Since I have seen the Band Hopper III antenna at the website of SOTAbeams, I have been thinking about it. Most of the time I have used end-fed half-wave (EFHW) antennas when operating portable – vertical attached to a fiberglass mast or in a sloper configuration with a tree. Those EFHW antennas seemed to cause way less troubles than a dipole with its centerpiece and coax at the thin end of the fiberglass mast. However, there was this “other” dipole from SOTAbeams. So I thought I could give it a try and ordered it.
Two days later -including customs procedure- the antenna arrived. The antenna is a linked dipole for the 20-, 30- and 40-meter band and weights less than 500 g / 18 oz. That includes the coax and guying material. I already had the Tactical Mini ultra, a 6 m / 19.6 ft fiberglass mast that is a perfect fit for the Band Hopper antenna.
The weather was fine, my manager at work was on vacation, so there was no reason for not leaving the home office early and go for a quick activation. I went to the SOTA location for Kaltes Feld (DM/BW-659), which is also POTA (DA-0410). I have been there a couple of times this year, but offering chaser points for both programs promised more QSOs, especially when conditions are difficult. The other advantage of this place is that you can drink cold beer if the antenna fails to work. 😉
You may, or more likely may not, remember this image from an activation report in March this year.
The place looks much more inviting now with kids playing, people enjoying barbecue and a cold beer, and operating a radio is much more pleasant.
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
A Rock Leads to an Unexpected POTA Activation
by Teri (KO4WFP)
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but a rock can change the trajectory of one’s week.
Monday, while driving to the barn, a rock landed on my windshield leaving a chip in the glass. The soonest and closest appointment was in Bluffton, South Carolina. But having to work the appointment into my week, nixed my planned POTA activation for Wednesday at Wormsloe K-3725. However, I thought to check for any parks near Bluffton and yes, Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve, K-9197, was within 15 minutes of my appointment. I could fit in an early activation before the appointment and put the AX1 to use for the first time. (Score!)
The drive Tuesday morning from Savannah, Georgia to Bluffton, South Carolina was scenic – lush, green foliage along the road interspersed with salt marsh and freshwater views.
The Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve is 977 acres and has four miles of easy hiking trails. The warning on the SC Trails website about protective clothing & insect repellent for the large number of ticks that flourish in the preserve’s forest encouraged me to set-up in the parking lot. There were no picnic tables (my usual set-up) present so I planned on operating out of my car, a first for me.
However, how was I to mount the AX1 while sitting in my car since I had no tripod? I was still puzzling over this the morning of the activation when I remembered the Joby Gorillapod stand I purchased last year. Would the tripod mount for the AX1 work with it? Yes! It did. Continue reading A Rock Leads Teri on an Unexpected POTA Activation!→
Many thanks to Mark (W8EWH) who shares the following field report:
Right Place – Right Time
by Mark (W8EWH)
This is the story of how I was able to introduce about 40 elementary school kids to Ham Radio and more specifically, POTA. All by just being at the right place at the right time.
I was activating K-1518 (Maybury State Park) on the morning of May 16th while my wife was at the dentist. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw a yellow school bus (Holy Redeemer), but no kids. I figured they must be on a hike or already at one of the many shelters. So, I parked, grabbed my gear, and walked to the spot where I wanted to activate. This is a spot I’ve used before – a picnic table under several tall, mature trees with great branches for hoisting a wire antenna. The location is on the top of a rise at the far end of an open field surrounded by forest. Turns out the shelter at the near end is where the students were, busy with whatever the teachers had them doing. My activation spot seemed available, so I walked back to it staying well clear of the class.
Set up was straight forward (KX3 and EFHW) and I was quickly on the air on 40M. Band conditions were good, and I quickly had my 10 contacts to make the activation. After about 20 contacts there was a break in the action, so I switched to 20M and decided to speak to one of the teachers which, while I was activating, had brought a group of about a dozen students to my end of the field for some sort of activity. I waived to her and introduced myself, first asking if I was in their way. She said no, and asked if she was in my way. Of course not. I explained what I was doing and offered a demonstration if she wanted to bring some or all the kids over. She enthusiastically agreed to this.
So about 10 minutes later, the teachers brought the class over to me. I had them stand behind me in a way that kept them from getting tangled in the antenna and coax. I introduced myself and explained that I was an amateur radio operator using a portable radio and antenna to contact other people like me as part of an activity called Parks on the Air.
In this case I said, I’m set up here in this state park which makes me the “activator”, and everyone else the “hunters”. They thought that was funny. I then told them about the contacts I’d already made to various states around Michigan, and this seemed to get their attention. I then explained that I was not speaking with them, but instead using Morse Code. They all seemed to have heard of this before. OK I said, I’m going to unplug my earbuds, turn up the speaker, and let’s see if we can make a couple contacts.
Before I started calling CQ POTA, I explained what I was going to be sending in morse code. That I was letting anyone listening know that I was operating from a park, so please call me, and here is my call sign – my amateur radio name. I also warned them that just like when you go fishing, you don’t catch a fish with every cast. You must be patient. They understood. I was nervous – I’ve never had an audience like this before. But then I thought, they won’t know if I make a mistake!
It took about 5 or 6 CQ’s before I got bite. Yes, I was starting to get a little worried! But then we had a catch and after I finished the back and forth of the contact I said – that was Georgia – and was greeted with a cheer. Another I said? Yes! I sent another CQ and right away another bite. The kids listened to the back and forth and then I said – Kansas! Another cheer.
I this point I answered a couple of questions (including one about how I was it that I could understand the noises they were hearing) and then the teachers called an end to the demo so that they could start a nature hike.
I finished up the activation with a handful of additional contacts on 20, 30, and 17 meters, then called it a day. See Figure 1. My wife was on her way home from the dentist and she would stop by so we could go for a hike before going home.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to conduct this demonstration. I’ll never forget it. I hope a least a couple of the kids will remember this and become hams in the future. I only wish I had a handout or two that I could have given the teachers so if they wanted to explore amateur radio with the class later, they’d have some background info and links. I’ll be ready next time.
Figure 1. QSO Map for POTA activation of K-1518, via HAMRS.. The contact in Idaho was my one and only on 15M.
I love testing new stuff in the field and on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 I had a great opportunity to test a number of new items.
FT-818ND Upgrades
I mentioned in a previous post that I purchased a new Yaesu FT-818ND from DX Engineering on December 28, 2022. It smacked of an impulse purchase only in that I had not planned to purchase the radio that very day.
Thing is, Yaesu announced they were discontinuing the FT-818 and I always planned to purchase one to replace out one of my two FT-817NDs. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to buy a new one under warranty, so I bit the bullet on short notice.
I had all of the upgrades in hand by mid-February, but that Yaesu FT-818ND sat in its box under my radio bench until late April. I was so busy evaluating other gear and keeping up with my busy family life, it had almost slipped my mind. Well, that and I received the incorrect narrow Collins filter from a seller on eBay; instead of sourcing a replacement, I decided to steal an original 500 Hz filter from one of my other radios while waiting on a replacement.
Those narrow Collins filters? They’ve become pure unobtainium over the past couple of months. At one point, eBay was chock full of them. No longer…
It had actually been a very long time since I pulled out a brand new (non-loaner) radio from the box. It’s funny because I remember opening my first FT-817 back in…what…2001? The box and packaging were identical some twenty one years later!
I unboxed then immediately opened the chassis of the FT-818ND to add the Collins filter, attach my Portable Zero side rails (stolen from my FT-817), add the Windcamp battery pack, and add the Windcamp Anderson PP adapter.
JNCRadio CS-818 ATU
Around the same time, Jesse, with Chelegance, also sent me his latest ATU: the CS-818 which is specifically designed to work with the FT-817 and FT-818 series radios. To be clear, Jesse sent the MC-818 at no cost to me to evaluate.
The CS-818 actually works with any radio, but it ships with the command cable for the FT-817/818 for full integration.
The CS-818 can handle up to 30 watts of power, so it’ll pair nicely with any QRP radio. If using it with a QRO radio, you’d have to be very careful not to push more than 30 watts.
NOTE: Due to the frame rate of my camera and the refresh rate of the OLED display, only a portion of the display shows up in my shots.
Activating (sort of) Lake Thunderbird (K-2792) with a homebrew transmitter
Sam Duwe WN5C
When I dove into radio a couple years ago a few sub-hobbies caught my attention: QRP, portable ops, CW, and homebrew. Of course, these all fit nicely together, but in my mind there was a huge leap between soldering an unun and a building a radio. But why not try? What’s the worst that could happen by melting solder and then sitting at a picnic table? This is how I built a simple transmitter and kind of activated a park.
The Michigan Mighty Mite
Nearly everyone has heard about the Michigan Mighty Mite (MMM), a QRPp transmitter popularized by the Solder Smoke blog. There are countless YouTube videos and posts across the internet. It’s very simple: a single transistor, a variable cap, a coil, a crystal and some resistors and a cap. Supposedly one can get up to half a watt of output (I couldn’t). But with a small purchase from Mouser one can oscillate. That seemed pretty cool.
I hadn’t touched an iron until I started playing radio. But I’ve been drawn to homebrew projects. I built a regenerative receiver last year which was very rewarding. I’ve also put together kits (a QCX mini and a TR-35). But my dream has always been to construct a transmitter/receiver combo, or a transceiver. I thought a good place to start was the MMM.
I built the transmitter based on the common schematic for the 40-meter band. The MMM is crystal controlled but I opted to solder in a socket and buy a handful of crystals, so I have the luxury of operating on 7056, 7040, and 7030 kHz. I made a few other improvements, too. The first was to build a low pass filter to attenuate harmonics. Second, although I haven’t finished it yet, the switch on the right will be to choose between multiple crystals. And third, I added a BNC jack to connect a receiver, with a transmit switch. When not in use the transmitter will dump into a dummy load. This receiver switching idea was lifted from the design of the MMM that QRP Guys produces.
When I tested the transmitter at home the best I could get with my charged Bioenno 3 Ah battery was about 300 mW output. The filter is reducing things somewhat, but maybe I need to look into a different transistor or rewind the coil. But I was able to get a 339 signal report from Illinois (no sked) in the midst of distance lightning crashes, so I had a little confidence going forwards. School is out for me this summer, so I decided to head to the park. Continue reading Guest Post: Lake Thunderbird (K-2792) with a homebrew transmitter!→
(As is my usual, this article has a bunch of links – click on as many as you wish to receive the full experience)
by Vince (VE6LK)
In May of 2023 I embarked on a two week vacation to Hamilton Ontario that co-incidentally happened to include a side trip to Hamvention just outside of Dayton, Ohio.
For a guy living in Alberta, Canada, this would prove to be quite the trip and it created memories to last a lifetime. I also was told that I could play radio during the trip provided my wife would get to see some of the many waterfalls in the City of Hamilton, the area we’d call home for our two week trip.
And thus the planning began. I started overlaying POTA entities that overlapped on waterfalls so we both could visit and enjoy in our own way. It also meant I had to figure out what radio gear and, most importantly antennas, to bring along.
I landed up mostly running with low-slung antennas. By this I mean something between 4 and 10′ off the ground and horizontal in orientation. But it’s what I discovered about this simple approach that made it appear like pure magic to me – I made great contacts at what I would consider to be beyond NVIS distances including one from OH to UT!
Last year, I read about Thomas K4SWL’s trip to Canada and plan to activate while there and thought to myself, “Wow! Wouldn’t it be cool to do that one day?” Well, it so happens that my family decided our 2023 summer trip will be to Nova Scotia and immediately I began thinking of how I could work POTA activations into the trip.
Due to time limitations, we are opting to fly which means my Yaesu FT-891 will not work. As much as I have come to enjoy using this radio, it is too bulky and heavy for airplane travel. So I started looking into QRP setups.
I chose the Elecraft KX2 and AX1. Whenever I mentioned to someone I had ordered the KX2, the immediate response was “You’ll love it!” I wasn’t sure it would arrive before the trip, though, given Elecraft’s order fulfillment estimation of 12 to 16 weeks. (Yikes!) Thankfully, the rig and antenna arrived early May giving me six weeks to familiarize myself with the rig and antenna before my summer trip.
So this past Wednesday May 17th, the KX2 and I headed to Wormsloe State Historic Site (K-3725) for my first POTA QRP activation. Quirky note: I’ve actually named the KX2 “Craig”. I figure it and I will be spending lots of time with each other so we might as well be on a first-name basis! Continue reading A YL + KX2 = QRP POTA Fun!→
(As is my usual, this article has a bunch of links – click on as many as you wish to receive the full experience)
by Vince (VE6LK)
In May of 2023 I embarked on a two week vacation to Hamilton Ontario, the city of Waterfalls. And I found myself with a spare 30 minutes so I decided to squeeze in an activation.
And as I am an opportunist, I made this decision at 23:25’ish z and I had not yet arrived at the park but the target was only a few minutes away! I would have until 23:59:59z to complete it if I were to be successful. “It’s time to break out the Elecraft AX1 antenna I bought at Hamvention last week“ I think to myself. It would be my first time using the antenna. I had pre-read the instructions and knew what had to be done in order to set it up.
The whole thing would unfold like a Formula 1 pit stop, albeit a wee bit slower <grin>.
On Thursday, April 27, 2023, it was pouring rain, so the perfect time for a little POTA, right–?
Right!
Actually, I had an idea: in the past, I’ve been known to play POTA under the roof of a picnic shelter on rainy days. I’ve even been known to use my AX1 antenna inside the shelter, under a metal roof. Quite a few times, actually.
Of course, it’s not optimal to operate with your antenna under a metal roof, but with POTA? Let’s just say that you can get away with a lot of less-than-optimal antenna deployments.
That’s the benefit of being the DX!
The MC-750 Tripod
An in-the-shelter activation was also the perfect opportunity to test the new Chelegance tripod that fits both the MC-750 and the JPC-12.
A number of readers have reached out asking about this tripod, so when Jesse at Chelegance asked if I’d like to test it, I agreed to do so.
To be clear, he sent this to me at no cost for evaluation. It’s actually quite affordable ($30 on the Chelegance website, $40 at DX Engineering, for example) so purchasing it would have been easy enough, but Jesse also wanted me to evaluate their new FT-818 ATU, so he sent both at the same time (you’ll see the ATU in a future field report).
The tripod feels very sturdy and is simple to deploy. It’s also a little heavy, so keep that in mind if you plan to pack it in for a long SOTA hike.
A number of you have purchased this tripod and have only had positive comments. I now see why.
I speak about this in more detail in the activation video below.
Lake Norman State Park (K-2740)
I decided that it had been too long since I had activated Lake Norman State Park, so I hopped in the car and headed to Troutman, NC! Lake Norman has a number of picnic shelters and covered areas thus a very safe bet.
It was a rainy day so, of course, I pulled into the Lake Norman picnic area only to find one other car there. In fact, by the time I had taken my backpack to the picnic shelter, that other park visitor appeared at a trailhead, hopped in her car, and left.
I’m still in Dayton after Hamvention weekend, but didn’t want to skip my field report and activation video, so a hope you enjoy the slightly shorter report below:
Zebulon Vance Historic Birthplace (K-6856)
On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, I once again stopped by my weekly POTA spot, the Vance Birthplace. By mid-May, I will no longer be passing by this excellent little POTA site on a weekly basis, so my activations here will be much less frequent. A shame because I do love this site and its staff!
For this particular activation, I’d planned to test my almost perfectly trimmed QRPguys Tunable EFHW antenna, but I left it at home. Not a problem, actually, because after this activation, I discovered it’s not as resonant as I’d like on the 20, 15, and 10 meter bands, so I may tinker with the toroid windings a bit–perhaps removing one.
Instead, I deployed my MM0OPX EFHW which I thought was actually a great choice considering propagation had been incredibly unstable the previous few days.
Since I also had my Elecraft KX2, I knew I could use its built-in ATU to move to non-resonant bands like 17 and 30 meters.
This activation video is a long one because I had quite a lot of time to play radio and, frankly, it was nice taking things at a casual pace.
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