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?

Last Week Of January Dirty Snow Icy Roads Blues

January 28, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yep, it’s the last week of January. The pristine and picturesque whiteness of fresh snow has degraded. Now we have dirty dust covered snow, a harridan which used to be virginal and beautiful. I guess it is the cycle of nature, the fresh and new fades away and becomes dismal and mundane. I was thinking of this as I ate breakfast this morning while trying to decide where to activate. I wanted a place where solitude ruled, away from the bustle of people. We ended up going to the ATV Lot in Michaux State Forest US-5471. During the weekends and especially during the summer, the lot is alive with ATVers and other outdoor enthusiasts but today it was empty. Empty and almost forlorn with the parking area a patchwork of gravel and snow. We got set up and I decided to try 40M first. It only took 23 minutes to work 31 stations. The first one I worked was a Park- to -Park. I had tuned to an empty frequency and listened. After a minute I asked if the frequency was in use. I got an immediate reply from N4TRD from a park in NC. He laughingly told me that he was just about to start calling but I had beat him to the punch. We exchanged information and I let him have the freq as he was already spotted here. It was a pleasant and amicable exchange. I tuned to 7.197 and worked a bunch more contacts. Then SWMBO said “How about we finish out this page in the logbook and move to another park?”. It only took us a few minutes to finish that page and then a couple more on the next page. Our total for this park was 31. We then packed up and trolloped over to Kings Gap US-4361. The road up to the mansion (6.5 kilometres) wasn’t as icy as I anticipated. In fact it was mostly bare. I started out on 40M again and then went to 17M. 17 was open and I even worked Alberta which is a Canadian Province which I hadn’t worked before. We racked up 38 contacts and decided to call it a day as we had a few irons in the fire. Basically it was a good day and that alleviated my maudlin mood. 🙂 Well enough for now. I need to fill the stove and get some more coffee. Namaste, kidlets!

Watching Snow Sublimate

December 17, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It was foggy this morning, very foggy. Visibility was about 75 Meters when I first got up. Between Sunday and Monday we acquired about 75MM of snow and then it started to warm up Monday afternoon it started to turn foggy and remained so for the first part of today. We had breakfast at the Blain Hotel and decided to activate Little Buffalo State Park US-1376. It is nice to have parks and game lands nearby. We arrived around 1410 UTC and got on the air about 1420. We started out on 40M and contacts were coming in at a pretty fast rate. We worked stations as far west as Wisconsin and as far south as Georgia. I had very little time to post spots as the contacts were flying in. I am thankful that SWMBO was logging for me as I would not have been able to keep up. Finally they tapered off a bit and I announced that I was changing bands to 12M. We started logging at 1458 UTC on 12 M and immediately started to get results. It was a mix of states to the west of us and stations from Europe. Propagation was a bit weird as some stations from Europe were very strong and we could barely hear others. We had Spain, Italy, Belgium, France and Poland in the log in short order. We worked out to Colorado and down to Texas. Overall we made 67 contacts in an hour before we decided to call it quits for the day. There was much happiness. Once again I used a strategy that has worked well before: start out on either 40 or 80 M for the eastern states and then swap to 12 or 17 meters to give the Europeans a chance. As I was putting the station and antennae up, Glory, SWMBO, used the app Merlin to check out what birds were around. It logged American Crows, American Blue Jays and Canada Geese (gooses?) so there was bird activity. Well enough for today. I have everyone has a great day. Namaste, kiddos.

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 Short Road Trip and More Activations

November 14, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Let me start out by saying how much I enjoy long distance drives in the late night/early morning hours. The traffic is at a low volume and it seems, especially on back roads, that you are alone in your own little bubble. While the world is tucked away in their beds you cruise along blissfully. The only concern is watching out for any animal which may decide to walk or run in front of you. You don’t even need to worry too much about other cars because there are so few. We did this on Monday, 11 November. We set out in the darkness and made our way to West Virginia. Our first stop was in Morgantown, WV, to view the statue of Don Knotts. It sits in front of the theatre where he got his start. The statue is very easy to find. After we took some pictures and acted like typical tourists we resumed our trip. We had planned to stop in Pomeroy, OH, to video river barges but when we got there, a Veterans Day ceremony was going on at the pullout and there was no available parking spaces. We found a place for lunch and then continued to Point Pleasent, WV, home of the Mothman. We took some pics around the town and then it was still to early to check in to our motel so we drove to Tu-Endie-Wei State Park US-1823. It is a nice little park. Its name means “Between Two Waters” and that describes it well. It sits where the Kanawha river joins the Ohio. Propagation was good on 17 Meters so that is what we worked. We made a total of 23 contacts and then had fun videoing the barges and just enjoying a beautiful day. When check in time rolled around we crossed the river to Gallipolis, OH to our motel. We had no desire to just sit around so after we got our stuff settled in, we took a drive on some back roads. We found ourselves at the Old Holcomb Cemetery and took fotos there. It was getting dark so we made our way back to the motel, had supper and settled in. On Tuesday, Nov 12, drove back up to Pomeroy and took some footage of a barge heading up the river. Our next stop was at Forked Run State Park US-1951 where we made 32 contacts on 40 and 10 Meters. There were a lot of European stations on 10 which is an indication of how open the band was. The park itself was peaceful. We parked in an empty lot above the lake where there was an access path to the beach. After the activation we headed home. Since this was during the day the traffic was a lot heavier and more obnoxious. Today, 14 Nov, we went to Culp’s Hill in Gettysburg National Military Park US-0027. The bands were humming and in about 45 minutes we worked 56 stations between 10 and 40 Meters. We were even able to work a new Canadien Province: Manitoba. There were, again, a lot of European stations on 10 along with 1 contact from Mexico. We heard a red-bellied woodpecker as we sat there. As I started to drive away I realized I had left my phone on top of the car. I retrieved it before it could fall. The weather today had changed. It was overcast and chilly so we sat in the car with our doors closed. One memorable contact was with an op from England who was running a similar set up as I have: 80 watts to a hamstick. Myself, I use 75 watts but we both gave a 5-5 report. Well I guess it is time to close this. Namaste kidlets and happy trails.

A Very POTA Weekend

October 13, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

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

Attitude and Owls and Heat

July 26, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

First off, I am going to rant. I know that the interwebs and social media (in some cases anti-social media) is not a true cross sectional representation of hams but I have seen a lot of this online to merit some commentary. I have read too many people stating that they can go into a State or National Park or owned lands and do whatever they want without permission from the rangers and the rangers cannot tell them what they can and cannot do. I find this attitude of entitlement to be childish and hurtful to the reputation of all hams. First off, these lands are public property, yes, but that means they are shared by the public. As such, there must be rules for usage so that everyone using these lands can enjoy them. The rangers are there to enforce these rules and make sure that standards of behavior are met. Some inconsiderate person going into a park and throwing trash around or breaking tree limbs or making a lot of unwanted noise should be held accountable for their behavior. It is a matter of courtesy in most cases to let the rangers know what you are doing and answer any concerns they any have. In some cases it is mandatory to contact the rangers. Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland is very close to Camp David. It is required that you check in with the ranger station prior to operating there so that they can make sure you won’t be interfering with the comms at Camp David. I had occasion to stop at a park this summer where they had a sign posted at the gates stating no radios allowed. I found a ranger and asked him and discovered the ban was for “boom box” type radios and he had no problems with me doing an activation. He was glad that I stopped by and asked, though. To those who have the attitude that you can do as you please on public lands, consider this: the state or town owns an easement of at least 3 feet from the edge of the road in front of your house onto “your” property. This is considered public land. What if someone with the “I can do what I want” attitude decided to empty the holding tank on their RV on this public land? Hmmmm …

On to other things. On July 21st, my long suffering wyfe and I set out early to Gettysburg to beat the heat. She wanted to do some photography so we drove around and found the monuments she had listed. We made it up onto Little Roundtop and WOW! they made some improvements in the road and parking areas up there. Anyway, after a bit we drove up to Culp’s Hill and did an activation. She heard only 1 species of bird: the Eastern Blue Jay. We logged 34 contacts over the course of 45 minutes and retreated before the heat got too oppressive. Our next opportunity to activate was yesterday, July 25th. We had a breakfast at the Newville Diner in Newville, PA and drove over to the ATV lot on Piney Mountain Ridge Road in Michaux State Forest. We found a nice shady spot and were soon on the air. There was only 1 bicyclist and 1 dog walker there so the place wasn’t busy at all. SWMBO was able to use her app and hear Red-Eyed Vireos, Tufted Titmouses (titmice?), Eastern Wood Peewees and Carolina Chickadees. The 40 metre band was hopping and in about 45 minutes we worked 37 contacts. Once again we picked up before it got too hot. All in all, a good activation. I looked into camping at the ATV lot and it only costs $10 per night. There is no running water but there is bathroom facilities (primitive but usable). Well enough for now. Namaste, kiddos.

One of the very cool monuments at Gettysburg

Mice, Men, Plans … Whatevah!

June 13, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yesterday, June 12th, we went to Little Buffalo and activated US-1376. We had a good time and enjoyed the nice weather. My long-suffering wyfe logged and her app heard some red-eyed vireos, northern cardinals, american robins, orchard oreoles and house sparrows. In less than 45 minutes we logged 32 contacts with several park-to-parks. We got to enjoy a nice breeze coming off the lake and all was well.

Today we set out early to beat traffic. We wanted to go to Jayne Mansfield’s grave in Penn Argyl, PA. It is in a nice quiet cemetery on the outskirts of town. We took some pics and then we set out to active a park or 2. Simple, right? Well we first went to Beltsville State Park US-1330. The drive there was on mostly back roads and very scenic. When we got to the beach/picnic area of the park, there was a sign with the usual prohibitions but they also forbid “radios and speakers”. I found a ranger and introduced us and informed him of our intentions. He assured us that the forbidden radios only applied to “boombox” type radios as loud music has a tendency to be upsetting to some people. He had no problems with us sitting in our car and playing radio. While I was setting up, my wyfe used her app and heard some american gold finches, blue jays, red-eyed vireos, grey catbirds, tufted titmouses (titmice?), and yellow warblers. I got set up and in about 1/2 hours worked 13 stations with 4 park-to-parks. We packed up and set out for another park and that is where the real adventure began. First off, Lehigh Gorge has no internet access. We did not want to hang around and do a lengthy stay, waiting to get spotted. We will try again and pre-schedule an activation there. The same goes with Locust Lake. Then we left Locust lake seeking Tuscarora State Park. Our GPS lead us on a very merry chase around in circles which brought us back to Locust Lake. I don’t often swear at inanimate objects (yes I do) but this time I let out a torrent that would have made my father proud. At this point we gathered what was left of our dignity and set out for Memorial Lake. We stopped off for lunch at Snitz Creek Brewery and had a great meal. I had the chicken fried steak and Glory had the stuffed meatloaf. We then drove the mile down to the lake and activated. Memorial Lake State Park US-1384 is nice and peaceful. We worked 10 contacts on 40M, 1 on 17 M and 1 on 20M and then called it a day. Well that is all for now, kidlets. Namaste and sweet dreams.

Walking Between Raindrops

May 31, 2024 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Yes, I am back. Wednesday we got a bit bored and set out under rainy skies to Big Springs State Park US-4355. In about 1/2 hour we worked 17 stations including 2 park-to-parks. Then we went for a ride on one of our favorite back roads looking for nature. We saw a total of 5 squirrels and 4 bunnies and 1 whistlepig. I guess the rain showers kept most of nature in. Yesterday we set out as planned. We started with breakfast at the Newville Diner; breakfast being the cornerstone of any good activation. After an ongoing argument with my GPS, we arrived on top of Culp’s Hill in Gettysburg, PA. I have found this to be a great location to work from. It is elevated and is off the beaten path of the battlefield. Yes, some bus tours do stop there but aside from some curious looks, they leave you alone. I parked next to the 7th Indiana Infantry monument and set about activating the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park US-0027. We had a good run. We started at 0930 EDT (13:30 UTC) and spent about 15 minutes on 40M and made our 10 contacts. I then changed antennas and went to 17M for 15 minutes before going back to 40M. In between contacts we listened to the birds and enjoyed a nice quiet morning. A few people came up and climbed the tower but they left us alone. Overall we worked 25 stations from MA to NM . We then had to let mundane life take control and did some shopping. After we got home and got settled we decided to go out again. We are lucky to live in an area where we can drive a short distance in just about any direction and hit either a State Park, State Forest or State Game Land. Anyway, we arrived at Little Buffalo State Park US -1376 at around 17:30 EDT (21:30 UTC) and got on the air. This time I did not have time to consider changing bands. 40M was hot. I hunted 1 park-to-park and then found an empty frequency and stayed on it until we left. We worked 45 contacts with 6 park-to-parks and got to watch people fishing and picnicking and dog walking. The mood on the band was very upbeat. Everybody seemed very happy and everything was just humming along. I am very happy myself with the performance of these “hamstick” antennae. They do perform well. I am looking forward to taking them on vacation. If you want to see where we are, keep an eye on the POTA spots as I will update them. Also, I keep my APRS on in the car so when we are on vaca you can track us and make a guess as to where we will be next. ok. Enough for now I have a few things to do as I am working tonight. As the Prophet said: “work is the curse of the drinking class”. Namaste y’all