft landings during 9/11/2001; the basis for the Come From Away musical). Kerry assured me not to worry about the name of the pond…

Figure 7 – Kerry fuelling wing tanks (takes 38 US gal of AVGAS; gives about 6 hrs of flying)

We took off just before 9 am and headed south for about an hour’s flight to Diamond Lake. Kerry checked in with Gander Tower and within half an hour, we were out of direct VHF contact. Our communications were by VHF with other planes, or our cell phones (they worked great all day, even on top of Mount Sylvester).

Figure 8 – Pilot Kerry in his happy place during take-off. Regarding small planes, he said: “Everyone should have one”.

Figure 9 – Me in the plane (at 1.98 m or 6’6”, I barely fit in this dual-controls plane!)

Figure 10 – Typical view in central Newfoundland – a vast glaciated terrain of boreal forest, ponds, and wetlands. The white patterns in the bogs are reflections of the sky on pools of water at surface. One cannot (easily or dryly) walk across such bogs, you must skirt around them.

Figure 11- Woodland Caribou on heathery barrens (small ones are new-born calves)

Figure 12 – Larger herd of caribou (expand photo to see calves).

Figure 13 – Caribou on barrens with lurking black bear (circle at right). He will take advantage of a new-born calf in the natural order of things.

Geology

As a geologist, I am fascinated on why Mount Sylvester exists and its interesting geological features. First of all, the ENTIRE mountain was covered with glacial ice during last ice age (Wisconsinan-Age glaciation ending about 11,000 years ago). A small continental ice sheet covered the island of Newfoundland, and radiated out toward lower sea levels. Figures 3 and 4 show the smooth, fluted flanks of the inselberg created by the grinding passage of ice laden with rock blocks and fragments (Nature’s ultimate sandpaper). Continue reading Part 1 – Getting There: VO1DR Goes QRP Portable in Central Newfoundland via Float Plane →