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

Should I Have Brought A Flamingo?

May 11, 2025May 27, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yesterday and today, both, had very poor conditions for some reason. Yesterday, 10 May, we (SWMBO) and I took a drive to Lum’s Pond State Park US-1741 in Delaware. It was a nice drive through some scenic countryside. The only down side was having to dodge all the Amish buggies in Lancaster County. Anyway, we got onsite at Lum’s Pond and set up. We started making contacts at 13:00 UTC and by 13:55 UTC we had made a total of 11 contacts. It was a bit down heartening but from what I read on the interwebs, it was poor conditions all around. Now today, we went to breakfast at Grandpa’s Love Shack. After breakfast we did some grocery shopping and then we both tackled Satan’s Putting Green. SWMBO was using the lawnmower and I was using Nemesis which is what I named my heavy-duty walk behind string trimmer. We also tried out my power pruning shears on the bamboo in the back 40, thinning it out. These shears are impressive, cutting through 2.5 CM bamboo stalks like a hot knife through butter. All in all it was a productive hour. Next we helped my brother in law empty some stuff from his storage bin. After all this a decision was made to do an activation. We tried the Pioneer Cemetery in Pandamonium but there were people there so we travelled on to the 3 Square Hollow Vista. Again, it was a bit crowded so we trolloped over to the site where an Army cargo plane crashed back in 1956. You can see a video I took there on my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@gestyrious/videos). Well I sat there doing my radio stuff and over the course of 57 minutes we made 14 contacts. In both cases, 3 Square Hollow and Lum’s Pond, we made enough contacts to be legitimate activations. I had my owls and gnomes with me but I wonder if I should have brought a flamingo? I can always try next time. Ok kids, ttfn and namaste.

Missy, Moxie and Tootsie at the plane crash site on Blue Mountain

A Sunny Day, 3 Parks And A Walk

May 2, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yesterday, 1 May 25, was a really nice day. The sun was shining and the temps were in the upper 20’s C. SWMBO suggested we go activate 3 parks and then have lunch. I grabbed some coffee from the local store, PDS, and we drove down to Cunningham Falls State Park US-1566 in Maryland. I have a park pass so I do not have to pay admission to the parks in Maryland, which is handy. We got set up and on the air by 0840. We were the only people in the park aside from the rangers. Band conditions were bad, it was almost like pulling teeth to get contacts but we made 11 contacts in about 20 minutes. We decided to move on and go to Catoctin Mountain Park US-0666. We stopped at the visitors center to make sure it was ok to operate. Camp David is close to the park and you need to check with the rangers before you play radio. It was a good idea to check with them as I was informed by the ranger on duty that the Chestnut Picnic Area was being used by school groups. He suggested we go to Thurmont Vista parking area and it turns that it was a good suggestion. There were very few people around, mostly folks out for a walk. We got set up and on the air by 0940 and made 16 contacts by 1001. It was such a nice day that we decided to take a walk on the Charcoal Trail. This is a loop through the woods where they used to make charcoal for the local furnaces. There are displays along the trail which showcase the activities and process in making charcoal. It was just nice to get out and about in the forest. There were mosquitos buzzing around but we survived them. I will post my videos of the walk on my YouTube channel. Just do a search for Planet Gestyrious in the next few days. Anyway, we made it back to the car and went to Gettysburg US-0027. As usual, we set up on Culp’s Hill and made 12 contacts in 23 minutes before we called it a day. I was putting away my antenna when a man walked up and asked if I was fishing. I told him it was ham radio. He seemed to lose interest. As I had stated earlier, bands were not in good shape. Between the three parks we heard the following birds: Carolina Wrens, Red-Eyed Vireos, Tufted Titmouses, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Wood Thrushes, American Robins, American Redstarts, Eastern Wood-Peewees, Oven Birds, Northern Parulas and Great-Crested Flycatchers. We drove from Culp’s Hill to downtown Gettysburg and ate at the Lincoln Diner which is located by the railroad station. We highly recommend it though the seating is old and uncomfortable. The food there is very good and the staff friendly and courteous. Well I guess that is my update for today. Namaste and stay cool.

A hut used by colliers during charcoal making season. Catoctin Mountain Park

A view of the forest at Catoctin Mountain Park.

Moxie, Missy and Zarathustra at Cunningham Falls SP

Missy, Zarathustra and Moxie guarding my radio and the car at Catoctin Mountain Park.

Two Days Out And About

April 22, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Avail yourselves of refreshing beverages and hearken to my tale of two very active days and two activations. Yesterday April 21st, a Monday, SWMBO and I had a busy day after I awoke from my sleep. We did some errands then we tackled Satan’s Putting Green for the first time this year. She used the lawnmower and I got all cave-man with the industrial weed wacker. This thing is made for heavy grass and light brush and uses 1/4 inch strings. It does the job and gets results. Once this herculean task was finished, we went for groceries. This brings us to the point where we decided to activate. SWMBO wanted to go to the Pioneer Cemetery in Tuscarora State Forest US-5479. The cemetery is located in an area known as Pandemonium. The road going up there is mostly gravel after the pavement ends. I was surprised that there were no birds to be heard there nor did we see any wildlife apart from squirrels. While she was going around taking pictures and shooting videos, I set up. I started operating on 40M and it did not take long to rack up 22 contacts (less than half an hour) and we packed it in. SWMBO did the logging, as usual. I did make a screw up by asking one ham to stand by because I wanted to work a weaker signal station and I didn’t get back to him. Next time I hear him on the air I will apologize. This brings us to today. This morning we went to some cemeteries in the Mechanicsburg area. You might notice a theme. We like taking pictures and photos in cemeteries. In one of the cemeteries we visited is buried a woman whose cause of death was spontaneous combustion! We then trolloped off to Gettysburg for a quick activation and a lunch at the Lincoln Diner. Through the course of the day our phone app heard: American Robins, Fish Crows, Northern Flickers, American Pipits, Chipping Sparrows, Blue Jays, American Crows, Northern Cardinals, White-Breasted Nuthatches and Red-Winged Blackbirds. I guess they were all out enjoying a nice day. Instead of going to Culp’s Hill where we usually go, we went to Barlow Ridge, near the Peace Light on Mummasburg Road. The contacts were slow to come today. I tried 40M and worked 5 before getting a bit frustrated. I went to 17 M and worked 7 more before we called it a day and went to lunch. If you are ever in Gettysburg, check out the Lincoln Diner. You won’t be disappointed. Well kidlets, here ends my tale for now. Below are some pics. I will be uploading at least 1 video to https://www.youtube.com/@gestyrious/featured in the next few days. Enjoy life and, as always, namaste!

2 Weeks And I Am Back

April 13, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

On 31 March, I took my car to the body shop due to damage from a ruminant running into my door. I finally got it back on Wednesday, 9 April . The rental I had was really bad. I didn’t like it at all nor did my wyfe. We are thrilled to have our Scoobydoo back. We went out yesterday driving around and looking for places to take pictures and videos. We ended up on the back roads around Gettysburg. One place we stopped was at Sachs Bridge. The bridge was used by the Confederate Army during their withdrawal from Gettysburg after the battle. It is a “Town” Truss type covered bridge and the area is a great spot to fish or just watch the creek roll by. Today we set out to do an activation and play with the cameras again. I asked SWMBO to pick a direction and she had said south. We took off directed south and made our way to Fort Frederick in Maryland which is a park I hadn’t activated before. Where we parked was next to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal which is a historic trail and on the list of places you can activate. It is officially a National Park and runs from Washington DC to Cumberland MD along the Potomac River. This made our activation a 2 fer.I used my app to listen for birds and we heard Northern Cardinals, White-Throated Sparrows, American Goldfinches, Tufted Titmouses, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Carolina Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushes and Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers. We started operating and within a half hour we worked 41 contacts. We then played tourist in the park and did some photography and videos. It was a good weekend and it is good to be back in my car where I can work POTA stations. Thanks for being there. Namaste.

A ruminant track next to my car. Quarter is for scale.

Not A Hog But I Feel Warty

March 25, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

I got my second “Rover Warthog” award and I blame SWMBO. 🙂 We left early today and went to Sweet Run State Park US-9936 in Virginia; located about 4 km from Harpers Ferry. It is a nice little park and easy to find. There is an entrance fee but I guess VA charges for all their parks. The weather was awesome for a day in March. The birds were out in full force. We heard Field Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, Tufted Titmice, American Crows, Fish Crows, House Finches, Northern Cardinals and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers. We had a very successful activation and decided to activate another park. SWMBO asked what was around and we decided on Gathland State Park US-1574 and we parked where the Appalachian Trail US-4556 crossed the park. The scenery is nice in the park and the weather was really great except for a bit of a wind. Zarathustra kept falling off of the car hood. We heard the following birds there: Brown-Headed Cowbirds, Northern Cardinals, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows and Tufted Titmouses. Anyway, after this park we decided to do an activation at Mont Alto State Park US-1386 in PA. Propagation on 40M was bad so we used 17M. We made 10 contacts and moved on to Caladonia State Park US-1337. Again, we went with 17M and made 10 contacts of which one was a 3-fer park-to-park, giving us a total of 12 contacts. We then called it a day for activating and went for lunch. This was a total of 5 parks in 3 different states. Again I thank SWMBO for her suggestions and her mad logging skills. Also she got to wander around a bit and use her new video camera. I will have to view her work. Well enough for now. Namaste and keep your stick on the ice!

War Correspondents Memorial in Gathland State Park

Set up and ready to operate at Sweet Run SP

Lichen growth on a stone wall at Gathland SP

Not Idle On The Ides

March 15, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Hi kidlets. Had a bit of a busy day. SWMBO wanted to do some videoing down in Gettysburg so we set out early to get there before too many people were moving around. Even in Winter and Spring, Gettysburg PA can get quite busy. The weather was dreary with mist and chilly temps so we didn’t take the radio with us. We drove down and drove around the battlefield, stopping now and then to do some videos. As SWMBO was doing her videos, I used my app to see what we could hear for birds. We heard: Northern Cardinals, American Robins, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Tufted Titmouses (titmice?), European Starlings, Song Sparrows, Common Grackles (as opposed to uncommon ones I guess), Cedar Waxwings and Brown-Headed Cowbirds. Quite an assortment. When we were finished, we trolloped back home. I fully intended to do some POTA hunting but then I looked at the forecast for tomorrow. The weather-guessers are calling for rain and winds. Well, we decided to do a quick activation today to get in the logs. It didn’t take us long to grab the gear and drive to Little Buffalo State Park US-1376. We started on 40M. It was a bit hard to find an empty frequency as the VA QSO Party is going on. I found an open spot and we worked 9 stations before we had to surrender the frequency to a rude individual who started calling CQ on top of me without even checking to see if the freq was clear. He wouldn’t leave even after being informed the freq was in use and had been for several minutes. Oh well, it takes all kinds. Rather than put up with this I changed bands to 17M, a WARC band where contesting isn’t allowed. As I was changing antennas, WA3ENQ, Rich, came by and we chatted for a minute. He was in the park de-watering his little doggie. Well I got back on the air and we made a bunch more contacts (17 to be exact) before we packed up and called it a day. At one point a Park Ranger did a slow drive-by but he didn’t stop. I think he was on a routine patrol of the park rather than checking out two weirdos in a car talking on a radio. Overall the day went well and now here I am, sipping coffee. I think I will sign off for today. Namaste kidlets.

Ptolomey, Moxie and the ranger driving past

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!