Multi-Purpose Outing
Heading out for some portable operations yesterday, I had a few objectives in mind. First, I needed to take some pictures of an antenna mount for an article Iβm working on. I also wanted to do a POTA activation, while also making some Winter Field Day (WFD) contacts. Lastly, I wanted to try out an inexpensive LiFePO4 battery I recently purchased.
I planned to do all this stuff while at Ridley Creek State Park (K-1414, KFF-1414). I started off by setting up to take the pictures for the article. After getting the shots I needed, I set up to get on the air. Today, I was using my KX3 (5 watts CW) and 12-foot loaded whip. I also had a 29-foot vertical wire fed through a 9:1 unun.
![My POTA/Winter Field Day setup. The straight key was pressed into service for a Straight Key Century Club contact.](../themes/icons/grey.gif)
I finished setting up about 10 minutes before WFD kicked off, so I started calling βCQ POTAβ on 30M. By the time WFD started, I had the required 10 POTA contacts in the log. After marking myself as βQRTβ on the POTA spotting page, I started βsearching and pouncingβ on the bands. I was hunting for WFD, POTA, or anything else that seemed interesting.Β
After a little under two hours, I wrapped up with 25 contacts in my log. Thirteen of them were WFD contacts. I also had a park-to-park QSO with AA4XX down in North Carolina. Itβs always a pleasure to work Paul. A Straight Key Century Club contact with K3Y/8 rounded out my log.
The battery I was using today was a 6 Ah LiFePO4 battery I found on Amazon for about $20 (US). My trusty Bioenno batteries are still hanging tough after more than six years of use, but I was curious to see how this cheap battery would work. It did just fine, but weβll see how it holds up over time.
![The $20 6Ah LiFePO4 battery I used for the first time today. It got the job done.](../themes/icons/grey.gif)
With some welcomed mild weather yesterday, this wasnβt the most wintry of Winter Field Days here in Pennsylvania. I wish I had more time for it this weekend, but life had other plans for me. Best of luck to everyone taking part in WFD.
73, Craig WB3GCK