In Before The Heat

July 20, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Today is 20 July 2025, the 56th anniversary of the moon landing. I told my tale of where I was that day in a previous post, so if that holds interest you will have to scroll through my blog. Yesterday SWMBO and I bottled my IPA. It has a good taste, leaning toward being hoppy as an IPA should. The process only took 1 hour and 12 minutes which is pretty good considering that we haven’t bottled for a few years, having used kegs. There is something relaxing and zen-like in the rhythm of bottling. I was filling the bottles and SWMBO was capping. I think she likes capping as it allows her to take out aggressions on inanimate objects. 🙂 Today we set out to do an activation before the heat got oppressive. It is Support Your Parks Weekend and I wanted to get an activation in. It was hot and humid when we got to King’s Gap US_4361. This is our first time back to Kings Gap since January. The humidity climbed up to around 3500% before we left. We were set up and on the air in a short bit of time and within 40 minutes made 28 contacts (all on 40 meters). Our app recorded the following birds: Red-Eyed Vireos, Chapping Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Eastern Towhees, Eastern Wood-Peewees, Worm-eating Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, Tufted Titmouses, American Goldfinches and Downy Woodpeckers. We then decided that it was too uncomfortable to stay there so we packed up and left to do some shopping before having breakfast at Newville Diner. I have officially received my certificates for the SYP weekend: Hunter and Activator. I know it isn’t a great feat, but I am still happy with it. Now I am resting after putting in a new air conditioner. Kalamazoo is sitting on my lap though he is hinting that he wants food. I guess this is a good place to end this for today. Always remember that the simple things in life are the best and pleasure is all in your mind and attitude. Until next time, namaste.

The Number 13, Owls On The Hood And A Flamingo’s Day Out

July 6, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It has been a busy week. I had to work 4 consecutive days, Monday thru Friday (12 hours at night) and that makes a person tired. This was also the week for the 13 Colonies Special Event, which is a major event in ham radio with thousands of stations vying to contact all the stations. Well, I was able to complete a clean sweep as of Friday, 4 July. I was pretty happy with that. Most of those stations I worked on CW, the rest SSB. Yesterday, 5 July 2025, SWMBO and I set out to get an activation in before it got too hot. We went to the ATV lot in Michaux State Forest US-5471. The last time we activated the lot was in March. As usual there were a few people there but not enough to make it difficult. One thing I like about the place is the fact that the people up there mind their own business and don’t worry about what other folks are doing. We made 31 contacts in an hour (9 of them park-to-park) and then the heat started building so we packed up and left. We came home and did some grocery shopping. Today, 6 July 2025, we went to the State Game Lands #169 US-8867 and spent some time there in the morning, again before the heat. We brought along Charade, the flamingo and Ptolomey, the owl. The lot we park at is on a back road so there is not a whole lot of traffic. This one we hadn’t activated since back in October of last year. Since this is a game land, I do try to avoid it during hunting seasons. It is a nice quiet area and a good place to park and play radio. Surprisingly, it has only been activated a total of 18 times. We made 14 contacts in about an hour as the bands were not that great today. We had a visit from a guy in his early 20’s who left when he discovered that I was holding an antenna rather than a fishing pole. On Friday, we brewed a batch of IPA which is currently bubbling away in the fermenter. The only other significant activity this week was we finally had the chance to cut Satan’s Putting Green. The plant growth was pretty high as this was the first chance we had to deal with it since our return from vacation. The amount of rain we had in the past 2 weeks did its work and made the place look like the pastureland it originally was. Here is the list of birds our app picked up today: Northern House Wrens, Gray Catbirds, American Robins, American Goldfinches, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Tufted Titmouses, Yellow Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, Indigo Buntings, House Finches, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Eastern Peewees, Cedar Waxwings, Carolina Wrens and Field Sparrows. I guess this is my latest update. I am attaching a couple of pictures and a link to a video of the IPA boiling. As always, namaste kiddos.

Moxie and Missy guard the radio as Zarathustra watches our 6

Ptolomey, Missy, and Moxie at State Game Lands 169

Charade the flamingo enjoying his day out.

Too Soon?

May 23, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

I have found that the older you get, the quicker time goes by. I just finished a 4 day break from work. Another member of the team had to swap days with me as he had an obligation out of state to attend to. This means that my work schedule is a bit skewed. I was off for the past 4 nights and now I have to work for the next 4 nights. This did allow me to do some activations. I posted in a previous entry about not being in Hawaii but I went out on the 21st, also. It was a short, spur-of-the-moment activations. The bands were bad due to solar activity and I was only able to work 15 stations in an hour at Big Spring State Park US-4355. Before we had finished it started to rain so my owl got moist. I will be adding, either tonight or tomorrow night, a video of a train I took while sitting in the Lincoln diner, to my Youtube channel. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/@gestyrious/videos. Anyway, I am sitting here drinking coffee and considering getting ready for work. I enjoy my job so that is no big thing but the hours do get long. A 12 hour shift can be a bit endless on the 4th consecutive night. I guess we all have to make our way as best we can and take the ups with the downs. SWMBO and I got some new action cameras so I might be adding more videos soon. In any event, it is Memorial Day Weekend so let us take a moment to think of those who sacrificed their lives to ensure our rights and freedoms. Well, one of my cats, Kalamazoo, is begging me for some treats so I better comply. For now and as always, namaste kiddos.

Ptolomey in the rain at Big Spring State Park

Funny, This Doesn’t Look Like Hawaii

May 20, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It was a beautiful day today so SWMBO and I set out this morning to do an activation and checkout a cemetery. We decided to go to Gathland State Park US-1574 which is a 2-fer as the Appalachian Trail US-4556 runs right through it next to where we were parked. We were going to park in the lower parking lot, but another ham was there, and we didn’t want to crowd or bother him. We got set up and made 25 contacts within about 40 minutes which was pretty good as the bands were pretty bad. We had 3 park-to-parks and then set out for a nearby cemetery for some video and photography. You can find some interesting things in cemeteries such as the carvings on the older stones. The cemetery we went to was Union Cemetery in Burkittsville MD. I found an interesting carving which I will include below. From there we went to Gettysburg PA US-0027 for another activation and to get lunch. We had stopped at one of our favorite spots, Culp’s Hill and making contacts was like pulling teeth. It took almost an hour to make 22 contacts, 3 of which were park-to-parks. Of the 22 contacts, 19 were on 20M (not my favorite band) and the first ones were on 40M. As I had said, conditions were bad and sometimes things got a bit lost or garbled which is what happened to my park number. One of our contacts re-spotted me on the POTA app as US-0037 (Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park) instead of US-0027 (Gettysburg National Military Park) which caused a slight bit of confusion. I was wondering why people were thinking we were in HI and not PA as I kept identifying. I hope this didn’t screw up their logs or ruin their days. I didn’t find out about the spotting error until we were sitting in the Lincoln Diner in Gettysburg and I saw the mistake on my HAM Alert app. In any event, I chalk it up to mistakes happen. At least the log I uploaded to the app is correct. We did hear a lot of birds today both in MD and PA. The list is as follows: Red-Eyed Vireos, Yellow Throated Vireos, Wood Thrushes, Blue Jays, American Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, House Sparrows, Black and White Warblers, Eastern Wood Peewees, American Robins, Scarlet Tanagers, Cedar Waxwings, Chipping Sparrows, Jack Sparrows, European Starlings, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers and Great Crested Flycatchers. I would have to classify today as a success but I really will be thankful when the bands get better. I will be uploading a few new videos to my Youtube page soon. Until next time, namaste kids.

Usually the finger on tombstones points up. Makes you wonder…

A cool stump in Union Cemetery in Burkittsville MD

Too Windy For Owls And Some Ruminations On Being A Ham

March 2, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It is March already and it’s living up to its reputation for being windy. Yesterday it was nice temperature wise but it was windy. We activated the ATV Lot in Michaux State Forest US-5471 and made 36 contacts in spite of the doom and gloomers warning of poor activity on a contest weekend. More on that later. There were a few trucks at the lot, ATVers out for rides, mostly. There was one guy who brought his dogs up for a frolic. They were cute little long haired dachshunds. Some riders came off the trails and loaded up to leave. We got some curious looks but no interaction. We were unable to hear any birds due to the wind. Neither yesterday nor today did we plan ahead, we just did it. Today we ventured to Caledonia State Park US-1337. We parked in one of the parking lots and got set up quickly. There were a few people enjoying the park and walking some of the trails. Again, we got some curious looks but the only person who said anything thought we were fishing when he saw me putting away my 40M hamstick. We made 37 contacts with one from England. All in all a good time in spite of the wind. The guy who asked about the fishing, when I told him it was ham radio, remarked that he has always wanted to be a ham. Then he walked away. I know how that goes. I always wanted my license but things like life and irresponsibility got in the way of my aspirations. Finally in July 1998 I got my license. I started out as a tech and then got tech plus then general and advanced and then I passed the Extra license 1 week before the FCC dropped the Morse Code requirement from 20 WPM to 5 WPM. I still use CW from home and enjoy the rhythm of it. As for contesting, I am not much of a contester. I don’t have the attention span to devote a whole weekend to radio. I try to keep things balanced and do my best to keep SWMBO happy. I like to think of myself as an all-around ham. I participate in the local ARES group and am ready and willing to help out in an emergency. Mostly I just enjoy talking on the radio and getting out into nature. SWMBO enjoys helping me by logging and she also likes to do day trips to get out of the house. As for working POTA on a contest weekend, it is easy. I start out on 40M as it doesn’t really go long during daylight hours. Usually, I can get enough contacts to be legitimate before I move to another band. During contests I like getting on the WARC bands where contesting isn’t allowed. I can always find people on 12 or 17M. Well I guess I am finished for today. Keep smiling, keep on hamming and POTA on! Namaste y’all.

A view looking down the ATV lot in Michaux SF

Moxie at the ATV lot guarding the radio.

A Two-fer And A Onesie

February 25, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

A good time was had by all today! We did a couple of activations today. We heard the following birds: American Crow, House Finch, American Robin, Tufted Titmouse (or was that titted tuftmouse?) Canada Goose, Carolina Wren and Northern Mockingbird. Quite a bunch! Last night I asked SWMBO where we should go to activate today. She suggested Maryland. She also talked me into activating multiple parks (like that took a lot of arm twisting lol). Well I was looking at a map and a list of parks and decided to go to Gathland State Park US-1574 in Jefferson Maryland. It is located on South Mountain and was the site of a civil war battle. It is a small quiet park though a few people were there when we arrived. A man came over to the car as I was setting up and introduced himself as KB3EOF, Sandy. He had just finished activating the park. It is nice to have a face-to-face qso. He gave me a call when he got home and I got him in the log as a hunter. After he left I finished setting up and got on the air. With SWMBO logging we worked 43 stations, all on 40M. This park was also a 2-fer as the Appalachian Trail US_4556 runs through it. We then took a walk around the park, read the historical signs and took pictures. We then set out for Harpers Ferry National Historical Park US-0735. Harpers Ferry was only about 15 minutes away so that was convenient. We spoke with the people in the Visitors Center and they were very okay with ham radio activities in the park. One of their volunteers is a ham and he has activated the park himself. Though the AT runs through Harpers Ferry, we were too far away from the trail to count it. We only worked 25 contacts here on both 40M and 17M. We got some contacts from all over the US, a couple from Europe and I was very surprised and pleased to receive a call from A65D in the UAE. This is the first contact I have had with that country and was glad to get it into the log. Now I am sitting at home with a cat taking over my lap. The cat in question is Kalamazoo, one of my pocket panthers. Well I am going to close for today. Namaste kidlets!

The War Correspondents Memorial at Gathland SP

When is the last time you have seen one of these?

The Day of Pork Sausage

February 2, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Well it happened this morning. At least they didn’t lie like they do a lot of years. Pencilvania’s rodent celebrity is purported to having seen his shadow. If they had said otherwise I would be jumping up and down screaming “LIARS!!!!”. At sunrise this morning the sun was shining right in SWMBO’s and my eyes as we travelled to Susquehanna State Park (US-1601) in Maryland. It is a nice drive through the countryside of PA and MD. The fields are mostly bare and though the temperature was -3 C, it was pleasant. We pulled into the park at the boat launch and were set up very quickly. There were a few fishermen on the ramp below us but we didn’t interact with them. The loons were out on the river along with Canada Gooses. In fact, our phone app heard Canada Geese and Tufted Titmouses. Well I started out on 40M with SWMBO logging as usual and the contacts were coming in fast and furious. I barely had time to post spots which is a good thing. We knocked off 24 contacts and SWMBO suggested we move to another park. We tore down and made our way to Palmer State Park (US-1587) which was only about 15 minutes away. Again, most of the drive was through the scenic countryside, this time with the sun behind us. At one point along the way a couple of ruminants crossed the road in front of us. I had never been to Palmer SP before and found a spot in the first parking lot we came to. There were hiking paths and a few people were out walking their dogs or just out for a walk. We got set up and started out on 40 M, making contacts from MA to GA and points in between. We were quickly a bonafide activation and after 18 contacts we swapped antennae and started on 17 M. This band was slow at first but soon picked up. We had a couple of contacts from Sweden, one from the Dominican Republic and several from places like Texas and Alabama. When we decided to pack up we had worked 35 contacts and I had officially activated 30 distinct parks since starting my POTA adventures. This gives me a Gold Activator award. We activated the phone app and heard Red-bellied Woodpeckers, House Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tufted Titmouses, and White-breasted Nuthatches. As we were operating the sky went from clear blue to a dull and foreboding gray. It is still overcast now as I sit in the comfort of my shack drinking coffee and interacting with the cats. I am soon going to have to fill the pellet stove. Well I believe I have prattled on enough for one day. Everyone have a day! Namaste, kidlets!

Moxie and Tootsie enjoying Susquehanna State Park

Na And Nock

December 26, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

SWMBO and I decided to go for a little ride today and activate US-1601 Susquehanna State Park in Maryland. It was overcast and gloomy and the temperature was hovering just above freezing. We got set up and dove right in. In around 45 minutes we worked 28 contacts total on 40M and 12M. We had set up at the same place we did the last time we were here: the boat ramp. As we were working stations we got to watch loons, ducks and a bald eagle swimming and flying around. Our app on the phone heard American Crows, Downy Woodpeckers, Whited Throated Sparrows and Northern Cardinals. We made a Park-to-Park contact with someone working a 2-fer. Overall, it was a fun and successful activation. Then it happened: SWMBO said “how about we go to another park?” We tore down and set out. On the way we went over the dam at the Conowingo Hydro plant. SWMBO wanted to video the crossing so when we got across, we turned around and crossed it again. It is a monumental structure and dates back to 1928. The original town of Conowingo MD had to be moved when they constructed the dam and is now submerged in the reservoir. From there we travelled up river a few miles to Susquehannock State Park US-1425. This was the first time I activated this park but it won’t be the last. We set up in the parking lot for the overlook area and we were the only people . There were some beautiful holly trees in the median. We only heard Northern Cardinals there, though. In 25 minutes we made 19 contacts on 40M and 12M to include a 2-fer Park-to-Park with 2 operators. I was getting good signal reports and am hoping the solar cycle continues this way. Well I am back home, sipping coffee and enjoying the warmth of the stove so I think I will say Namaste. kiddos!

Moxie and Tootsie at Susquehanna State Park in Maryland

Moxie and Tootsie at Susquehannock State Park in PA

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.

Nature, Radio, and Me

A POTA Explorer's Diary

POTA