Many thanks to Scott (VA3EKR) who shares the following field report which was originally posted on his blog:

August 4, 2024, HMCS Haida National Historic Site (CA-4870)

by Scott (VA3EKR)

I wanted to try out a new park, and so I visited the HMCS Haida National Historic Site (CA-4870).

Band conditions were simply awful, so thankfully Dave Burroughs, VA3CP, and his help getting out the word to the Hamilton repeater, I was able to make this a successful activation.

There were some nice trees, next to some nice picnic tables, and I asked if I could use them, assuring them that I would be exceptionally careful and cause no damage. The male teen suggested I not, so I set up with 20m antenna mounted to the car.

The next priority was to get a picture of my faithful mascot, QRP-Bear.

With antenna set up, I next found the least ergonomically attractive configuration possible. One that made me twist my torso for every time I had to send. If you can avoid this silliness, it’s probably for the better.

I then took a tour of the vessel.

This is on the from the deck of the ship.

Next, I really wanted to see the radio room. I was hoping they would have the transceiver running, as they sometimes do, and let me send some QSOs as the Haida callsign, but that really only happens occasionally.

This is the radio room. They keep a modern radio tucked behind some of the older equipment, and they have a 20m dipole on the deck.

These are from the control room.

Looking up the bow.

A view of the lake.

Some historical context.

Some weaponry shots.

So, while the propagation was not so great, the tour made up for it, and I had a good time!

Click here to check out Scott’s amateur radio blog!

Apr. 15, 2024, Great Lakes Waterfront Trail Recreation Site (CA-6003)

by Scott (VA3EKR)

Decided to try the other side of the harbour for the activation, in Tannery Park.

For the setup, I picked a picnic table on the north side of Walker Street, as there were larger trees there.

This is the view of the harbour from the picnic table.

The bands were misbehaving, and interestingly, I have never experienced listening to the band go very quiet suddenly, due to the solar flare and the R1 radio blackout that resulted.

I used the trusty QRP-Guys random-wire antenna with 9:1 matching transformer.

Here is a map of the QSOs. The longest distance was to the Czech Republic, 6,970km away. I also pleased at getting some California QSOs, especially using only 10 watts. Three park-to-park QSOs. Orange markers indicate 20m, Turquoise represents 15m, and Red is 17m.

Screenshot

After the activation, I scouted the other side of the park. This is a fairly newly-renovated park, and so I was interested in seeing what they had done with it.

I met a new friend, Pierre, who is retired from IBM, and is very into astronomy. He showed me a very nice image of the sun with sun-spots. He even has a virtual-reality display that allows you to see the images! This was nice, as my recent viewing of the solar eclipse was a complete wash-out.

The Bronte Astronomy Group has public viewings, so I will have to monitor the Facebook page and go out some time to see some nice astronomy images!

The last thing I noticed is that the sculpture they put up, is rusty and tall.

I am hoping that next time I can bring an alligator-clip, a small counterpoise wire, and I can attempt to tune up this and use it as an absurd but fun antenna!