Chilly Activation

December 3, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

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

November 28, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

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.

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

June 4, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

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.

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

March 10, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

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.

Should we have brung the flamingo?

February 27, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Had a great day today. SWMBO and I set out after breakfast for Milton State Park and Shikellamy State Park for a couple activations. Ptolomey came along to grace us with his presence (or to present us with his graces, that much is unclear). It was a nice warm day at the start. Milton SP is located on an island in the Susquehanna River and reachable by bridge from either Milton or West Milton. I found a nice spot to set up and was soon on the air. We made a total of 30 contacts on 3 bands including 1 with a station from the Dominican Republic. We got some curious looks from other people in the park; joggers and dog walkers for the most part, but no one approached us. It was a very nice park and we will be back another day. I think the weather has people itching to get outside and dust the winter off of their hands.

The next destination is a short 20 minute drive away. As I described in a previous entry, Shikellamy SP Overlook sits on a 120 meter high cliff above the Susquehanna River. We had passed the signs for this overlook numerous times over the years and never stopped here. What a loss on our part. Just the view is worth it. Since we don’t completely dis-assemble the antenna or the rig/tuner when we move locations, it doesn’t take long to get set up again. This time we only worked on 40 meters and quickly knocked off 20 contacts. Overall a great success. Ptolomey agrees with me. Between the 2 activations we worked 4 park-to-parks varying from RI to TX. It was a great day. I do think next time we should bring one of my lawn flamingos to share in the fun. Enough for now, kidlets. Namaste, y’all