I Got Some ‘Splainin To Do

January 24, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Ok, I guess my posts have been somewhat obfuscating and confusing to folks who are not familiar with ham radio and/or with my sense of humor, so I am going to strive to clarify a few things.

First off, the owls. No owls have been harmed in the writing of this blog. I like to take one of my owl decoys along with me when I am doing an activation as a sort of mascot/decoration. I have 3 owl decoys: Zarathustra, Tootsie and Ptolomey. I also have a plastic flamingo named Charade. Yes, I am a big kid and like to have toys.

Next I should explain the whole POTA thing. Back in 2010, some hams got together and put together a program to get hams more physically active. There is a SOTA program (Summits On The AIr where folks can climb to a mountain top and operate from the top) but not everybody is cut out for that. Some hams are older or not physically able to climb mountains so HAMPARKS.ORG came into existence in September of 2010. The idea was to encourage hams to get outdoors to State and National parks and operate portable stations. It caught on and became very popular … so popular that in 2016 the ARRL (American Radio Relay League, a national organization for ham radio operators) ran a year-long event called National Parks On The Air. This sort of melded into the POTA program and it has evolved into what it is today. There are hams who go into the parks and operate (activate) and there are hams who contact these hams from home (hunt) and there are hams who do both. There are various awards and certificates for levels of achievement and thresholds crossed. The program is run by dedicated volunteers. It is also a way for hams to practice setting up in off-the-grid situations and to practice operating in less than optimum conditions. Myself, I use it as a way to keep active and maintain mental acuity and to have fun. It gets me out into the woods. 🙂

Well that is all for now. My fingers are all finged out from the typing. Namaste, kidlets until next time!

Plans are very likeable when they assemble

January 12, 2024December 31, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yesterday was a very nice day so my long suffering wyfe and I set out to do an activation. Instead of the usual large scale British-mountain-climbing-expedition style of gear I only brought the bare essentials necessary to activate from my car. It was in the low 50’s F (about 11.5 C or those who use a proper temperature measuring system) so the pod was not necessary. We decided to operate from the car for the first time. We did it as sort of a practice for vacations when we will be activating on the road. I used my Buddistick antenna which only requires a tripod, a strip of copper mesh for the ground, a 1 gallon jug of water as a weight and some coax. We went to Kings Gap and got set up in a very short while. As I was setting the antenna up, SWMBO went for a short walk and took some pictures. Once the antenna was in place it took only a couple minutes to hook up the radio and tuner and find an empty frequency. I showed my wonderful wyfe how to log and we were POTAing. It didn’t take long to make the required 10 for a bonafide activation and soon I decided to switch bands. All in all I worked 40 and 15 Meters, had 2 Park-to-Park contacts, 1 hunting and 1 hunting me, and made a total of 32 contacts in about 1/2 hours. At one point I had to open the car door as it got too hot in there. We had some curious looks from people driving by and there was some work going on by a couple of men driving skid loaders with smelly exhausts, but all in all it was a great day and a very successful experiment. Namaste for now, kidlets.

It’s All Fun And Games When Someone Loses An Eye

January 7, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yesterday was January 6th, the first Saturday in 2024. What is the significance, you might ask? Well it was the beginning of the week-long PA Farm Show held in Harrisburg PA. Local legend would have it that the Farm Show is a harbinger of bad weather (go figure, it is held in January) and this year it has held up to that reputation. Late morning yesterday it began to snow. A nice, pretty wet snow. Within a couple hours we had around 76.2 MM of accumulation on the ground ( ~ 3 inches for those who use the outdated measuring system) and then the temperature started to rise slightly above freezing. It remained that way overnight. This morning I spent over an hour with my snowblower clearing my driveway. My wyfe and I then went out to lunch and got a few groceries. When we got back i settled in with a cup of coffee and started trying to work some POTA stations. I began to wonder why I was getting lousy signal reports when I looked out the window. A couple of tree branches had succumbed to the weight of the wet snow and fell, taking down my dipole and breaking the rope which ran through the pulley on the tower which held the center support up. My long-suffering wyfe agreed to leave the warm comfort of the house and assist me in getting the antenna back up in the air. It took some doing. My antenna is now in a different position than it was, is lower and the setup is temporary. Once the weather gets a bit better I am going to make the installation more permanent. At least I am back on the air and making contacts. I, however, did run out of expletives which is highly unusual as I studied under a master, my father. As for blame, I place that squarely in the lap of the PA Farm Show. Namaste Kiddos.

More from the POD Person

January 2, 2024December 31, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Heidi-Ho. Wow, 2 posts in 2 days. Something must be off with me lol. I decided to activate today because the weather was nice …. for January. The temperature was pretty mild …. about 3.5 C (38.5 F) which was not too bad. First, I tried to go to Fowlers Hollow State Park but there was oo much road construction activity there so I decided to go to Big Springs State Park, my old stand by. We got the POD set up and I got on the air. I put the heater in it and soon was in shirtsleeves. BTW, all my owls declined to make the excursion with us so I was mascot-less. Oh well, their loss. We were set up and on the air in a short period of time and I quickly made the required amount of contacts for a legit activation. After about half an hour I switched from 40 meters to 15 meters and made more contacts. I even made 2 DX contacts: Spain and Canary Islands. Overall I made a total of 45 contacts in an hour on 3 bands, 40, 15 and 20 meters using an inverted Vee antenna and my Yaesu ft891 at 75 Watts. My Wyfe is urging me to try operating from the car as a practice for our vacation so I am going to look at streamlining my setup. I will fill in more about that in later posts. Well the log has been uploaded, I am warm and am drinking coffee and my motional sports cat is by my side so I think it is time to sit back and relax. As always, namaste kidlets until we meet again.

A new Pod!

December 13, 2023 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

That is the Pod! It arrived last Monday and is a Christmas present from my most wonderful wyfe! It is an ice fishing shelter though I will be using it for POTA activations. Without any heat source it was nice and warm inside today. Much better than it would have been sitting out in 40 degree F (that’s 4 C for those who use Metric) temperatures with a light breeze blowing. It is large enough to fit a table and chairs inside and tall enough for a 2 meter high person to stand upright, though I am nowhere near that height. It has windows that let enough sunlight in to keep from needing a lantern. It isn’t too heavy though I would rather not have to carry it any great distance. I am very pleased with it overall. I activated Big Spring State Park today and made a total of 46 contacts to include some park-to-park contacts which is always nice. The day was a good one weather wise. I am trying to take advantage of all the nice days we are having. I used to do a lot of portable operating when I was younger, operating QRP and doing it as a personal readiness exercise. I, over time, fell out of that habit. POTA renewed my interest in it and I admit that I have dived right in. I am a neophyte to the POTA program but I enjoy the “freshness” of the whole thing. Each time I go out there is a new motivation. It is the same with hunting at home. Each time I reach a new goal hunting, I set another one. Another new experience I had today was a drive-by by a DCNR vehicle. When we were taking our stuff down they came back and talked to us for a few minutes. The driver was the regional manager for some of the local parks and was interested in what we were doing (in a good way). She even asked about the POTA program and for the web page for more information. We (my wyfe and myself) answered their questions and they seemed happy when they left. Well enough blathering. As soon as hunting season is over, I hope to activate some of the State Game Lands around here. Keep watching for new entries and stay safe. Namaste, kidlets

Ptolomey watching my 6 as I log a contact.

My set up including owl, log book, battery and coffee … always coffee. 🙂

And just like that, November was gone!

November 30, 2023 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It was a rare and beautiful late Autumn day, today and I took advantage of it. The sun was out of the clouds and the temperature was heading up to the high 40’s F (8 C) and the outdoors was calling to me. My wyfe and I set out to Kings Gap (K-4361) and I set up quickly. Tootsie watched over my shoulder for lions, tigres and bears (and the odd hunter or 2) and I was on the air. The 40 metre band was not in the best of shape but I was able to make 18 contacts including 3 park-top-park contacts. I call this a success. I did have to move a bit up as someone came on just below me and was carrying on a QSO but that happens. I think the next time I blog I will have something new and exciting to report … maybe something unexected. 🙂 Until then, Namaste.

Still life with owl, thermos and antenna

Ha Ha Charade You Are

November 26, 2023 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It was a somewhat gloomy day though not quite. Actually, it was pretty nice when we set out, my long-suffering wyfe and I. The goal was to activate K-1376, Little Buffalo State Park, about 19 kilometers away in New Bloomfield PA. The parking area near the swimming pool is gated off for the season which had no effect on me as I had no plans on going to that end of the park anyway. We went to the boat launch area. It overlooks the Eastern end of the lake and is usually less crowded with foot traffic. Today there were a few dog walkers and one fellow who put his boat into the water and went fishing but that was all. A side note about the fisherman, He had something in his truck that was causing a broad band humming on my radio, not enough to interfere but it was noticeable. It stopped when he shut the truck off. Anyway, I was set up in about 15 minutes and go on the air. I used my Buddistick this time and had good results. Ever since I stopped trying to tune using the counterpoise and started using a 6 meter by 10 centimeter strip of copper mesh as a ground plane, tuning it with my tuner is a breeze. I started operating on 7.188 MHz and made several contacts and then had to move due to a net coming in on top of me. I moved to 7.278 MHz and was able to finish out my operation. I stayed as long as I could but the cold did get the best of me. The temperature was around 7C but the wind was blowing from off the lake a constant 11 Kph and gusting to 28 Kph which took the core temperature right out of me, in spite of the copious amounts of coffee and the nice blanket I was sitting on. I made 46 contacts and had Zarathustra with me to keep watch for lake monsters. Namaste for now, kidlets.

My Buddistick. The cones mark the copper mesh ground plane.

Zarathustra watching over my shoulder for lake monsters

Always have a plan “B”

November 16, 2023 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Once again it was too nice a day to waste, so my long-suffering wyfe, my owl Ptolomy and myself set out to activate a park. I wanted to get a new one (at least new to me) in the books so we headed to Col Denning State Park, just on the other side of Doubling Gap. It was a great day and it did not take long to get set up. Unfortunately I was unable to make more than one contact. He was mobile and in RI so I know it wasn’t my antenna. Just circumstances, I guess. There was no internet signal where I was so I could not see if I was spotted, nor could I spot myself. Oh well, such is life and ham radio. On to Plan B. Not too far away is the Three Square Hollow Vista in Tuscarora State Forest, which I have worked from before. It is a beautiful location with an outstanding view and good radio visibility. Within about 1/2 hour of operating I was able to make 29 contacts including some park-to-parks which helped ease the sting of an unsuccessful attempt. All in all it was a great day. I even got to chat a bit with some of the other hams out there. I am attaching the obligatory photos of Ptolomey, my radio and the view from both locations. Namaste, kidlets, until next time.

Ptolomey watching my 6 at Col Denning State Park.
Yes, that is a thermos of coffee.

Ptolomey at Three Square Hollow Vista blocking my view of Cumberland County PA.

“There’s More To Life Than Ham Radio, You Know…And Here Ya’ Are, And It’s A Beautiful Day.”

November 7, 2023 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Wow! What a gorgeous day! It was too good a day to waste so I set out to do an activation. All too soon I will be trapped inside by the weather so I am taking advantage of every day that I can. Today, 7 November, it was in the mid 70’s F(low 20’s C) and mostly sunny. The only bad thing about the whole day was the almost constant barrage of large pine cones falling on and around my operating location. I got my antenna up in the tree with very few issues and was on the air. I got off to a bit of a slow start but soon made my 10 contacts. I sat there drinking coffee and playing radio in the sunshine for about an hour and totally enjoying myself until the realization of life intruded upon my zen. I had some adulting to do. I made a total of 45 contacts within an hour so I called it a day. Again, thanks go to those who hunted me and to my long suffering wyfe who puts up with me and to my owl, Tootsie who kept away the lions and tigres and bears. Until next time, kidlets, namaste.

Again I did it, Ooops!

November 2, 2023 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Well no shit, there I was, up at the Three Square Hollow Vista in Tuscarora State Forest setting up for an activation. It was a nice sunny day today albeit, there was a chill wind blowing. Anyway, I threw my arborist bag up over a convenient tree limb and, sure enough, the damn thing wrapped around it 6 times. Uttering several words that would cause any residual green leaves to turn various shades of colour, I tied my hammer to the other end of my throwing line and proceeded to throw it over the branch to unwind the wrappings. as I was partway through this operation, a vehicle pulled up next to mine and a couple of hunters got out. They came over to me and asked me about ham radio and went about their business of using their cell phones as this is one of the few spots in this area of the mountain that has reception. I got my bag unwound and got my antenna raised up. They asked a few more questions and seemed surprised that I planned on using such a small piece of wire to talk to people all over the place. I assured them it would work. They then took their leave and drove off. I sat down and hooked up my rig and made 33 contacts from CT to MI to SC to ON over the course of the next 45 minutes. The main problem was the wind blowing directly on my back. It was chilling me right through. If it hadn’t been for that I would have stayed longer. I am not looking forward to the colder weather coming but will continue to try activating as much as I can until it just gets too bad. I am including a picture of Zarathustra monitoring me and the view over my shoulder. In any event, Namaste until next time, kids.

Nature, Radio, and Me

A POTA Explorer's Diary

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