Tag Archives: QRP

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

Matt’s Summer Vacation Mountain POTA

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Many thanks to Matt (W6CSN) who shares the following post  from his blog at W6CSN.Blog:

Summer Vacation Mountain POTA

by Matt (W6CSN)

Our family regularly enjoys a summer vacation in the mountains. There is no shortage of mountains along the Pacific Coast, but if you refer to “The Mountains” around our house everybody knows you are talking about 5500 feet up the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada along Highway 4 near the town of Arnold.

Summer Cabin

Last year’s trip to “the mountains” was my first foray into portable QRP operating and I successfully hunted a few Parks On The Air stations. In the year since, I’ve become much more involved with (some would say addicted to) POTA, especially as an activator.

The cabin sits on a small lake.

For the “base” operation of hunting other stations, I set up the FT-818 with an EFHW strung between the deck and some trees adjacent the nearby lake. The 26 ga polystealth wire antenna literally disappeared into the trees, the only giveaways being the 64:1 transformer floating in space off the deck rail and, more likely, the the bright orange arborist line used for the downhaul at the far end.

I made a few hunter QSOs during the morning hours from the cabin, but this location wasn’t hearing particularly well. Signals weren’t strong and I sent more than a few 229 reports. However, this “hunter mode”operation was secondary to my main objective of activating some new to me parks while on this trip.

Hunter QSOs from the cabin

On the first full day in the mountains we headed back down the hill a ways to visit Railtown State Historic Park in Jamestown, CA. After riding the excursion train and enjoying lunch by the roundhouse, I brought up the possibility of an activation. However, with the July heat well into the triple digits, the family wasn’t in the mood for dads radio obsession. Quite frankly, I wasn’t too excited about setting up the station in the heat, so it was an easy choice to put this one off for another time.

No activation attempt at Railtown this time

The next POTA activation opportunity came when we had made plans to head up for a day at Lake Alpine. We chose to go up to the lake around 10AM on Monday, hoping for smaller crowds. Also, we had plans to visit Calaveras Big Trees SP the following day.

This gave me an idea: I could make the short drive from the cabin up to Calaveras Big Trees (K-1134) in the morning while everyone was sleeping in and try to get the activation done before heading to Lake Alpine. This way the family visit to Big Trees wouldn’t be interrupted by dad playing radio. Continue reading Matt’s Summer Vacation Mountain POTA →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

KO4WFP: Braving the Heat at Spring Creek Forest Preserve in Texas

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Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:

Braving the Heat at Spring Creek Forest Preserve in Texas

by Teri (KO4WFP)

The last week of July, my family and I visited my husband’s sister and brother-in-law who live in the Dallas, Texas area. Of course, as soon as the decision was made to make the trip, I immediately checked to see if there were any POTA sites nearby. And wouldn’t you know, there is one roughly 12 miles away – Spring Creek Forest Preserve (K-4423). This would be my chance to activate my first Texas park.

Spring Creek Forest Preserve is a city-owned nature preserve in Garland, Texas. The forest contains old growth trees and several rare and unique plants. Seven miles (four dirt and three paved) of trails traverse the property. The park is named for the creek that runs through it. Today, the creek was deceptively quiet and the water level low. However, given the sculpted chalk cliffs that run above the creek and the flood stage signage, the waterway obviously has its wilder moments.

The morning of July 25th, I headed out early for the easy forty-minute drive from my in-laws to the preserve. The weather forecast predicted a high of 101 degrees, easy to imagine as by the time I arrived at the park, around 8 AM, the temperature was already 80 degrees.

I scoped out the parking lot. It was mostly empty on this day. Having no idea how busy the park might become, I looked for a place less likely for people to encounter my antenna. At first I chose a tree on the edge of the parking lot. However, there was nowhere to park my car close by and I wanted to sit inside the car during the activation.

In the middle of the circular parking lot was a tree surrounded by weedy growth. I figured no one would choose to wander through those weeds and thus my antenna would be safe and not need to be flagged.

I soon discovered why no one would want to wander through the weeds – they were full of little oval-shaped stickers! Thankfully they didn’t have long needle-like spikes on them and instead of being painful, were just annoying. They ended up all over my socks, shoelaces, and the hem of my shorts.

It took several tries to get my arbor line successfully in the tree as its branches were mostly aimed upward rather than outward. But on the third throw, I successfully snagged a branch of sufficient height for my EFRW antenna to slope toward my car. Just as it took several tries to snag the right branch, it took several adjustments to get the right amount of tension in the antenna. Rather than retie the arbor line every time I adjusted it, I just tied another slip knot and as such it ended up looking a mess. But I finally got the amount of tension and height I wanted. (By the way, the weeds made for a mess untangling my arbor line after the activation, too!) Continue reading KO4WFP: Braving the Heat at Spring Creek Forest Preserve in Texas →

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Reviews, Videos

Getting To Know You Series: The Icom IC-705 – My thoughts, notes, and a POTA activation!

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I’m very fortunate in that over the past few years I’ve accumulated a number of QRP radios that I use in rotation when I do park and summit activations.

I’m often asked for advice on choosing radios, and as I’ve mentioned in the past, I feel like the decision is a very personal one–everything is based on an operator’s own particular preferences.

I’ve written formal reviews about most of the field radios in my collection over the years. In those reviews, I try to take a wide angle view of a radio–I try to see how it might appeal to a number of types of operators: field operators, DXers, summit activators, contesters, rag-chewers, casual operators, SWLs, travelers, outdoor adventurers, mobile operators, etc. I highlight the pros and cons, but I don’t focus on my own particular take because, again, my style of operating might not match that of readers. I try to present the full picture as clearly as I can and let the reader decide.

On that note, I thought it might be fun to take a radio out for a field activation and spend a bit of time explaining why I enjoy using that particular radio and why it’s a part of my permanent field radio collection. Instead of taking that wide-angle view of a radio like I do in magazine reviews, I share my own personal thoughts based on long-term experience.

Getting To Know You

Each new video in the Getting To Know You series will highlight one of the field radios from my field radio collection.  I’ll spend time in each video explaining what I personally appreciate about each radio, then we’ll do a park or summit activation with the radio.

I’ll release these every few weeks or so–when the notion strikes me.  They will not be on a regular schedule, but I hope to include each of my radios in this series over the the next year.

The Icom IC-705

The second radio in the Getting To Know You series is my Icom IC-705.

From the moment I first unboxed my Icom IC-705, I’ve been incredibly pleased with it. It’s a proper 21st century radio. Not only does it have a very wide frequency range, multimode operation, and an incredibly deep feature set, but it also sports proper wireless connectivity.

The IC-705 has become one of the most popular QRP rigs on the market despite it’s nearly $1,400 US price tag.

I originally purchased and reviewed the Icom IC-705 in 2020 (click here to read my review).

In the activation video (below) I’ll tell you about how I acquired my IC-705, why I think it’s so unique, and why I’ve no intention of ever selling it. Then, we’ll perform a POTA activation.

Keep in mind that my perspective will primarily focus on HF operating even though the IC-705 also sports multimode VHF and UHF.

South Mountains State Park (K-2753)

While driving back to the QTH on July 6, 2023, I stopped by the Clear Creek Access of South Mountains State Park–it was the perfect location to play radio on a hot and very humid day.

South Mountains’ only picnic table is located under the shade of a large oak tree. Continue reading Getting To Know You Series: The Icom IC-705 – My thoughts, notes, and a POTA activation! →

Accessories, Field Reports, Hacks and Hints, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

Field Report: Testing the bhi Dual In-Line with the (tr)uSDX, making a big blunder, and P2P with Teri!

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On March 30, 2022, I took my factory-assembled (tr)uSDX transceiver on a POTA activation at South Mountains State Park.

It was a “test flight” of sorts since I’d only had the (tr)uSDX for a few days and had not taken it to the field.

I wrote up an assessment from that initial POTA activation mainly to give other potential (tr)uSDX owners an idea of how well one of these super-affordable radios might perform.

Difficult to critique

It’s difficult to critique a 5 band HF radio that you can purchase as a kit for less than $100 and fully-assembled and tested for less than $150…shipped!

On the one hand, I think it’s one of the most amazing portable HF radio innovations of the past decade. It simply blows my mind that the developers (DL2MAN and PE1NNZ) could make this modest radio hardware do so very much. It’s truly a triumph of engineering and a fun little radio.

On the other hand, this isn’t a high-end radio, so we can’t expect performance like we’d see in an Elecraft, Icom, or Yaesu field radio, for example. I never expected this, in fact, but was very curious if the performance would be “good enough” for POTA or SOTA.  So many had asked me about buying a (tr)uSDX as their dedicated POTA radio.

I found using the (tr)uSDX for POTA was actually quite fun, and I certainly achieved my goal of activating a POTA park with it.

So yes, it’s good enough!

That said, I haven’t reached for the (tr)uSDX to do POTA or SOTA since last March because I prefer the performance characteristics of my other radios.

My biggest complaint, frankly, is that the audio fidelity is pretty poor. The noise floor of the (tr)uSDX is higher than most HF radios and audio amplification is very basic. I notice a lot of electronic noises (pulsing, etc.) in my unit. I find it a bit fatiguing to listen to for long sessions with my headphones. The internal speaker isn’t really a viable speaker for doing an activation–it’s more akin to an emergency speaker, if anything.

When plugged into an external amplified speaker, the audio is much improved. The pops and internal noises are still there, but it has better overall fidelity and the volume can be raised enough to hear weak signals (this can’t be easily done via the internal speaker).

It struck me that a DSP device might clean up the (tr)uSDX’s audio and noise floor a bit.

Enter the bhi Dual In-Line DSP filter

Sometime during the beginning of the pandemic, I reached out to bhi Noise Cancelling Products and asked if I could test one of their DSP units as a loaner. I’ve always felt that bhi manufactured the best DSP products in the amateur radio market.

At the time, I wanted one of my friends and contributors on the SWLing Post blog to test the bhi unit and see if it might help out a QRM situation that popped up at his QTH. I thought it would make for a great evaluation since I have little to no QRM at my home.

Graham, at bhi, kindly sent me a unit–the Dual In-Line Noise Eliminating Module–and as I prepared to forward it to my friend, his noise was no longer an issue. I can’t remember the details now, but there was no need to send it to him.

I notified Graham that I would like to test it myself, but that my plate was so full it would take time. What ended up happening, though, was I completely forgot about it due to a busy family life at the time.

I re-discovered the unit this year and spoke (apologized) to Graham at the 2023 Hamvention. Of course, he had no issue at all and was very forgiving. He’s a great fellow.

I thought pairing this bhi DSP unit to the (tr)uSDX would be a great way to, perhaps, cut down on the listening fatigue.

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site (K-6839)

On Wednesday, July 5, 2023, I had an opportunity to test the (tr)uSDX/bhi pairing at Fort Dobbs State Park. Continue reading Field Report: Testing the bhi Dual In-Line with the (tr)uSDX, making a big blunder, and P2P with Teri! →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

KO4WFP: A Return to Butter Bean Beach

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Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:

A Return to Butter Bean Beach

by Teri (KO4WFP)

Given the trip to Nova Scotia and then getting a cold upon my return to Savannah, Georgia, it had been awhile since catching up with the guys in my local club – Coastal Area Radio Club (CARS). They have a No Work Wednesday club that meets weekly, activating either Butter Bean Beach at the Wormsloe State Historic Site (K-3725) or Fort Pulaski National Monument (K-0930). This Wednesday, July 19th, they opted for Butter Bean Beach, hoping for a maritime breeze given the hot and humid weather.

I always arrive early at Butter Bean Beach on Wednesdays to get my CW activation out of the way as my local guys use SSB. I rolled into the parking lot around 7:30 AM and saw stuff already piled up on one of the picnic tables in the pavilion. Uh-oh.

I, then, saw people I recognized – Garret Jones and Lisa Goodman. Garret volunteers with Wilderness Southeast and Lisa is the organization’s Executive Director. Wilderness Southeast offers eco trips and group programs to connect people with the environment. On one of my past activations, they were at Butter Bean Beach with a group of ninth graders for their Fish Gotta Swim program. Also assisting Lisa and Garret today was Sierra Abbasi. They warned me that around 9 AM a group of kids would arrive for their kayaking camp. Good thing I had my noise-cancelling headphones!

Last time I activated this site, I used the EFRW antenna in a tree but I thought to try something different today. Frankly, I figured my SOTAbeams travel mast looked a bit lonely, especially since I had lugged it all over Nova Scotia but not deploying it once while there.

It didn’t take long to get the mast deployed and the antenna where I wanted it. Now how to deal with the feed-end? The night before, I recalled a recent conversation with a friend who suggested using gallon water jugs to hold the ends of an inverted V. I figured that might work just fine for attaching the feed-end and keeping it taut. It did!

As for the counterpoise, even though I received a comment on a previous trip report that the counterpoise does not need to be elevated, I thought “let’s just gild the lily and elevate it anyway.” So I put out my water bottle and attached the end of the counterpoise to that. Besides, I wanted to be prepared for kids possibly walking around my antennas. A black, thin wire lying on the ground would not be easily noticed. But one slightly elevated with neon pink flagging tape might.

It wasn’t long before I was on the air. When at Butter Bean Beach, I almost always start first on 40 meters due to the early hour. (Note: I did not check the band conditions before heading out that morning but good thing I didn’t because 40 meters obviously didn’t read that report either.) Continue reading KO4WFP: A Return to Butter Bean Beach →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

KO4WFP: The Final Fling at Grand-Pré National Historic Site

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Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:

The Final Fling at Grand-Pré National Historic Site

by Teri (KO4WFP)

If you read my four previous articles, you know my family and I went to Nova Scotia for eight days. At this point in my trip, I had three successful POTA activations and three unsuccessful. Tomorrow, July 6th, my family and I would head back to the States. I hankered to attempt one more QRP POTA activation before that happened.

For our final day in Nova Scotia, we opted to drive back from our Airbnb in Middleton on Highway 101 to Halifax. The night before, I looked at the POTA website for parks along the route to activate. I had learned to avoid urban parks if possible due to the noise level and limited space for the EFRW antenna which I preferred to deploy. One park seemed to fit the bill – Grand-Pré National Historic Site (VE-4839).

The morning of Wednesday, July 5th was overcast and rainy. Despite the dreary and less-than-optimal conditions, we drove toward Grand Pré. To buy myself a bit more time in hope the showers might abate, we grabbed a bite to eat at the Just Us Roastery and Café outside the town.

After a quick breakfast, we arrived at the site around 12:45 PM. Given the rainy conditions, I would need to stay in the car. Too bad because the site looked inviting and I would have enjoyed setting up on my jacket like I did at Fort Anne.

The limitation of operating out of my car meant staying close to the parking lot. The trees in the main parking lot were all shorter than I preferred. And, as I learned at other sites, the main lot didn’t give me any buffer from people walking into my antennas. However, at one side of the property was a separate small lot for two or three RVs. Two trees on the far side of it were tall enough for my antenna and, better yet, no one would be walking into them. We pulled into this lot parking on the grass at its edge so I would be out of the way of any RVs. Continue reading KO4WFP: The Final Fling at Grand-Pré National Historic Site →

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

Nail-Biter of a Quickie POTA Activation on the Blue Ridge Parkway!

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Monday, July 3, 2023, was a day absolutely chock-full of running around town. I had projects that morning to take care of, a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon, and I needed to chauffeur my daughters to/from a meet-up with friends.

I didn’t even have time to properly debate if I could squeeze in an activation. Before I left home, I simply grabbed a radio backpack and put it in the car just in case. If a window of time opened, I’d be at the ready, but there was no real way to predict in advance.

Even though I always have a radio at the ready in the car, I don’t carry all of the things necessary to film activation videos. That’s where my POTA pack comes in.

Since Hamvention, I’ve been using my GoRuck GR1 as a POTA backpack. It easily holds my radio and camera gear.

During the early afternoon, I could see a very short window of POTA opportunity opening: about 30 minutes (start to finish…or set up to take-down) to complete an activation.

Blue Ridge Parkway (K-3378)

Since time was so limited, I also chose to hit the closest predictable site: The Blue Ridge Parkway Folk Art Center. I could have easily set up at a slightly closer spot on the parkway, but if I wanted to include an activation video it would have taken longer to set up the chair, tripod, etc. Those minor details would eat up valuable on-the-air time, especially since I knew in advance that propagation was once again in the dumps (our local star has been in quite an activate state of flaring and spewing CMEs!).

So that I wouldn’t have to do an introduction once I arrived on-site, I started the activation video in the car as I was driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In the video, you’ll see the full set-up, activation, and pack-up. Continue reading Nail-Biter of a Quickie POTA Activation on the Blue Ridge Parkway! →

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

Deck Rail SOTA on Mount Pisgah and Improvising my Wire Antenna Deployment!

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On the morning of Tuesday, June 27, 2023, a rare occasion happened in my otherwise hectic summer schedule: both a weather window and a wide activation window opened!

As the French say, “Il faut en profiter!”

I always try to take advantage of any opportunities like this.

That morning, I checked in with my daughter, Geneva (K4TLI), to see if she might wish to do a SOTA activation. She was game, so I told her to grab her backpack.

My other daughter was at a one-week writer’s camp at UNC Asheville and my wife had other plans for the day, so it was also a great opportunity for some father/daughter time.

Oh, and another member of the family saw the hiking boots come out and immediately stopped what she was doing (tearing up a plush toy) to join us.

Hazel never, ever passes up a hike–! She gets more excited than anyone else in the family.

Mount Pisgah (W4C/CM-011)

We arrived at the trailhead of Mount Pisgah around 9:45 AM local.

Hazel, quite literally, bounced out of the car and towards the trailhead. She, no doubt, remembered the last time we played SOTA on Mount Pisgah.

There were much fewer hikers parked at the trailhead than I expected–then again, it was a Tuesday morning.

About thirty minutes into our hike we passed a couple who mentioned they’d spotted bears on the trail closer to the summit.

Not terribly surprising because (like my QTH) Pisgah is very much in bear territory. Since bears at this particular part of the parkway are used to human activity (and tourists feeding them), I pack bear spray. Those are the worst bears.

Black bears, in general, are fearful of humans and usually bolt the other way when they see you.  Bears used to being fed by tourists are not and are known to get aggressive. I don’t take my chances.

The hike to the summit of Pisgah is actually quite moderate. The first half of it is very relaxed with little elevation change. It’s the second half of the hike that packs it in! Continue reading Deck Rail SOTA on Mount Pisgah and Improvising my Wire Antenna Deployment! →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

KO4WFP: Two Parks in One Day – Fort Anne NHS and Lake Midway Provincial Park

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Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:

Two Parks in One Day – Fort Anne NHS and Lake Midway Provincial Park

by Teri (KO4WFP)

If you read my three previous articles, you know my family and I went to Nova Scotia for eight days. You also know that the first three parks I attempted to activate in Nova Scotia provided challenges galore! I was unable to secure 10 contacts at either the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (VE-4841) or the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site (VE-4826). However, the third time was the charm and I secured 10 contacts (just barely) at Cape Breton Highlands National Park (VE-0013).

Feeling confident after the Cape Breton activation, I decided to attempt two QRP POTA activations in one day. I already planned to activate Fort Anne National Historic Site (VE-4832) in the morning. My husband and son had a whale-watching trip scheduled for the afternoon giving me three hours to kill. What better way to pass the time than with POTA! (They did ask if I wanted to accompany them; however, there was no contest in choosing between being on a boat for three hours, whales or not, and an activation!) I chose to attempt activating Lake Midway Provincial Park (VE-0922), a fifteen-minute drive from their launching point.

The day prior it rained nearly all day. This was not typical summer weather for Nova Scotia. In fact, one of the Canadian airport security officers, while searching my backpack and ham equipment, apologized for the rainy weather we experienced during our visit. The forecast for Tuesday, July 4th, called for possible showers in the morning but clear weather for the afternoon.

Source: hamradiofornontechies.com

We arrived at Fort Anne around 9:45 AM. The earthen-walled fort was built to protect the harbor of Annapolis Royal. A museum exists in the renovated Officer’s Quarters on the site, though I did not have time to visit it.

There were no trees near the visitor center but I spied trees past an earthen embankment with an opening in it and headed in that direction. As I walked through the opening at the base of the embankment, an bowl-like area among the trees with picnic tables appeared. At the top of it’s far side was what I considered the ideal tree for my activation. I would set up on top of the bowl’s far side embankment wall and use that tree for my EFRW antenna.

It didn’t take me long to snag the branch I wanted and put up my antenna. Now how to deal with the feed-end and counterpoise? Continue reading KO4WFP: Two Parks in One Day – Fort Anne NHS and Lake Midway Provincial Park →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

K3ES: Activating Allegheny National Forest with Friends

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Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:

Green trees and blue sky in Allegheny National Forest, K-0619, makes a perfect backdrop for a POTA activation.

Activating Allegheny National Forest with Friends

by Brian (K3ES)

An Opportunity

I will confess.  It has been a couple of weeks since I activated a park.  With some much needed days of rain, and an otherwise busy schedule, things have conspired against me.  So, when a bright, sunny day, without other pressing commitments came along, I jumped at the opportunity!

Mid-afternoon on Wednesday, July 5 was my time to head to the woods for a few hours.  I decided to stay close to home to minimize travel time.  In fact, a 10 minute walk up the road from my house gets me to a small piece of K-0619, Allegheny National Forest.  I took my lightest kit, added a camping chair and water bottle as creature comforts, and slung it all over my shoulder for the trip to a favorite operating location.

Once there, I got out my throw line to get the antenna set up, but things did not quite work as planned.  My toss sailed high, really high.  So high, in fact, that the line was not long enough for the weight to return to the ground without taking the small storage bag for my arborist kit up in the air.  Hmm…  I tried some different fixes, including tying additional cordage to the storage bag and letting it rise into the air while the weight descended.  Not sufficient.

Finally, I untied the tail end of the throw line from the storage bag (it normally stays tied, just in case the throw finds a branch that is a little high…), and let the weight drop.  Then I had to coil the line up again for another throw.  Fortunately, my second toss found a workable branch, and I got my antenna in the air.  For this activation, I used a Packtenna 9:1 with a 71 ft radiating wire set up as an inverted V.  Next, it was time to get my station set up, prepare my log, and start operating.

My operating station at K-0619, a clipboard with KX2, log book, pencil, and VK2IL pressure paddles balance on my knee.

Activation

The solar forecast predicted best propagation on higher bands, so I decided to start my 5 watt CW activation on 15m.  After 10 minutes of calling CQ POTA, with neither a response, nor an RBN spot, I moved to 17m.  Once again, nothing, so I moved to 30m, where the RBN picked up my call, but it still took more than 20 minutes to log 2 contacts.

When activating on Wednesday afternoons, I try to stay away from the 20 and 40m bands, because CW frequencies fill up quickly when the CWT sprint starts at 1900z, but with just over 20 minutes until before the CWT started, I decided to see if I could pick up enough contacts on 40m to validate the activation.  The 40m band has always been good to me.  Even with the solar forecast predicting disaster, it still proved to be productive.  I had 12 additional contacts in the log by 1859z, giving me more than enough to validate the activation.

A bit of the view from my shack.  Area deer came from my left and from behind.  They did not hesitate to share their displeasure about finding me there.

While logging those contacts on 40m, which kept me focused and busy, I became the subject of some animated discussion among the local residents.  I did not have time to do more than listen and glance, but I heard numerous snorts, and saw a few white tails raised in alarm.  Several of the local deer were not pleased that I was intruding in their domain.  Even so, I had a bit more time available, and decided to press on.  Continue reading K3ES: Activating Allegheny National Forest with Friends →