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.
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.
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.
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→
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’ve had an idea bubbling around in my head for quite a while.
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 would 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 Elecraft KX2
The first radio in the Getting To Know You series is my Elecraft KX2.
Without a doubt, I’ve put more time in with the Elecraft KX2 than any other radio I’ve ever owned. As a field radio op, it’s one of my all-time favorite transceivers.
In the activation video (below) I’ll tell you about how I acquired my KX2, why I think it’s one of the best portable HF field radios ever made, what makes it so unique, and why I turn to it more than any other radio I own. Then, we’ll perform a POTA activation.
The morning of Friday, June 30th, my family and I headed to Cape Breton Highlands National Park (VE-0013) which occupies 950 kilometers of Cape Breton Island. One-third of the Cabot Trail, a world-famous scenic highway, runs through the park. Talk about amazing scenery! The highway runs along a shoreline reminiscent of the rugged California coast, then moves upward and inland on top of the highlands, a wild landscape with scrubby firs and moose crossing signs, and then descends back toward the coastline with steep ravines and valleys off the side of the road.
We arrived at the Cheticamp park entrance a little before 11 AM. Looking around the information center parking lot, I spied a tree and nearby picnic table perfect for my activation. This arrangement would allow me to watch for people who might walk toward my antennas and provide the use of a table to which I was more accustomed.
I immediately set about picking out a branch (located in the upper part of the photo below) and pulled out my arborist line and weight. Though I know I am not, I am beginning to feel like a pro putting antennas up in trees. I snagged the branch for which I was aiming on my first try. Hooyah!
In the latter part of the morning on Thursday, June 15, 2023, I hopped in my car and started the drive back to my QTH after spending a couple of days helping my parents in Catawba County, NC.
I had a window of about three hours where I knew I could fit in a POTA activation or two.
I’m quite familiar with POTA landscape along this particular corridor of western North Carolina, so I starting considering my options. I could have easily hit South Mountains State Park, Lake James State Park, and/or Table Rock Fish Hatchery, but what I really wanted to do was a little SOTA (Summits On The Air).
The problem, that particular day, was that the AQI (Air Quality Index) wasn’t great–not ideal for a strenuous hike, so I quickly dismissed that idea. The skies, in fact, were a bit hazy from the forest fire smoke blowing down from northern Canada.
Then it dawned on my that I could drive to the summit of Dogback Mountain (W4C/EM-066) and perform not only a SOTA activation, but a POTA two-fer as well since the activation zone is also in Pisgah National Forest (K-4510) and Pisgah Game Lands (K-6937).
In truth, I don’t do a lot of drive-up summit activations because, typically, when I want to do SOTA, I also want to hike. But drive-up summits are ideal on days like this when either weather is questionable, or the AQI is high.
The drive
If you live near western North Carolina, Dogback Mountain is a must. It’s one of the few sites I go to that I enjoy the drive as much as the activation.
As I mentioned in my previous Dogback field report, the road to the summit is a Forest Service road that has a very backcountry feel to it. It’s not maintained regularly, so you can expect washboarding, deep ruts, large exposed stones, deep potholes and wide mud holes.
This isn’t a road I’d recommend for someone driving a sedan or minivan (that said, many years ago I did take a minivan up this road–made for a dodgy drive). Your vehicle would benefit from some proper ground clearance and, ideally, all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.
Frankly, I absolutely love driving this road because it’s passable most of the year, offers up amazing views, and has a number of dispersed camping spots (or POTA activation sites–!) along the way.
I drive backcountry roads routinely, so this is pure fun for me.
Dogback Mountain (W4C/EM-066)
The summit of Dogback Mountain is pretty much right on the forest service road. There are two pull-off parking areas on either side of the summit and both are well within the activation zone. In theory, you could set up your portable station along the road and do the SOTA activation there.
Note:Unlike POTA, the SOTA program does not allow mobile activations. If you activate a drive-up summit, you still need to set up a portable station that in no way uses your vehicle for support.
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
Getting My Butt Kicked in POTA Yet Again
by Teri (KO4WFP)
If you read my previous article, you know my family and I went to Nova Scotia for a week. You also know that my first attempt at an activation in Canada did not go well. So, being a glutton for punishment, I attempted a second activation, this time at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site (VE-4826) on Thursday, June 29th.
I learned several “takeaways” from the failed activation at the Halifax Citadel:
look at the site in advance if at all possible,
remember to check band conditions BEFORE the activation, and
take all photos as the activation progresses because weather conditions may prevent you from doing so afterward.
After we departed the Halifax Citadel, we drove northward toward Baddeck, the town in which our next Airbnb and the Alexander Graham Bell site is located. Rain dogged us on and off until we reached Cape Breton Island. On the way, we stopped at Murphy’s in Truro for some of the best fish and chips and then The Farmer’s Daughter for ice cream, the consolation prize for my failed activation.
Being mindful of my first takeaway, we stopped into the Alexander Graham Bell site for reconnaissance before heading to our Airbnb. To my delight, there were trees present in the parking lot, though not many open branches over which to easily throw my line. I left for our Airbnb with the sun coming out from behind the clouds and an optimistic feeling about the next day’s activation.
My second takeaway from the Halifax Citadel was to check band conditions before the activation. Well, Thursday morning’s report was not promising. I didn’t see any mention of a geomagnetic storm (though one was forecast for Saturday), but the numbers were not good. What I didn’t realize was they were actually horrible.
Source: hamradiofornontechies.com
We arrived around 10:10 AM and I began setting up the EFRW. It took me several throws to get the line in the chosen tree. Kudos to Thomas for recommending the arborist line. It never got stuck on any of the little twigs over which my line ran. The antenna was not as elevated as I would have liked but it was better than at yesterday’s activation and would work well enough. Continue reading KO4WFP: Part Two of Teri’s Nova Scotia POTA adventure!→
Many thanks to Teri (KO4WFP) for the following guest post:
A Difficult But Productive Learning Experience at the Halifax Citadel (VE-4841)
by Teri (KO4WFP)
Life is full of interesting experiences and my attempted activation at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (VE-4841) proved to be one of them.
Source: Halifax Military Heritage
For those of you unfamiliar, my family and I planned a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia this summer. I decided while there, I would activate six or seven parks. I had never attempted such a feat in a foreign country under the limitations of what I could carry on a flight and using a rental car with which I would be unfamiliar. The previous month and a half, I acquired equipment and skills to (at least in theory) adequately prepare for this undertaking.
The morning of Wednesday, June 28th, we headed to the Citadel.
We arrived in Canada the previous day much later than the anticipated arrival time so there was no time to check out the site beforehand. Before my trip, I queried a Canadian op who had activated the site and his response was helpful though it did give me pause since I would not have as hefty a vertical as he uses for his activations.
The weather forecast was not promising. The previous night, fog pervaded the drive from the airport to our airbnb. It felt like we had indeed landed in a foreign land. Gone were the live oaks and Spanish moss replaced with firs and what looked like aspens or birch trees. The day’s forecast called for more of the same – fog with a chance of showers later in the day.
My husband and son decided to check out the fortifications while I did my activation. I dropped them off at the main gate and headed to a spot on the side closer to the bay which I hoped would be a better spot for my signals to reach into the United States.
I decided to start with the AX1 on 20 meters, figuring I’d reach more ops on that band and knock out the activation in short order. Also, the counterpoise for 20 meters is shorter than the one for 40 meters and I didn’t have much room to play with at the site.
On the morning of Wednesday, June 14, 2023, I left the QTH with a goal in mind: fit in a POTA activation before taking my sweet mom to an appointment that afternoon. As I’ve mentioned in the past, there are about four park options that are easy detours off the 1.5 hour drive to my parents’ home, so it was very much doable.
I decided to go to Tuttle (K-4861) since it would be very close to one of my favorite lunch spots (Food Matters in Morganton). I figured I could fit in an activation, then grab lunch after, and still make the appointment with time to spare.
In almost every case, this is how I do POTA these days: it’s all about fitting in activations with weekly travels and errands. It’s rare that I simply plot out an activation or two the day before. More often than not, I schedule my activation a max of 30 minutes before I arrive at the park.
I arrived at Tuttle around 11:30 AM and had the park to myself. There were no other guests there, just park rangers. And lots of birds.
I speak about this at length in my video below, but I’ve been a customer of ABR Industries for well over a decade now. ABR is a USA supplier of high quality cable, cable assemblies, and other cable components. I’m a huge fan. In fact, I wrote about them separately on the SWLing Post a couple years ago.
Full disclosure: ABR Industries sent me this cable assembly (and one other I’ll feature in a future report) free of charge. They are not a sponsor (although I’d love for them to be) and I’ve no other relationship with them other than being a customer.
I go into greater detail in my video, but I learned a while back just how important it is to use high-quality cable assemblies, adapters, and connectors in the field and at the QTH.
As a field operator, I know my cable assemblies are essentially consumables. With all of the winding, deployments, packing, being outdoors, rough handling, etc. they will eventually fail. (In fact, Alan made a point of this in his latest field report when a mishap in the field broke a good assembly.)
High quality cable assemblies will not only provide better longevity and better durability, but also less loss and overall higher performance. It’s worth the cost because when I hike to a summit, the last think I want to discover is that my cable assembly has failed.
Note that I also build my own cable assemblies (indeed, I feel like all radio ops should learn this simple skill) and try to use quality components and best practices to make the best assemblies I can.
Take-away is: don’t skimp on your cable assemblies. I no longer buy my cable assemblies from random suppliers on eBay or Amazon, I buy them from companies that build and test their assemblies within our hobby; companies like PackTenna, Tufteln, Messi & Paoloni, and ABR Industries.
Here ends my PSA…let’s get on with the activation!
Since I was first licensed in 1997, Field Day has been the on-the-air event I’ve always looked forward to more than any other.
I love the combination of playing radio outdoors, experimenting with antennas, hanging with fellow hams, and inviting the public to experience the world of amateur radio.
I’ve participated in quite a wide variety of Field Day events over the years. A few times, I’ve spent the entire event with one club playing radio for the full 24 hour period of time and only getting a couple hours of sleep. It’s exhausting, but loads of fun!
That’s the great thing about amateur radio: no matter where you go in the world, you have a built-in local community of friends.
Many years, I’ve also combined Field Day and POTA (also NPOTA in 2016) with my good friend Vlado (N3CZ). We typically find a nice park to play radio, make some food (Vlado is the grill-master extraordinaire), and hang out for a few hours, many times with our families and other ham friends. Our goal is mostly to have fun, make contacts, and be ready to answer questions when a crowd gathers.
My buddy Vlado (N3CZ) draws a crowd in 2016,
Field Day 2023
On Saturday morning (June 24, 2023), Vlado and I met up around 12:30 at Vlado’s QTH and I placed my gear in his car.
The plan was to hit a park and do a POTA activation–albeit just running Field Day with my callsign–then go to the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Club‘s Field Day site for dinner and operating with their club call (W4YK).
Holmes Educational State Forest (K-4856)
We made our way to Holmes Educational State Forest (K-4856). It was a logical choice since it wasn’t too far from the BRARC Field Day site.
I had hoped the covered picnic shelter at Holmes would be unoccupied, but it was very much the opposite. I think there must have been three birthday parties in that thing!
Knowing rain showers are all around, I packed my ENO hammock rainfly and, in fact, we chose our picnic site based on tree spacing to hang the rainfly over the picnic table.
Vlado (N3CZ) warming up his IC-703 Plus
We put up the rain fly first and it’s a good thing we did because showers moved in immediately. Fortunately, the fly worked a charm and we both–and more importantly, our radios–stayed bone dry.
Since this was primarily a Field Day effort, I didn’t schedule the activation or do any spotting. No one who worked us knew that it was also a park activation.
We ran as a 1B Battery station, thus our maximum output power was five watts. (Of course we were only going to do this QRP!)
Vlado and I both operated, but he made the bulk of the contacts. While one of us worked stations, the other logged.
In the end, we logged 45 contacts–all but one were CW.
Vlado really enjoyed using his IC-703 Plus. He built a small go kit around it some time ago, but this was actually the first opportunity he’d had to use it in the field.
I also packed the IC-705 and made quite a few contacts with it including our one SSB contact!
Around 4:30 PM local, we packed up and headed to the Blue Ridge ARC FD site at one of the members’ QTH.
Holmes Video
I made a short video at Holmes Educational State Forest–not a typical activation video, just a quick visit with us:
We arrived at the BRARC site around 5:00 PM. Typically, the Blue Ridge Club sets up in very public ares–primarily the middle of some of the larger area parks.
This time, however, there was a permitting conflict that forced the club to find another space. Fortunately, two of the club members offered up their home which wasn’t in a public spot, obviously, but in every other respect was ideal.
We arrived and met with several friends I hadn’t seen in ages.
Vlado immediately hopped on KC5F’s Icom IC-7610 (the dedicated CW station) and gave Steve a break at the key.
I then took over after Vlado’s run and added a few more contacts to the W4YK logs.
I then moved to the SSB station and added about ten contacts to their logs. That particular station was the club’s Icom IC-718 and if I’m being honest, it’s not the best HF radio for crowded band conditions. It’s an overall good radio, but when the RF is dense (as it is on Field Day) its front end sort of falls apart. The difference between the IC-718 and IC-7610 was striking. The ‘7610 is a contest grade radio and it handles FD conditions with grace.
The barbecue at the BRARC Field Day was amazing. We appreciate good BBQ here in North Carolina. Don’t get me started about that potato salad–it was spectacular!
We left he BRARC meeting around 8:30 PM and on the way home decided to pop by the WCARS Field Day site at a Fire Fighters’ Union Camp Ground. This wasn’t a terribly public place for Field Day, but the grounds were ideal for setting up stations. A number of WCARS members belong to the Fire Fighters’ Union.
We spoke with a few WCARS members/friends we hadn’t seen in some time, then headed home.
In the end, I felt like we’d done a little Field Day tour that Saturday!
It was great hopping on the air, but even better seeing so many friends we hadn’t seen in such a long time.
How was your Field Day?
I’d love to hear what you did for Field Day! Please share your experience with us in the comments section!
Also, keep in mind that Saturday July 1, 2023 (tomorrow!) is the RAC Canada Day Contest! You can find out more about this event on the RAC website.
Thank you
Thank you for joining Vlado and me for a few minutes on Field Day!
Also,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.
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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!
We arrived at the trailhead of Mount Pisgah around 9:45 AM local.
