Mice? Men? Plans? Whatever!

October 15, 2026 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Hello kidlets. Here we are with another installment of my non-stop prattle and pseudo-intellectualism dressed in folksy pleasantries. It has been a good couple days off and it is nice to sit drinking coffee and relaxing.

First some thoughts about antennas. Some people like Yagis, some prefer verticals and some like dipoles. The whole thing comes down to a matter of preference. If you are out activating or working portable in general, you want the best antenna that will fit your budget. When I am portable, I generally use “Hamsticks” which are mag mounted verticals. I have also used dipoles and other types of antennae such as “Buddisticks”. Some take along verticals that they made based on “Wolf River Coils”. I am not going to tell you which to use, I can only state what works best for me. I would rather not have anything conspicuous. I also hesitate to hang anything from trees unless absolutely necessary. It is part of my nature to be un-noticed and in parks, I want to stay under the rangers’ radar and leave only my footprints. As an aside, if you are using an arborist bag and it wraps around a limb, the best way to free it is to tie a moderately heavy stick to the other end of the throw line and throw the stick over the branch in the opposite direction as the bag is wound. You do that as many times as necessary to pull it free.

Today SWMBO and I activated Gettysburg National Military Park US-0027, one of my favorites. Culps Hill was deserted when we arrived and in the 45 minutes we were there we saw less that 8 people. I watched an older couple get out of their car with their dog who pulled them over to the tower. We did depart before they descended. Anyway, the activation went very will. I stayed on 40 M and worked 47 stations in about 40 minutes. Not too bad. Towards the end there were a couple stations that had moved in about 2 up from us in the band but they were not strong enough to really be a bother. As for birds, the only one my software heard was a red-bellied woodpecker. Afterwards we stopped off at Hollabaugh Brothers farm stand.

We did our groceries and then went home. As we were eating our lunch, SWMBO had a tooth that had been repaired about 25 years ago break. The good thing was that she had had a root canal back then and she wasn’t in any pain. We finally found a dentist who could take us on short notice as our dentist was busy. We got her looked and, in the process, got a new dentist. That whole ordeal destroyed other plans we might have had but I am glad we got things resolved.

Oh yeah! I can hear again! I had one of my ears get clogged, so I syringed the hell out of it and saved myself a trip to the doctor and a bill. Life is good. Well kids, time to close. Namaste and keep your stick on the ice!

Tootsie the owl and Hubert the gnome enjoying Culp’s Hill

The monument for Battery K 5th US Artillery

They told me to take a seat. At Hollabaugh Brothers in Biglerville, PA

Waiting For Isaias

October 10, 2026 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Well, the National Weather Service has some rain in our forecast. Hurricane Isaias (no clue how to pronounce that) will be hitting us tomorrow. It has moved onto land and we are expecting rain. There is only a 5% chance of getting enough to flood, here in Pencilvania, so we are no worried. It turned overcast this morning but as of right now there is no rain.

I might raise up my dipole tomorrow, depending on the weather. It is a well-known myth that the worse the weather is when you are putting up an antenna, the better it performs. We will see.

This weekend is the PA QSO party. The bands are full. There are also 2 other QSO Parties (AZ and SD) along with some sprints, DX activities and other contests. This makes for crowding on the bands, but you can always find a spot to operate. Contests, though I am not a big participant, are a good thing as they show the bands are being utilized. The more activity that can be shown, the less the chance the bands will be taken from us.

My favorite activity is POTA, whether hunting or activating. Today, SWMBO and I took off early with the destination of Mt Crawford VA in mind. That is where the closest Buc-ees is located. On the way we took a side trip to US-0730 Cedar Creek and Belle Grove Plantation National Historic Site. We have activated here once before, back in February, I think. It is a nice quiet park and covers several acres. We parked in the small lot across the road from the mansion and had a very successful activation, working 44 stations total in about 1/2 hour. I had to move frequency once due to intentional interference but I don’t let things like that get me down. These sad hams who set out to ruin the experience for others do not deserve the acknowledgment. If you just move away from them, the problem is solved. Anyway, a good time was had by all. SWMBO and I had fun and the contacts came flying in so fast that it was hard to self-spot. Thanks to all who worked us.

After the activation we continued on our way South and stopped off at an Ollie’s in search of anything that caught the eye. We also went to an adjacent Spirit Halloween store but didn’t find anything remarkable. We got to Buc-ees, gassed up and found some chicken fingers and fries. It made for a pleasant drive home.

I guess this is it for now. Keep your eyes on the skies and stay well grounded. Namaste, kids.

Hubert the gnome enjoying POTA at Belle Grove

The omni-present informational historic marker.

Where In The World Is Abraham Lincoln?

August 1, 2026 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

The beginning of a new month always brings a feeling of promise before the realities of the mundane slap you upside the head. Wow, sounds a bit cynical, doesn’t it? It is actually a nice day, today, 1 August 26. The skies are clouded over with rain being anticipated but the temperature is 31C and rising (87.7 F). We can always use the rain.

Yesterday, SWMBO expressed the desire to take a drive down to Gettysburg as she wanted to do some photography for her webpage. We decided to go down early this morning before the town was crowded and bustling. There are 5 statues of Lincoln in Gettysburg along with a bust in the cemetery. Basically, we went Lincoln hunting.

We got to Gettysburg and stopped at Gettysburg College in front of Stevens Hall for the first statue. It depicts Lincoln seated and writing the Emancipation Proclamation. It is easy to find as it is right on RTE 34 as you come into town from the North. The next one on our itinerary is located on Lincoln Square in the center of town on the West side of the roundabout. Lincoln is standing with a citizen and holding his hat aloft as if to say “Behold! A Bright Future”. From there we continued South a few blocks to the Library where Lincoln is standing holding The Gettysburg Address in his left hand as his right hand is raised to the sky as if he is giving a speech. From there we drove out Baltimore Pike to the Visitor’s Center. The parking lots were empty, so we didn’t have to walk far. Here Lincoln is seated on a bench gazing to the future. Lastly, we went to the Pennsylvania Memorial to the Northwest of Little Roundtop. Lincoln is there to the right of the monument, standing with his hand raised in a pose of benediction.

Since it was still early and there were no crowds around, we decided to do an activation. We went to my favorite activation spot: Culp’s Hill. We started at 11:41 UTC (7:41 EDT) and by 12:12 UTC (8:12 EDT) we had worked 39 stations. The calls were coming at a good rate and then tapered off. We had the hill pretty much to ourselves with the exception of a drone flying overhead. As we were packing up, a car stopped and asked my if the antenna I was holding was a fishing pole and where there would be any fishing around the area. I informed him that it was a radio antenna. He laughed and said he had fishing on his mind.

We heard the following birds in Gettysburg: House Sparrows, Chimney Swifts, Northern Cardinals, House Finches, European Starlings, Tufted Titmouses, American Robins, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, Gray Catbirds, Northern Mockingbirds and American Goldfinches. A nice assortment for a Summer morning.

Well, that is my update for today. I hope all are well and as always, namaste and keep your stick on the ice.