I am amazed at the stunning scenery of Iceland - the trip was bucket-list incredible.The video below is about 2/3 drone video (followed by 1/3 radio) of the places we saw as we drove around the country.In all, we put 950 miles (1500km) on the car and I activated 4 parks. Each park was a first-activation for that park. I had no trouble making contacts but my time at each park was limited. The KX2

I've activated two parks in Iceland since arriving 4 days ago - both times were first activations for those parks. It's been tough to put the camera down. Iceland is an amazing country and I'll have more to say about it later.Today's activation of IS-0092 Blábjörg Natural Monument was a lesson in Exceeded Expectations 101. Just when you think you can predict certain aspects of this radio stuff,

A new set of paddles and an inductive helper for my 17-ft whip both rode shotgun with me for about an hour on a beautiful Florida morning.Everything about the kit made for a quick and easy set-up...and that is my goal: 2 minutes till "On The Air" and 2 minutes to "Back on the road".The KX2 is probably the 2nd fastest rig to put on the air, second only to the KH1. But its effectiveness (due to

Drone photo of courthouseThe city of Vicksburg Mississippi is a study in stereotypes - and in contradictions to those stereotypes.We road-tripped there a few days ago and spent three nights in an old B&B that, at one time, housed Jefferson Davis and other southern statesmen from a bygone era.There are a number of museums in town and you can easily determine the sympathies of the organizations

Packed up and ready to roll Two-score and seven years ago, the Texas Department of Public Safety conveyed forth upon my person a new motorcycle license, conceived in Smith County and dedicated to the proposition that even a 15 year-old kid could roam about freely on two wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine.I am now engaged in a great reminiscence to determine whether that freedom

I got up at oh-dark-30 a few days ago and drove, pre-sunrise, to Flagler Beach FL to video the morning's beginning with my drone.On the way home, a park presented itself and I had all the radio ingredients needed to put it on the air. The highest band open was 15m and many Europeans were worked.Here's a brief sampling:..

Earlier this morning I activated Homosassa Spring SP (K-1879) in west-central FL, about an hour from home.Manatees, by the hundreds, spend the winter in various springs in this part of Florida, drawn there by the warm 72F/22C constant temperature of the water. The springs are almost as clear as tap water, which makes for easy viewing of these gentle giants.I plan to return soon (now booked for 22

MFJ-1979 & eBay whipMy go-to antenna for portable operation has become the MFJ-1979 telescoping whip. It operates as a no-compromise 1/4-wave vertical on 10-20 meters, provided I have four elevated radials.In Lowband DXing, John ON4UN (SK) cites work done by many lowband DXers (confirmed by antenna modeling) that four elevated radials is equivalent to 120 on-the-ground radials in terms of

A cheap 51" (130cm) telescoping CB walkie-talkie antenna and conditions on 10-15 meters gave me the idea to treat my KX2 like a KH1.Tuesday mornings can offer slow POTA activity but I was pleased with the results anyway from a peaceful little park about half an hour from home.The weather was perfect and this project served as the perfect excuse to be outside.In the following video, I made 10

I ordered a KX2 back in mid July - by mid-October, it had still not arrived...but an 'For Sale' ad was placed by a local ham for a 4-month old KX2 that he decided he didn't want. It had all the options I wanted and none of those I didn't.My order with Elecraft was quickly cancelled and the new-to-me KX2 was soon on its way.Today was my first outting - a POTA activation - with the KX2 and, man, I

I was lucky enough to catch Thomas K4SWL on his first activation with the new Elecraft KH1 - a CW-only rig for now but which will soon be capable of FT8 operation. Tom was operating from the Blue Ridge National Parkway in North Carolina, presumably with the KH1's built-in whip antenna. I was using a 1/4-wave vertical in Florida...

I've recently learned that I'm far from alone in combining HF ham radio with motorcycling. The POTA program provides for a fun and interesting addition to what might otherwise be a non-stop morning ride on a beautiful day.What a great way to stretch our legs and take a break!Confession: Sometimes, after returning home and shutting down the bike, the heat of the ticking engine taps out "73".Does

We left Florida a week ago to visit the wife's peeps in W2-land and then head on up to Maine to surprise my sister and brother-in-law who are RVing at Acadia NP in Maine. Plans after that called for Nova Scotia and PEI - little did we know at the time that a hurricane would have the same destination.Nevertheless, we are now in Freeport Maine, watching the latest updates from the talking heads on