Every quarter, the Parks On The Air folks have an event called Support Your Parks Weekend. The idea is to get out to the park at least once a quarter, right? I see it as just another weekend to go play, but maybe there are more hunters out there and a better chance for Park To Park contacts for those who chase those kinds of things.
For me, it’s another excuse to get out. “It’s the Support Your Parks event! I have to go out and activate! I don’t want people to think I don’t support the parks!”
Yeah, no one buys that, but it sounds good when I say it.
Everything about this activation was very tried and true. The truth of the matter is, I have a lot of change going on at home right now and what I needed more than anything was a chance to get outside and forget about it all while dits and dahs flow out of my radio.
The park was the personal favorite Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020. The location was The Octagon at my usual picnic table. The radio was my IC-705 and the antenna was my AX1. This is a place and a pile of gear I could set up with my eyes closed. In fact, from setting down my bag to getting on the air was just about 3 minutes according to my stopwatch.
Sometimes, it just feels good to use the things we know.
I started off on 40-meters and it was quiet. Really, really quiet. The kind of quiet that tells you it’s going to be a rough time on that band. I poked around and got two contacts in about 20 minutes. That’s not the best. I knew that I had a sink to install later, so I switched up to 20 so I could hopefully get what I needed.
20 was a little more lively. I could see a lot of activity on the waterfall and signals were coming in nice and clear. Low noise and little to no crashing. In fact, it was really great! But it still took me just under an hour to get enough contacts for an activation. Not that I mind. I did switch up to 17 in the end, but only got one contact there. Better than none!
This was one of the activations where it really is about sitting at the park and enjoying the weather. It was 72 dF, clear skies, light breeze, low humidity. There was nothing not to like about it. The Octagon area was more or less deserted, so there wasn’t any human noise either.
It was a great time to watch the open field which was freshly mowed. Lots of families come out here to have picnics and play games. Plenty of youth programs are held here during the week. It’s one of those wonderful shared spaces that we have set aside as what will probably be remembered as our nation’s best idea (just ask Ken Burns!).
For someone like me who has been coming to this spot for a while now, it was a chance to enjoy the way the hawks hunt mice and chipmunks when the grass is freshly cut. There is a pair that I’ve observed for some time. They patrol the perimeter and wait patiently for a mouse or chipmunk to get too cocky and get too far out from the tree cover. I’ve seen many raptor picnics on that field.
And isn’t that the point of Support Your Parks weekend? Seems like it is. Using the radio as an excuse to get out to a shared space and enjoy the weather – whatever it may be. See the trees or grass or whatever natural features you have to hand.
It looks like everything was aligned to the west. I’ve not seen a QSO Map like this before with this antenna. I guess the east coast was just busy!
For people who need an excuse to take their rig portable, the Support Your Parks Weekend really do deliver. They happen every quarter, so even if that’s the only time you activate, you’ll get to see your favorite park in each season. Take notes. Enjoy the scenery. Make some contacts and have fun.
Thanks for reading along and 72!
I’ve had a lot of fun with my Elecraft AX1 antenna since I bought it six or seven years ago. I’ve activated several parks with it, and it has yet to let me down. Running five watts into a 45-inch whip shouldn’t really work, but somehow it does. While I don’t always use it as my primary antenna, I always take it along on outings as a backup.
I have used my AX1 in a variety of settings, e.g., picnic table portable, with a car window mount, clamped to the handlebars of my bike, etc. While perusing the Temu website, I stumbled upon a tactical-style MOLLE pouch capable of holding the AX1 and all the accessories I typically use for those configurations. The cost was a mere $8.00 (USD) for a pair of them. (The original offering is no longer available, but a search for “molle pouch” on Temu or AliExpress should find this pouch or something similar.)
It measures 6.3 in. (16cm) x 4.33 in. (11cm) x 2.1 in. (5.5cm). For as inexpensive as they are, the quality is pretty good. The material is durable, and the zipper works smoothly. Each pouch came with an American flag velcro patch. At these low prices, you often get what you pay for. This time, though, I think it was a pretty good deal.
Here’s what I carry in the bag:
Everything fits comfortably in the little pouch, but there isn’t much room to spare.
I normally carry my AX1 pouch in my backpack. When I have too much other stuff in my pack, I can use the MOLLE straps to attach the pouch to the outside of the pack.
It’s nice having all of this stuff in one place. Now my little AX1 is always ready to go, however I plan to use it.
72, Craig WB3GCK
I had the opportunity to take Friday off, so I did. And with a day off and no commitments until much later, I headed out to The Octagon at Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020. I just couldn’t think of a better way to spend a few hours in the quiet before a weekend of things and stuff.
A brief diversion? The summer has arrived, so my Jeep has its summer outfit on. This is a rag top with no windows save the front windshield and its safari doors. Look, I’m not made of sugar and I live in a place that is grey and cold for a decent chunk of the year. When I get the chance to enjoy the wind in my face, I take it. That does come with some risks. When it rains, well, I get wet. And to be absolutely clear, I expect it and embrace it!
The forecast for the day did NOT include rain. I tossed my clamp-on umbrella into the Jeep simply to keep the sun off as that can heat up the radio and get in my face. It’s a nice thing to take along for contingencies. Ya know, sun or…rain.
Halfway to the park, the skies opened up and it rained cats and dogs for about 25 minutes. I pulled over and looked at the weather radar. It was going to pass quickly enough so I kept going. Arriving at the park, I was met with some “jokes” from others in the parking lot. I smiled and grabbed my gear. They’d come back sweaty and gross while I was just freshly showered!
Getting to the picnic tables did show me that I had some obstacles. The table was wet and so was the bench. No worries! I brought my tarp (always do!) and I set up the umbrella to keep the water that was falling out of the trees off of my gear. I deployed the AX1 and hooked up the IC-705. I was ready to go!
Friday was great for solar weather. The conditions were good on 40 and 20 and I was able to grab enough contacts to call it an activation in relatively short order. It was so much nicer than the prior activations when the local star was blowing its top and making things difficult. It was great to pull in the contacts!
For a bit of extra fun, I tossed my Surface Go 2 into the bag and grabbed some FT8 while I was at it. It’s been quite a while since I did any digital work during a POTA activity.
With it turning from rain to clear skies I’d been on the air long enough and was feeling refreshed. Here’s what the QSO Map looks like.
Saturday rolled around and it turned out that we had a graduation party to attend and a few errands to run. What would normally have been a trip to CVNP on a bicycle turned into a quick drive out to play a little radio while the things that needed doing and didn’t involve me were done. I was very pleased to get two opportunities to get into the field in one weekend.
The wonderful solar conditions from Friday DID NOT flow into Saturday. The earth was spinning into all of the fun that comes from yet another CME. This was causing all kinds of problems. The bands would open for a bit and then go silent. As usual, I parked my IC-705 on a portion of the band where I could see the FT8 signals on the waterfall and watched them ebb and flow as I tried to nab enough CW contacts for an activation.
It didn’t work out that way. I managed to get 7 CW contacts in an hour. That’s not great. But I did bring along my computer and flipped over to FT8 to pick up an additional 4 contacts and validate the activation. I don’t know that I would have made it without moving to a digital mode.
It is not a secret that I am a huge fanboy for the IC-705. The switch from operating CW to FT8 was as simple as turning on my little WiFi router that I carry for these occasions and launching wvfiew and WSJT-X on my computer. That’s it. It took maybe 2 minutes and I was on the air and calling CQ on FT8. It’s brilliant and frictionless. Sure, I’ve been using it for years now and have figured out a workflow that makes things very smooth, but wow is this rig a dream for multi-mode portable. Which, again, is not a surprise as that’s kind of its purpose. It’s just amazing to me that it feels so simple when everything else (like the sun) is making things complicated.
Here’s what the activation looks like.
As we get closer and closer to the solar maximum of Cycle 25 the conditions are going to get weird. I’ve decided that when I head out to do an activation I’m going to toss the computer into the bag just in case. More modes make a successful activation more likely. While activating isn’t the goal – being outside and playing radio is – it’s still nice to check it off as DONE. It also keeps me fresh on my digital operating skills. It’s probably time to play a bit more with fldigi so I can get some other modes in the log. Time for some more experimentation!
It might also be time to take the Hardrock-50 into the field with The Big Battery. We’ll see what happens if and when the mood strikes!
Thanks for reading and 72!
It was sunny and the temperature was darned near perfect for June in NE Ohio. My wife and I got on our bikes and cycled out to Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020 so that we could enjoy the day. The plan was to spend a little time at The Octagon shelter area so I could play a little radio and then head into Peninsula to grab some lunch. I figured that I could get the park activated in about an hour while my wife did a little reading and we’d be on our way.
Well. Yeah. The thing is…
We’re heading toward the high point of Cycle 25 and it seems that conditions on HF are getting less and less reliable. I know very little about solar weather and I’m certainly not an expert on our local star. I know what I’ve read and I can compare that with my observations. I’m definitely not alone in observing that activations are harder and harder to complete and that makes me feel less like it’s a “Me Problem” and more like it’s a “Giant Ball Of Gas Problem”. That works.
When I set up my Go-To gear (IC-705 with the AX1) and I’m struggling to get it done, I start to doubt myself. Should I toss my EFHW into a tree? Should I have brought the SuperAntenna? But the truth is, if I’m sitting there and RBN is picking me up but I’m not hearing much, it’s very possible that there’s no one out there to hear me or conditions are worse than I thought.
In any case, it seems that budgeting an hour for an activation is not as likely to bear fruit as it was just a few months ago. Not that it matters. Being outside with my radio is the point. Relaxing and getting on the air are the ends.
Here’s what it looked like on the QSO Map:
QRP seems to be about patience these days. Could be that all radio activities are going to involve more patience than they have in this solar cycle. There are still plenty of exciting times ahead. There are months of long, warm, bright days ahead and I plan to spend as many of them as I can in the field playing radio.
Thanks for reading and 72!
It was a dessert activation. Monday nights are Scout meetings so I figured I could sneak out to Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020 and get an activation in after dinner. I thought of it as a bit of mental sorbet to cleanse the pallette after a long day. It worked out very well!
The past few times that I’ve been out at the park, the local star has been a royal pain. When the sun throws a tantrum, things get crazy for all of us radio folks – not just the QRP operators! As a result, the past couple of activations have been ones that I barely got over the line. Having taken a good look at the conditions for the day in question, it seemed like I might be hitting the right time in terms of solar weather which I normally don’t check at all. My approach is usually one of “Sure, they say the conditions are bad but what does that mean to me in the spot where I’ll be sitting when I’m sitting there? Best test it to find out!” After a few solar tantrums, I at least check to see how much water or coffee to take along.
The gear was predictable. I took the IC-705 and paired it with the AX1. I had my tarp out and everything set up in about 5 minutes. I have this kit down to SOP levels of repeatability. With everything deployed, I didn’t really take any chances. I went straight to 20-meters and I was rewarded.
I managed to get enough contacts for the activation rather quickly on 20. That’s not a shock, but it was nice to get them in the bag. I decided to move to 17 and see what I could hear. It was really, really quiet. I managed to get a contact in Idaho and one in Utah. A friend from Mastodon said I could be heard poking my head out of some serious QSB in Colorado. I can usually tell how well things are going by the number of other activators on the band. I was the only one, so I moved on to 40 to get the local crew. I was not disappointed.
Getting outside on a warm, sunny evening is a beautiful thing. Even if the bands hadn’t cooperated, it was still nice to be the only one at The Octagon. The field around the structure had just been mowed and there was still the smell of cut grass in the air. The birds were busy – including a few crows that were quite disruptive with some QRN (see what I did there?) while I was trying to copy.
The truth is that radio is one of those things where you can only focus on the activity at hand. Careful listening requires attention and when it’s done right all of those other thoughts from the day disappear. After a good hour or so on the air I almost always walk away feeling refreshed and reset. Every thing is cleared out and I can move on to whatever is next without any mental clutter.
With three bands in play, I managed to get 26 contacts. Here’s what it looked like on the QSO Map:
I get the sense that I need to do more of these “Dessert Activations” this summer while we still have the daylight. As has been mentioned to me a few times recently, we’re hitting the solstice and that means that The Long Dark is slowly turning in our direction. I definitely want to make radio hay while the sun shines.
Thanks for reading and 72!
The past couple of weeks have been very busy and kept me away from my beloved parks and activations. Life is like that sometimes and we have to muscle through it. When I saw a break in the action on Sunday morning, I knew that I had to jump on it. The weather was going to be great and I didn’t have any commitments for a stretch. I knew that I could grab about 90 minutes or so for an activation at Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020.
I’ve been putting together some resonant wire antennas lately and really wanted to pull one of those out, but I knew that with it being Memorial Day Weekend the park was going to be crowded at all of my normal spots and getting a wire in a tree or a mast set up was going to be a hassle. I fell back on my reliable AX1 paired with the IC-705.
It’s fun to experiement and I do love to try new things, but when time is short we have to reach for what we know will provide results. This combination has rarely left me skunked in the field and it’s very quick and easy to put up and tear down. Given that time was a concern, this was really the only kit to take.
The good news is that the bands were not complete garbage like they have been of late. But not being bad and being good are two different things. I would put it all at a solid medium for performance. It didn’t help that there was a contest going on, but the day before the bands had been far worse. It took about an hour to land 11 contacts. One of those in there was a park to park. That always adds a little spice to the mix.
I felt a little rusty. I’ve been practicing my copying at the computer on and off during most days, but being in the field is different. It’s all a surprise. There’s no telling when that call will come breaking through the noise or how hard you will have to listen to copy it. It was nice to get back in front of my rig and paddles.
It’s a pretty good spread given that it was 40 and 20-meters all day long. Here’s what it looks like on the QSO Map:
There are days when all that matters is that I get myself outside and into the field with my rig. Sitting there in the quiet and playing radio is a very peaceful way to spend a bit of time. It’s very intentional and almost meditative. The time flies by and I always head back feeling refreshed. Here’s hoping that I’m able to sneak out a bit more as we hit the long summer days.
Cuyahog Valley National Park – US-0020 is a massive park. It stretches a good way between Cleveland and Akron. There are over 100 miles of hiking trails scattered throughout the park and there are many nooks and crannies. On Saturday morning, I headed out to do an activation. I had some time and I wanted to go down to the Quarry area to work. But as I was driving, it occurred to me that going down into the valley after a couple of weekends of Less Than Stellar Propagation might be adding another layer of difficulty to something that had the makings of a rough day for the bands anyway.
Driving along, I came upon the Shady Knoll picnic area and pulled off there. It’s nothing more than a couple of parking spots and a few picnic tables. There was no one around and as I set up I could tell that the traffic zipping by not to far away might be a reason that more people don’t frequent this area. No matter! I got set up and got to work!
The tables at the picnic area are the newer ones that I have seen in the park. They are quite thick. In fact, they are far too thick for the clamp mount that I have for my AX1 (more on the mount below!). I had wondered about this because I couldn’t recall if the Quarry area had those tables as well, so I tossed my mini-tripod in the backpack just in case. I’m glad I did!
I deployed the IC-705 and my Begali Traveler. I was set up for 40-meters and got to work. It was very slow going. There was the activity on the band, but contacts were few and far between. I stalled out after 3 contacts on 40. It was just a lot of calling CQ and a lot of silence coming back at me. Time to move to 20-meters!
The last time I was out, I sat on 14.069 and not for nothing. The waterfall on the IC-705 puts the 14.074 on the far right of the screen if I’m centered on 14.069. That means I can see the FT8 and FT4 traffic. This was very, very useful. As I was calling CQ and listening, I could see the bands fade in and out as I watched that traffic ebb and flow. It’s a handy little trick that I plan to use more often when things are questionable.
As one might imagine, it was slow. The time between QSOs was long. The bands were coming and going. When they were up, things were great! When they were down, I couldn’t hear a thing other than the occasional crash. After about 90 minutes, I had my 10 contacts. 10 minutes more and nothing heard. It was time to go QRT and get lunch with my son.
Here’s what my patience got me on the QSO Map:
I mentioned my antenna mount above. I have the AM1 Portable Antenna Mount System from ProAudio Engineering. It is a wonderful mount for the AX1. It attaches well to normal picnic tables and even to the cargo cage of my Jeep. I take it everywhere. But I did notice something about it early on. It seemed that I got much better results attaching the counterpoise of the AX1 to the ground lug of my IC-705 rather than the lug on the antenna mount. I didn’t give it much thought because I found a setup that worked and I stuck with it. On Friday, I got an email from ProAudio saying that there was an issue with the lockwasher on the unit that wasn’t allowing a connection between the BNC connector and the lug. I got out the old meter and, yup, that was the case. A couple of moments with a file around the edges where the BNC connector passes through to remove the thick anodized coating and BOOM the meter confirmed that things were flowing where they ought to flow. I wasn’t able to play with that this weekend as the table was too thick for the mount, but I’m confident I will have improved results in the field.
Another “struggle” of an activation with the bands being less than helpful. I still got to sit outside with my radio and enjoy The Big Blue Room. It felt good and it was far better than being indoors for sure. I’m not sure I will hit that spot again as the traffic noises kept a lid on the outdoor vibes, but it’s a place to remember when there are crowds elsewhere.
Thanks for reading along and 72!
One of my favorite things in amateur radio is obviously getting out to the parks and participating in POTA as an activator. It’s also pretty clear that I really love hanging out at Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020. There’s really not much better on a Saturday than to bike out to the park and enjoy a couple of hours in the sun making contacts. Well, the thing is…
My wife and I were planning to bike out to the park. We were slowly getting ready and started to look at the weather. The temperatures were in the 40s, it was overcast, and the winds were around 18 mph with 32 mph gusts. We looked at each other for a bit and realized that this was totally doable, but probably not much fun. So we changed plans. I would go out to the park on my own and activate for a bit and come home.
I moved my gear from my pannier to my backpack and headed out for the park. The sky was grey and there was a pretty stiff breeze. I went with the AX1 and set up my TR-35 to give it another go now that I had changed a ton of settings on the ATU-10. I was hoping to get a random wire in a tree if I had time.
With everything set up, I got on the air.
I started on 20-meters because I did want the activation to move along today. It was a bit cooler than I wanted it to be and with no sun, being outside felt like a continuation of winter. As I called CQ and even spotted myself, no one came back for a long, long time.
The band was crashing. There were flashes of static and a very high noise floor alternating with dead silence. It was enough to make me question the rig and the antenna. I did what I did last time and swapped the TR-35 for my IC-705. No dice.
At this point, I was giving the AX1 some serious side-eye. I reached into my bag and pulled out my 40-20-10 EFHW and my throw line. With no one around, I picked a branch in a tree that was perfectly positioned and got the line over it on the first try. This was a Batman level throw and there was no one to see it. Such is the life of a POTA Activator, I suppose.
This antenna is really the best in my collection in terms of efficiency. It never misses. So why were the bands still crashing and quiet? Why was 40-meters fading like I’ve never heard before? Oh, ya know, just luck. Later on Mastodon I would have my complaints confirmed by a panel of experts who were also frustrated by conditions.
I did get my 10. I walked away with 12 contacts total in about 2 hours of activating. Not the worst Support Your Parks Weekend story I heard about Saturday, but not my favorite by far. By the time it was all said and done, my fingers were cold and I was pretty tired of sitting outside in the grey. I guess my mind really believes that April should be warmer and more inviting. I forget where I am sometimes.
Here it is. From the looks of it, it wasn’t too bad. But it didn’t feel that way getting there.
Yes, any day outside is better than one spent inside. I’m just impatient for REAL SPRING and some more time with that elusive yellow orb in the sky. I know it’s coming. And I know that my TR-35 will continue to get a workout until I get a full activation with it. The conditions will change. Things will improve. Next weekend looks good so far.
Thanks for reading and 72!
The entire weekend was about picture perfect. The sun was out. There was a nice breeze. It was warm but not hot. We did have a little work to do with some plumbing on Saturday, but it got done and that made time for Other Things. And you know that means POTA!
I decided that I’d go to my most local park which is the Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve – US-9401. It’s just down the street and seemed like a great idea since I had some Dad Taxi duties floating around with unknown timelines. The truth is that this park is a boardwalk look around a bog. There are no picnic tables and no space to sit, really. Thus I was consigned to the Jeep. I’ve shared many times that this is not my favorite setup. This was the first variable in play.
The second was the Penntek TR-35. I’ve been itching to get this little guy into the field, so I tossed it in my bag. I don’t know this transceiver very well, but the only way I learn is by doing.
The third variable was the one that might have wrecked things but I’m not really sure just yet. I recenly received an ATU-10 automatic antenna tuner as designed by N7DDC and built by a reputable seller to whom I shall not link until I have determined if I have a problematic unit or the dreaded Operator Error. I was planning to use this little guy to give the AX-1 that little bump that it needs to work with the TR-35. I’d measured the SWR on the AX-1 a few times in experiments earlier in the week and it just needed a touch of tuning. So little, in fact, that getting it right on the z-match tuner was a total pain. Why not try the ATU-10?
Lots of new stuff in a new place in an operating position I don’t love. What could go wrong?
I got everything set up. The AX-1 was clamped to my Jeep’s cargo bar. The tuner was set up on the dash. The TR-35 was hanging out on my speaker in the phone holder (not at all precariously!). Everything looked good. I hit the tuning cycle on the ATU-10 and things settled in at about 1.1:1. Cool! So I started calling CQ.
And I kept calling.
I spotted myself.
And kept calling.
The RBN heard me! That was good! But it was a very long time before I got a call. It came in at 599 for sure. The signal indicator on the TR-35 was lit up nice and bright. It was a perfect signal from Maine. No fading, no nonsense. It was impressive!
And then nothing. Some static. A few crashes on 20-meters. No other calls.
It was time to pack it in.
I wasn’t too phased by not getting the activation. It was a Saturday at about 3 PM and the weather was amazing. It was nice to sit there in the sun (in the Jeep) and play with my new toys. I had the nagging feeling that I get with a new rig that I did something wrong, but I don’t believe that there was anything to do wrong. Sometimes, the magic simply doesn’t happen. And that’s OK! Besides, as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, my daughter requested pick up and food for her and her friends. Dad Life!
Here is what my QSO with Maine looked like:
It is well known that my wife and I love to bike out to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020. We do that most weekends in the summer and I always take my radio along to do a little POTA while we eat lunch. I figured this would be an easy win! Once again, I set up the TR-35 and the ATU-10 with the AX-1 and got to calling CQ. This time, I even used the message memory in the TR-35. Good stuff!
Lots of crashing on 40-meters. I got one contact with Michigan and then moved to 20-meters. More crashing. Maybe our local star was trying to wreck my flow, but it could also be that, again, I was using new stuff. This time, I was prepared. I reached into the bag and pulled out the IC-705.
And I got nothing.
It was almost 20 minutes until I got a contact. It was a Park To Park with an operator in Kansas. The crashing on the bands didn’t let up. There was a lot of fading. After about an hour and a half, I had 7 total contacts and a lot of band noise. I’m not going to give any side-eye to the new gear as I really do believe the bands were hot garbage. I also noticed that the POTA site didn’t pick me up on the RBN though I was getting picked up by the RBN. In fact, all of the activators only had spots from hunters. I wonder if there was a technical difficulty there. Not that it would have helped. You can only work what you can hear and there’s no hearing anything over that kind of noise.
Here’s what the map looked like for Sunday in the park.
What’s does all of this mean?
Nothing. Playing with new toys is learning what they’re good at and where you have to give to take. I plan to take the TR-35 out with a resonant wire antenna in the near future and give it a chance to shine in some backyard portable. I also plan to take this week and mess around with the ATU-10. It seems to want to kick into tuning cycles at odd intervals. Maybe I just need to tune it and turn it off. I was pretty sure that I consumed all available documentation on the device and given that it only has 3 button press commands, it’s hard to imagine that there is a lot of user error here. I will report back with findings.
Also, it’s important to note that there’s no getting skunked in POTA. Sitting outside in the sun with a nice breeze on a Sunday afternoon is fantastic with or without contacts. It’s about playing with a radio outdoors. And that, my friends, is hard to screw up.
I didn’t take pictures while I was out on these activations for no really good reason. So you get a picture of Bella the Rottie after a very, very muddy hike where she rolled in everything that she could. You’re welcome!
72!
The kids hit Spring Break for the last week of March and I took the week off to hang out with them. Of course, that means a little bit of camping because as a family that’s what we do. This time around, my wife, daughter, rottie, and I were the attendees for the camping portion of the week off. My son wasn’t feeling it and if he was going to be home, it made sense to leave the Old Man Dog aka Nacho home as well given that it was going to get cold and he’d likely not have a great time with it.
We packed up our camper and headed out into the far flung reaches of…Ohio?
We picked a private campground near Hocking Hills State Park – US-1958. Our plan was to set up and hang out and get over to the park to do some hiking as weather and mood permitted.
This trip was less about radio and more about learning bits and pieces about our camper. We used the heater for the first time and it was amazing! I had a lot of doubts, but the team at Opus has really thought it through. Well, that was until we turned on the water and the water heater started spewing water into the back compartment of the camper. This required some field maintenance which turned out to be field discovery of the comings and goings of the plumbing. Let’s just say I learned a lot and we’ll have water for our next trip, but we were using a kettle to pour water from the Jerry Cans for this trip. Live and learn, right?
Hocking Hills is known as one of the most scenic parks in Ohio. There are massive caves and waterfalls. It’s all very carefully laid out as to be accessible for everyone (in most places) and that’s great! This does attract crowds and I find that it’s harder for me to relax in nature with 300 of my closest friends.
The crew hiked to Ash Cave and then split up. The ladies and pup went onward and I headed back to the parking lot to attempt an activation.
This parking lot was loaded. I didn’t take any pictures because there were constantly people coming and going. I didn’t want to creep anyone out, so I only snapped a quick shot of my setup. It’s the stealth combo of the IC-705 and AX1.
I picked a picnic table that was off in the mud so that it wouldn’t be Prime Real Estate and got set up. It was interesting in that there was a tree to blind it from cars turning into the parking lot, but otherwise, I was in plain sight about 20 yards from the lot. No one even so much as looked at me. The low profile of the AX1 was doing its thing. I had my headset, so I was silent. I was sure someone would say something, but no one did. Weird!
I got to work an put 27 CW contacts in the log before I was rejoined by the ladies and the pup.
Propagation was good to me on 20-meters with my meager 5 watts. Here’s what the QSO Map looks like.
That was the only radio I was able to work in while we were camping. But more happened later in the week when we returned home. Stay tuned for more excitement and thanks for reading along! 72!
My (far) better half and I spent the weekend puppy sitting at my daughter’s house in central Pennsylvania. There are some POTA entities in the area, so I planned to get in an activation while we were there. We drove out in my (far) better half’s car, so I couldn’t use my usual setup.
Thanks to the work I did before I retired, I have a tendency to plan for every contingency. I started thinking about antennas for every scenario I might encounter. Since I have a lot of antenna options, my packing list quickly grew to ridiculous proportions. In the end, I resisted the urge to over-plan and kept things simple.
For this trip, I took my Elecraft AX1 antenna. With this antenna, I could go “picnic table portable” or use a window mount on the (far) better half’s car. For the rig, I went with my KX3, so I could use 20M, 17M, and 15M.
Early Saturday morning, I threw my backpack into my (far) better half’s car and drove up to Boyd Big Tree State Preserve (K-4356, KFF-4356). My last activation at this park was back in 2022. Coincidently, I was puppy sitting on that trip, too.
The parking lot was pretty crowded when I rolled in, but I found a spot with a little room around it. It only took a minute or two to set up the AX1 on the window mount. The car is pretty small, so I had to experiment a little to find a spot on the center console to accommodate the KX3.
My goal for the day was to make at least 14 contacts to reach the required 44 contacts at this park for World Wide Flora and Fauna (WWFF). (I had 30 contacts on my previous activation.) Of course, I would have been happy just to make the 10 contacts required for POTA. But, once again, I underestimated the effectiveness of the AX1.
Running five watts of CW on 20M and 17M, a steady stream of hunters kept me busy. It only took about 20 minutes to make the 14 contacts I was looking for. The last time someone activated this park was back in November, and there have been very few CW activations. So, this was probably a new one for a lot of hunters.
DX-wise, I had one of my better outings. I had 14 DX contacts with the following countries:
I worked OH2LIO on both 20M and 17M. Although not DX, I was pleased to log a contact with a California hunter. My little QRP signal really seemed to be getting around.
After slightly over an hour, I had 37 contacts, including four park-to-park contacts. Not too bad for five watts and a 45-inch whip.
I’m glad I went with this simple setup. That little AX1 never ceases to amaze me.
72, Craig WB3GCK
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