Mayapples and Roadapples

May 16, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

So the solar storm abated and we went out the other day. That was on Sunday the 12th. We set up in Big Spring State Park US-4355 and in about half an hour we worked 17 stations including 2 park-to-park contacts. The rain held off and I got a few pictures of the area and we got to enjoy the outdoors. A good day overall. Yesterday was a bit different. Sort of. Kind of. We had lunch and then decided on the spur of the moment to do an activation. We needed a few things from the big store so we decided to load up the gear and stop off at a game land that we have been wanting to activate for a while. That is how we found ourselves at PA State Game Land 169 US-8867 on a Wednesday afternoon. The parking lot where we parked was off of a not so busy road and that suited me. I like it quiet. It being early afternoon, I did not have high expectations for 40 M but started there anyway. I made 1 contact and then nothing for a few. I changed antennas and tried 6 meters. Now the solar prediction software may tell you that 6 Meters is open but that doesn’t mean that anyone is listening there. I called for a while on 50.130MHz, just above the SSB calling freq and got no response so I went back to 40 Meters where I had much better luck. I checked the spots and hunted up a couple of other activators who had come on in the past few minutes and that changed my luck. Within half an hour we logged a total of 14 and that made it a bonafide activation and made me happy. We tore down and, as always, made sure we left no trace of our being there. Well enough for now kids. Namaste and happy owls to all.

The Owl Sleeps Tonight

May 11, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

So … everyone who has gone out to activate a park in the rain during a radio blackout caused by a solar CME, raise your hands. Yeah. I swear, I had checked the solar data before we left yesterday, May 10th, and the storm hadn’t hit. I figured that we could get set up and work a quick 10 before the blackout and then be done. Nope, not a chance. We got to Little Buffalo State Park US-1376 and got set up and started out with a few quick contacts. Hearing the signal reports I was getting, I realized that the storm had hit and I checked the solar data and sure enough we were in severe storm status. The A index was in the 130s and K was 9. Yup. It took us about an hour to make 10 contacts and the signal reports were dismal. My wyfe was a real trooper, though. I could tell she was getting discouraged but she never said anything negative, she was encouraging and helpful. I am very thankful to the hams that were out there on the radio in spite of the blackout and solar storm. This can be contrasted with May 6th. I was sitting here in the late afternoon around 1830 and decided that I was bored. I loaded the car and got the wyfe and we set out for Big Springs State Park US-4355. Within an half hour we logged 26 contacts including 2 park-to-parks. It was a good way to spend an early evening. After we were through we took a ride down some back roads and looked for critters. It is nice to live in an area where there are parks close by so that we can go do activations when an impulse takes us. Well kidlets don’t let reports of bad conditions keep you off the radio, you just might be surprised. Have fun and practice safe radio. Namaste

Out on a whim

May 2, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

So yesterday, the 1th of May, we , my wyfe and I, activated 2 parks on a whim. We are getting some practice in setting up with “Hamstick” antennas and keeping a low profile. We started out at the ATV lot above Pine Grove Furnace in Michaux State Forest US-5471. In a short spell we worked 12 stations and moved on to Kings Gap US-4361. I had an online Elmer of mine, WV1W , remind me that I was on 7.175 and that this was excluding General class ops. As an Extra, I sort of forgot about that border. I thanked him and moved up a bit. After a few more minutes of making contacts, another op worked me and then asked me for a favor. He politely asked me to move as an established net was soon going to start about 1K above where I was parked. He was very gracious about it. I gladly QSY’d. Overall it was a positive experience and we made a total of 22 contacts at Kings Gap. For both park activations we totaled 14 park-to-park contacts.

Today, 2st May, we did another activation on a whim. On the way to supper we stopped off at State Game Land 230 on top of Waggoners Gap US-8927. This was a new entity for me. It was also practice in a hit-and-run type of activation. Propagation was in the dumps but it took about 35 minutes to work 10 stations including 4 park-to-parks. We have no pictures from here as it was windy and Zarathustra kept blowing off my car. All in all a good time was had by all. We are getting better at the quick set up and take downs and by the time we are on vacation I feel we will have it mastered. Of course it isn’t all about the radio. You can expect more and more pictures of nature and our surroundings. well, namaste for now, kidlets.

The mansion garden at Kings Gap … a magical place!

Horses First/The Great Impaled Pig Experiment

April 28, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

This afternoon I beat Satan’s Putting Green back into submission. I admit that I like the pungent aroma of fresh cut garlic mustard filling the air. My neighbor has yet to cut his this year and it is getting long but that is not my issue. He has a riding mower so he really doesn’t have an excuse. There is no contest, just a bit of a contrast. In any event, my cats don’t care. They still get to gaze out the windows and watch life go by. Now for the horses: there is an old troubleshooting credo: when you hear hoofbeats think horses, not zebras. I really need to take my own advice. I found the troublem with my radio and it was so simple that I am slapping my forehead still. It was a menu setting that was causing it to not transmit when I was using the playback on the voice recorder. Well at least the company gave it a clean bill of health. I am thinking of getting a sign made for my shack saying “HORSES FIRST” . Now about the impaled pigs. My wonderful and long suffering wyfe has great ideas. Her latest is to keep as low a profile as possible for activations when we are out of state and in high populated areas such as Gettysburg. I agree and today we were testing out the idea of operating with a “HAMSTICK” antenna on a 4″ magmount. it would be fast to deploy and would be rather circumspect and would not involve anything like putting a wire in a tree or anything such as that. Well, it worked and worked well. This morning we went to Little Buffalo State Park (US-1376) and worked 21 contacts in less than an hour on 40M. This was between 0830 and 0915 EDT and the sun had yet to burn off the cloud cover. After we packed up and left, we went to Big Springs State Park. By the time we arrived the sun had emerged and the clouds were gone. The sky was clear and blue and the temperature was up in the low 30’s Celsius. A very nice day, indeed. I tried a 20M “HAMSTICK” and could not find a vacant spot on the band as the Florida QSO Party was going on. I put the 40M ‘stick back on and worked 14 contacts including 6 park-to-park contacts in less than an hour during the middle of the day when D layer absorbtion was going strong. All in all, I call the great experiment a rousing success! Even Ptolemy was pleased! Well TTFN. Namaste, y’all

A cloudy morning at US-1376 and Ptolomy is looking pleased

Another Fine March Day

March 7, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

And there it was, another fine March day! The temperature was around 11 C and the sun was trying to burn away the clouds and SWMBO and I set out to a couple activations. What a great way to spend some time on a day off! We decided to stay near home and to revisit the familiar. It has been a bit since we activated Big Springs SP and Tuscarora State Forest so that is where we went. We started at Big Springs. It was nice and quiet there. We got set up quickly. The temperature was 11 C when we got there and 14 C when we left. It did not take long to make 35 contacts on 40 meters including 6 park-to-parks. The band was co-operating and contacts were coming pretty fast. I cut it off at 35 ( my log reflects 37 as a couple were 2fers) so that we could move on. The first location in Tuscarora I wanted to try was not good for us as there was no internet. I prefer to have a means of spotting our activation, I am funny that way. lol. In any event, we went to the 3 Square Hollow Vista which overlooks Cumberland Valley PA. Nice view. Very quiet though there was some traffic. I switched between 40 and 20 meters and worked 35 contacts including a DX from Spain. SWMBO had a good time logging. We had one curious person drive past, stop, back up, check out my antenna and then drive on. He didn’t ask any questions though I would have been happy to provide answers. While driving around we got to observe 5 turkeys (turkies?) and 5 squirrels (4 of them semi-suicidal). There were also the usual assortment to tweety birds and hawks. The nice thing about these parks is getting out in nature and away from most of the trappings of civilization but now I am going to have to wash my car again. Well kidlets enuff for now. Namaste.

Zarathustra and Charade with my Buddistick at the vista

Hilltop Hamming at Kings Gap

February 22, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

I think I am blaming myself for this weather. I bought that ice fishing shelter and the weather turned warm. I have only used it twice this winter so the warm winter must be my fault. The shelter and the propane heater. Oh well. It was a beautiful day. SWMBO and I set out to do an activation and went to Kings Gap, K-4361. The usual spot where I set up was usurped by a crew that was cutting wood and grooming the forest so we went next to the mansion. It didn’t take long to set up and the activation was legit within a short period of time (18 minutes) on 40 meters. I did a little band hopping but my best results were on 40 though I did manage to work an Italian station on 20 Meters. The most surprising contact was on 15 Meters when I was contacted by a station who was mobile and about 4 kilometers (straight line) away. I worked 3 park-to-park contacts and had no encounters with lions, tigers and/or bears; it is a good idea to have an owl with me. My long suffering wyfe did a great job with the logging and we really make a good team. Anyway, I made a total of 24 QSO’s and the important thing is that we had fun. Namaste for now kidlets.

A day to remember maybe

February 18, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Hi all. It was a beautiful day so we went out. We started with breakfast at the Newville Diner in Newville PA. After a filling and hearty breakfast we set out for Gettysburg, PA. Yes, that Gettysburg. We arrived at the first hill overlooking the town from the north. There is a tower here and it is across from the Peace Light. I started to set up and broke my tripod. The tilt control snapped. We took off to the local Walmart and got a new tripod which I resolved to not leave in the car during freezing temps. We got back to the location which I thought might be relatively quiet and set up. There were more cars in and out of the parking area than I had thought there would be but we were in a spot where we were not in the way. I did observe a van pull up next to us at one point and a young man (late teens, early 20s) jump out wearing fake military cammy and carrying an airsoft “assault” style rifle. He and his group went up into the tower and I believe he took some selfies. They departed a short time later. The wind was blowing relatively strong which made it chilly. Even Tootsie didn’t want to leave the car. Between 20 and 40 meters I worked a total of 35 contacts including some park-to-parks. It was a good activation in spite of the broken tripod. SWMBO and I are making a good team on these excursions. 🙂 We left there and went to the ATV lot in Michaux State Forest on Bendersville Road above Pine Grove Furnace. The lot had some ATV riders there along with their vehicles and trailers but we found a good place to park and set up. Yup. then I started making mistakes lol. First I tuned my coax to a perfect 1:1 on 20M. Yup. Tuned the coax without it being attached to the antenna. Luckily my long suffering wyfe pointed that out to me. “Aren’t you going to connect your cable to the antenna?” she asked. After I got it attached, I got on the air. Worked 20M for a while and then went to 40M to let the locals have a chance. Finally when we were ready to go, I looked at my antenna and LO! and Behold! the tilt had loosened and the wind had blown it over. Lesson learned. Always have the antenna in your line of sight. Also, always check the tightness of any and all connections on new equipment. How do you spell duh? Amazing thing was the last few contacts came in just fine and it didn’t seem to affect the SWR. We logged a total of 26 contacts there including some park-to-parks. We got home ok and then got all equipment put away and entered the qso’s into the log. Then had a catastrophe. One of our cats does not get along at all with the 2 younger cats. we try to keep them separated. I was carrying one of the youngsters up from the basement and slipped. He is ok but I am nursing a very sore arm/wrist/ribs/knee. Oh well, as the philosopher said: “you take the good, you take the bad”. Enough for now. Namaste kidlets

The view out the windshield at Gettysburg

And the Days Go Bye

February 8, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Wow, what a day! We didn’t set out to do it, really we didn’t. We started out having breakfast at the Newville Diner in Newville PA. Our intent was to have a breakfast and, while eating, decide on a destination in Cumberland County to activate. Easy enough, we did. We set out after breakfast for Kings Gap Environmental Education Center, K-4361. This is a very pleasant hilltop with a stone mansion and a lot of areas to operate from. I like the place as it is nice and peaceful. While we were there we were approached by a man with a pair of binoculars. He was a bird-watcher heading to the mansion and was curious. He understood ham radio but was wondering about the owl on the hood of my car lol. I chatted with him for a few before going back to hamming. Between 40 and 12 meters I worked 29 contacts including Italy and Sweden on 12 meters. A good day indeed. But wait! There’s more! My long suffering wyfe said, and I quote : “Hey! Let’s go to the ATV lot!”. Well, there was nothing to do but to comply, after all, I call her SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) for a reason! We quickly packed up and trolloped (yes I use Trollop as a verb meaning to travel or move) off to the Michaux State Forest ATV lot (K-5471) on Piney Mountain. It did not take long to settle in there and get set up with some coffee. The ATV lot is located on Bendersville Road at the top of Piney Mountain above Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Between 17, 20 and 40 meters we worked 38 contacts and had a great time. Today we worked a total of 4 Park-to-Park contacts of which 1 was a double so 5 really. With the temperature around 11C it was a very comfortable day for February. We even had to open the car door as it was getting too warm in there. Well I am going to close for now. Have fun and stay radio active, kidlets. Namaste!

calling CQ and getting an answer

Milestones and Mill Stones and Little Lambs Eat Ivys

January 30, 2024January 30, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Got an interesting mail from the ARRL yesterday: a certificate and a pin saying I have been a member for 25 years. Damn, makes me feel old! lol.

Anyway, my long suffering wyfe and I made our way to K-4361 Kings Gap Environmental State Park today and had a nice activation. Every time we head out we get better and better at loading, setting up and taking down and loading back up. Today, setup took us about 18 minutes and take down took us 12 minutes. We were in no hurry, we just did it. The sky was a solid gray and the temperature was a steady 5C. It was nice and comfortable in the car, though. 2 people kept it warm along with the radio generating a bit of heat. I started out on 40M and quickly made enough to be bonafide. I worked 40 for a bit more then tried first 10 then 15 then 17 with no luck. The propagation gods were not looking on me favorably, I think. I migrated to 20M and things started looking up! Along with Spain, Italy and Alaska, I was able to get several other contacts in the log. I then returned back to 40M for a while before going QRT for the day. All in all, a good day. SWMBO and I had a nice time and spent some quality time. She got to hear DX stations which she rarely does and she is being a great help logging. This is great practice for future activations such as we may do when we are on vacation or travelling around on day trips. I have worked out of the “British Mountain Climb-Mountain Assault” mentality. I have stopped bringing an ass-load of un-necessary gear and have pared my equipment down to the essentials. I think simple actually is better. Tootsie came along to supervise and to keep away the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). Well, until next time, kidlets. Namaste!

Still life with Buddi-stick, owl and Subaru

Because it’s there

January 25, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It was a dismal and drizzly day so my long-suffering wyfe and I went to the ATV parking lot where Piney Mountain Ridge Road intersects with Bendersville Road in Michaux State Forest and activated K-5471, Michaux State Forest. The weather was gloomy but the rain stayed away. The temperature was around 12 C which made it comfortable outside and actually too warm in the car at times. I had to open the door. I set up the Buddistick and was on the air pretty quickly. I made 37 contacts in about an hour. I tried 15 and 17 meters with no luck but did very well on 40 meters. The parking lot is pretty large and was empty which was a good thing. There was minimal traffic on Bendersville Road and few distractions. This is the second time we have set out without a lot of gear; just the bare bones seems to be all we really need most times. It wasn’t cold enough to require the pod (my ice fishing shelter) and I didn’t need my big tool box. I had my radio, tuner, antenna, tripod, logbook, battery, thermos of coffee and my owl Zarathustra. Each time I go out I learn something new. This time I learned that less can be more. I seem to be going back to my minimalist roots. I am looking forward to warmer weather and camping season. POTA has really provided an opportunity to be more active in the outdoors.

Well that is it for now. Namaste, kidlets.

Nature, Radio, and Me

A POTA Explorer's Diary

Mobile Operations