#AmateurRadio

Chilly Activation

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It was a beautiful day today if you care to ignore the temperature. After breakfast at the Newville Diner, we drove up to the ATV lot in Michaux State Forest US-5471. When we arrived the sky was blue, there was a light breeze and the temperature was 271 K or -2 C or 29 F, whichever you prefer. I like K in the winter because it sounds so much warmer. There were no birds to be heard today and also, luckily, the lot was not filled with the vehicles of hunters taking their rifles for a walk in the forest. There were 3 pickups but it is a big lot so no problems finding parking. We started out on 40 metres and the contacts started coming in fast and furious. I did not have time to spot myself online very often. Within 26 minutes we worked 37 stations from up and down the Eastern 1/3 of the country. Towards the end of that timespan, things started to slow up. I swapped out antennae and went to 12 metres to give the Europeans a chance. We made 21 more QSO’s on 12 and then called last call. Overall 58 contacts in about 1 hour. I know that Costa Rica isn’t Europe, nor is Mexico but I was happy to put them in the logs. We even had a contact from Finland. Overall a great POTA day. Yesterday we brought Calamity to the vet for the first time. She received a clean bill-of-health and will have a follow up in a few weeks for spaying. She is a bit older than I thought she was. The vet said she is around 6 months. That doesn’t make her any less loveable. After we got her home we let her out of the carrier and she was her usual self, apparently forgiving me for subjecting her to the indignities of a vet visit. Right now she is playing fetch with me. Well enough for today. Namaste, kidlets.

Calamity at the vet waiting to be taken home.
Moxie and Tootsie enjoying a sunny December day

500 At Gettysburg

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Thanksgiving 28 Nov 24. Not a pretty day. The dismal sky was a morose shade of gray; a hue that guarantees feelings of despondency and morbidity. It is only in Autumn that such feelings can be invoked by the clouds. The forests of Southern PA were so dank that even Robert Frost could not describe them in an upbeat or pleasant manner. Light rain was attempting to fall and all the birds were in hiding. Of course, we decided to activate. We went to Gettysburg US-0027. We were surprised by the number of people that were strolling around the battlefield. We thought we would have the place to ourselves with most people being at home doing family things but there were pedestrians all over the place in the vicinity of Spanglers Spring and Culp’s Hill. We got set up and started out on 40 M. I figured that there would be a lot of hams at home waiting on their turkey to cook and sneaking away from the family to play on the radio for a brief time and I was right. We had a legitimate activation within 9 minutes which is pretty good for 40 M during daylight hours. We continued on 40 for another half hour, working stations from NH to TN and north to ON. I then made the command decision to change bands and mounted my 10 M antenna. It does not take long to swap antennae. I take the current one off, put on the one for the next band I want to work, tune the radio to an empty freq and get on the air. One thing I try to do is stay within the privilege areas for General Class Licenses. I posted our location on the POTA spotting page and also announced us on the DXSummit page. It did not take long for stations to find us. There were a lot of European stations, we even worked a park-to-park in Germany. We hung around for another half hour end finished up with 53 contacts which made my total for Gettysburg 500 … half way to my Kilo award. Now I am sitting at home letting the pellet stove remove the damp from the air and enjoying coffee as my cats snooze in the warmth. Enough for today. Namaste kidlets.

Moxie and Ptolomey enjoying a foggy and dreary morning on Culp’s Hill.
The flamingos are restless preparing to continue their northern migration.

There’s A Tower On Tower Road. Whoda Thunk It?

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It has been 9 days since my last entry but I had to work for 7 days straight and then last night I was too knackered to do much of anything. Well here I am. We started out the day at the Newville Diner and tried to decide where to activate. We considered Michaux State Forest and changed our minds. We set out for Cowens Gap State Park US-1346 but when we got there we again changed our minds and headed up to Hogback Mountain in Buchanan State Forest US-5463. When we started down Tower Road we saw a ham set up at the first turnoff. It was Chuck, NA1CN, who I had only had online contact with before. We chatted for a few minutes and I made sure that I wasn’t going to interfere with his operation. We drove on, to the end of Tower Road where, LO! AND BEHOLD!, there was a tower. We got set up and started working hunters. 40 meters was in pretty good shape and it did not long for us to be a legit activation. After working 27 contacts . SWMBO suggested that we try another park as long as we were out and about. Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park US-1336 was not very far away so we toodled down there. I decided to start out on 10 meters and we made 9 contacts, a good number of them from Europe. I swapped antennae and gave 40 meters a chance. We only made 1 contact, though it was a park-to-park. I put on the 17 meter hamstick and worked 6 more stations before changing to 12 meters for the final 3. This finished out our activations for the day. The weather was beautiful though there was a bit of a breeze on Hogback Mtn, but it was nuce and warm and sunny. Zarathustra kept blowing off the hood of the car. We didn’t have that problem at Buchanan’s Birthplace and we had parked in the shade of a huge oak tree. The temperature got into the high 20’s Celsius so it was rather comfortable. A lot of the leaves were dropping but there are still plenty on the trees. Oh yeah, our newest kat, Calamity is a radio cat. She likes to sit on my lap or in my arms and watch me playing on the radio here at home. Well my fingers are finged from all this typing and my coffee cup is empty so I am going to close for now. All the best to whomever may read this. Namaste, kidlets.

Calamity the radio cat having a snooze.
Sunset yesterday
Moxie and Zarathustra on Hogback Mountain
Moxie and Zarathustra at Buchanan’s Birthplace
An almost perfect oak leaf

A Very POTA Weekend

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Had a couple days of beautiful weather. The type of days that make you forget that bad weather is coming. We took advantage of the good weather by doing some activations. Yesterday, 12 Oct, we went to Little Buffalo State Park (US-1376) and set up at the boat launch area. I used my 17M hamstick and it did not take long to get enough for a full activation. In all, we worked 17 stations from there of which 1 was a park-to-park. We needed to do some errands so I did not get a chance to take pictures. Well, I have posted pictures of the place before. Today, 13 Oct, we started (at the suggestion of SWMBO) out at Three Square Hollow Vista in Tuscarora State Forest US-5479. As soon as I parked a large group of Amish in a wagon pulled by a tractor arrived. They were soon followed by some young teens who pushed their scooters up the mountain. Like I said, it was a beautiful day and they were taking advantage of the weather and having an outing. They walked by my car and I got more than a few curious looks but they went on down to the picnic table and had their gathering. I installed my 17M hamstick in my mag-mount and called CQ POTA. We worked 11 stations from the Southern part of the US and also had a call from Sweden and one from Spain. 17M was in good shape. We wanted to do another spot so we then packed up and headed down the mountain. We drove the meandering roads of Western Cumberland County to State Game Lands PA-169 US_8867 and parked in one of the more secluded parking areas. We used the app to identify Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmouses (titmice?) and Dark-eyed Juncos. After we setup and got on the air a car containing 3 male teens parked and they set off into the woods. This time I used my 40M hamstick and was able to work PA, ON, NY, WV, KY, GA, OH and MA stations. One of the PA stations to give us a call was KB3PSN who is the president of the local ham club where I live. Not too bad. Since I had more than 10 on 40M, I decided to try 10M. I worked 3 Texas stations and 1 from Mexico. The only drawback today was that it was too windy to put my owl on the hood of my car. Moxie the gnome had to be extra vigilant. I did make a mistake that ended well. I had left my phone on the hood of my car and drove about a mile before I noticed it. I am very lucky that it didn’t fall off! Well I guess I will close for now. Namaste kidlets.

The road and parking area at 3 Square Hollow Vista and Moxie watching our 6.
Moxie watching our 6 at the State Game Lands 169

A Sad Loss, A Good Day, A Not-So Good Day and A Mystery Solved

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First off, the sad part. Our oldest cat, Mote, had to be put to sleep His kidneys failed and he was wasting away. Rather than see him in pain, we made the choice to help him cross over. I held him as he breathed his last and I talked to him and let him know that he was loved and a great little cat. Here is to Mote 2014 to 2024, always my little guy.

Yesterday we went out to Little Buffalo State Park US-1376 and worked 48 stations in about 45 minutes, 3 of which were park-to-parks. We only were on 40 Meters as the contacts were coming in one after the other and I really didn’t have time to think about changing antennae. It was one of those evenings which were almost a perfect radio storm. Non-stop and good reports for the most part. We also had a great view of the lake from where we were sitting. The spot I like to set up at is shaded and out of the way of traffic but affords a good view all around. We do get some curious looks but no one approaches. The only time someone came up and spoke with us was when it was a member of the club who was at the park walking his dog and he had seen us pull in. Overall it was a good evening.

Today, radio-wise was not so good. Propagation was not the best and it was difficult to make 10 contacts. In fact it took us 1 1/2 hours to make 12 contacts. I started out on 6 meters and got no answers but that is to be expected. The band was open but very few people monitor 6. I then tried 12 meters and then 40 meters and then 17 meters and then finally 20 meters. I was able to round out the contacts on 20 meters. We put our stuff away after an hour and a half and went to lunch. That was a success. Earlier, we had a mystery. I keep my antennae in a 3″ (7.62 cm) ID PVC pipe approx 4 foot (1.22 meter) long with end caps. The cap on the bottom is taped in place and the one on the top is not so that it can be removed for access to the antennae. Well I was in the process of switching bands from 12 to 40 meters when I realized that I could not locate the end cap for the top of the pipe. We searched the back of the car and the ground around and could not find the thing. It was very frustrating. Then the thought struck me. I folded back the screen the covers the baggage area of my car and Lo! and Behold! there it was. The mystery was solved and we did not even have to call in those meddling kids and their mangy dog! Well enough for now. Namaste kidlets and So Long to Mote.

Mote: Always my little guy.
Tootsie at Little Buffalo

That Leather Thing on the Back of the Horse: I’m Back in it

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So got my radio back on Friday and the wyfe and I went out today for a couple of activations. We started out at Michaux State Forest (US-5471) at the ATV lot and worked 19 stations after a great breakfast at the Newville Diner. The radio is working great though now I suspect the issue is with the tuner. I was able to work 40 meters but when I tried to tune 15 meters it went back to no output. I went back to 40 meters and worked more stations with no problems. I was starting to suspect the antenna at this point. We packed up and set out for Kings Gap (US-4361). We set up a wire antenna ( a g5rv jr) and got on the air. Again it tuned 40 meters and did not work on 15 meters. Since the radio was fully tested and I swapped antennas and coax, the only thing left is the tuner. I will have to do more testing and try another tuner. In any event we worked 28 stations at Kings Gap in less than an hour. I count today as successful for an activating. Namaste for now kids.

Ptolemy at Michaux State Forest
Ptolomey watching me make a call at Kings Gap

I need a refill for my analogy medicine (Mommy? What’s a meta for?)

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Nope, no activation for me today. I have to work (work is the curse of the drinking class) tonight so I didn’t have the time between chores and sleep to run out anywhere. I did manage to get on the radio for a while and do some hunting and that is what generated this thought train. Other than POTA hunting,I also hunt special event stations and it works about the same. Sometimes you go to the creek after checking the fishing report (POTA spotting and/or special event spots) and toss your bait into a promising spot, hook that fish and move on. Sometimes you get to the creek and there are a bunch of people there vying for the same fish. I remember going fishing for stripers at Parker Dam on the Colorado River in Arizona and marveling at how the safety cable above the dam was used as a mooring spot. The boats stretched from one side of the river to the other,all trying to catch Striped Bass as they were heading upstream to spawn. POTA hunting can be the same. You have to be patient and repeat your call over and over. Wow, another thought. It can be compared to frogs in the Spring. They call again and again and attract swarms of prospective mates. In any event, the competition can be fierce at times or, if the timing is right, you can hit one after the other without much effort. Activating is the other side of the coin. You put your call out there and sometimes getting an answer is similar to pulling teeth from a hen. Other times there are pile ups. How you handle the pile ups is up to you. Some ops go “by the numbers”, calling call areas out numerically, some make lists. I listen for park-to-parks and qrp stations first then I go for the first signal that catches my ear. Sometimes I have to tell a station to stand by when I work another station. Overall, you do the best you can. I guess I have run out of steam for now and I think that if I have not thoroughly confused you, I have confused myself. Namaste for now kidlets.

Hilltop Hamming at Kings Gap

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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.

The ever vigilant Zarathustra
CQ POTA CQ POTA CQ POTA

 

I Got Some ‘Splainin To Do

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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!