It May or May Not Be a Great Day!

May 21, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yeah, more activations. Yesterday, Monday May 20th, we had to go to the store to get some cat treats so we grabbed the POTA gear and stopped off at Little Buffalo SP US-1376. While I was getting my antennae out, WA3ENQ, stopped by. He had been walking his dog and saw us pull in. We chatted for a few minutes and then he went off home. Not too much later he gave me a call and just happened by luck to be my 10th contact, making the activation bona fide! Rich is a fellow member of the Perry County Amateur Radio Club (https://perrycountyarc.org) and it was nice to see him and log him. We totaled 25 contacts in less than an hour on 40M and it was so busy I only took one picture! Today, Tuesday the 21st of May we set out early. We started out with breakfast (the most important meal of the day) at the Newville Diner in Newville PA. We then drove down into Maryland into the Catoctin Mountains. We were going to try Catoctin Mountain Park but the road to it was closed due to construction. We later found out there is an alternate route which we will try another time. We ended up at Cunningham Falls State Park US-1566. This was my first chance to use my Golden Age pass which lets us into the park free. We found a nice out of the way place to park and worked 12 contacts (6 park-to-park) on 40 Meters and 1 on 17 Meters before deciding to trollop up to Gettysburg PA US-0027. Now the battlefield in Gettysburg is big … very big and there are lots of places to work from but I chose Culp’s Hill as being a shaded and less travelled hilltop. Yes it does have a tower and is a destination for bus and car tours but is less of a draw than places like the “high-water mark” or Little Roundtop (which is currently closed for cleaning). It being mid-day I started out on 17 Meters and worked 6 stations. I then changed to 40 M and worked 3 more before swapping to 20 Meters. We worked 18 overall there including 2 park-to-parks. Now when I use “we” in my blog I am actually using the first person plural, not the “royal we”. Without the help of my wonderful and long suffering wyfe, these activations would not go so smoothly and also most of the good ideas are hers. Ok, kidlets, cheers for now. Namaste.

Zarathustra on Culps Hill

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

April 14, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

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.

Ptolomey watching me make a call at Kings Gap

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.

The Flamingo Has Landed!

March 3, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

A great day, today. We set out to activate 2 parks and met our goal. After a great breakfast at Newville Diner we drove down to Mont Alto State Park (K-1386). Initially I did not have high hopes for this park. It is a tiny park located along a somewhat busy road and is down between some hills. I didn’t think the radio signals would get out, combined with the contesting going on this weekend. I was wrong! We made 33 contacts including 5 park-to-parks , all on 40 meters during the morning! The only negative was that I had unintentionally started out too close to a net which I did not hear. I had asked if the frequency was open, heard no reply and listened for 2 minutes before asking again. I worked a few stations and then got asked to move. I apologized and found another frequency. Stuff happens. We spent about an hour there and it was very fruitful.

After picking up our gear, SWMBO and I went to Caledonia State Park, K-1337 where we worked a total of 28 contacts of which 9 were park-to-parks. There were a lot of people out and about in the park, biking, walking, and enjoying the day in general. We had one man approach us and ask questions about what we were doing and regale us with stories about his father having a Zenith short wave receiver which he used to listen to the world broadcasts on. A couple of pickup trucks pulled up next to us and we met face to face with W3TWB and N3AIR who were also out activating. We chatted for a few minutes before they took off and went to set up their operation. I was very pleased with how the morning went and SWMBO seemed to enjoy herself. She even got to see a very cool pavilion at Mont Alto next to Antietam Creek and she took a video of a waterfall at Caledonia. As has been said many times, many ways, a good time was had by all. Namaste Kidlets!

Charade the flamingo feeding off of stray rf at the foot of the antenna as Tootsie watches our 6

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

Ptolomey overseeing the Milton Island operation.

Ptolomey watching over us at Shikellamy SP. The cones mark my coax and my faraday cloth.

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

Overlooking the Susquehanna

February 4, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Activated a new (to me) park today: K-1421 Shikellamy State Park. The name is almost pronounced like “she’ll kill me”. lol There are 2 parts to the park. One part is down at a boat launch on the river. The one we went to is located on top of a 120 meter high cliff overlooking the Susquehanna River. The view is remarkable. Since it was such a nice day, there was a lot of activity in the park, people walking and playing and enjoying an unusual February day. The lot where we were parked was pretty much deserted, which suited us. I placed my antenna on a slight rise towards a pavillion and started out working 20 meters. Between 20 and 40 meters I was able to make 37 contacts including 6 park to park. I will have to try this place again. When the weather is like this during the winter you really have to take advantage of it. Someone posed the question online why do people do POTA? I have to stick with the fact that it is a great way for chubby older hams to get outside and be active. I have always enjoyed the outdoors and though I am not in the shape I used to be in, I still like to get out and about. POTA gives me a reason. It also gives my long-suffering wyfe some togetherness time with me as she logs for me. It is a win-win situation. We plan on making more and more forays further from home as the weather improves and the days get longer. We would both like to go back up to Elk County and I might try a park or 2 up there. Who knows what time will bring. We are also looking forward to our yearly vacation and see these activations as practice runs for activations up in New England.

Well enough for now. Time to drink some coffee. Namaste, kidlets

Nature, Radio, and Me

A POTA Explorer's Diary

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