Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report: POTA Friends Meet to Activate IT-0737 by Christian (IX1CKN) With Andrea (IW0HK) in Turin for a few days, it would have been a shame not to use Sunday for a POTA activation, recreating the “Multicountry Rove” team that participated in the Friedrichshafen Fair. Our chosen destination, … Continue reading Quarter-Wave Conquers: Christian and Andrea’s POTA Success Despite Solar Slumber→
My buddy Jonathan (KM4CFT) made a big announcement this morning. He’s been working tirelessly since the start of the year, designing and testing a brand-new field-portable CW transceiver he’s dubbed the CFT1. As of this morning, you can purchase the transceiver kit on HamGadgets.com. A little backstory Jonathan first mentioned his plans to design a … Continue reading Introducing the New CFT1 Five Band Portable CW Transceiver Kit!→
Somedays, I just need a little POTA and radio-active therapy to energize the day. And this was one of those days. On Thursday, July 18, 2024, I woke up still feeling quite tired because I had been out the entire day before helping my sister with a move–my wife and I didn’t get back home … Continue reading Field Report: POTA Energy Boost at Tuttle Educational State Forest→
Many thanks to Rand (W7UDT) for sharing this short field report: Eiffel Tower QRP (Failed) “Activation” by Rand (W7UDT/FR) Earlier this Spring, my wife & I went on a ten day vacation to Paris. What a beautiful city, and a memorable time we had! Amongst our many excursions, was a visit to the Eiffel Tower. … Continue reading QRP Dreams in the City of Lights: Rand’s Eiffel Tower Beacon Attempt→
by Vince (VE6LK) On Sunday July 28 I needed some shortwave therapy. I headed west from Longview Alberta to find a location on Highway 541 where I could have the perfect convergence of having cell service and be within a POTA entity and near to the mountains. This would allow me to receive any updates … Continue reading A tale of two back to back activations→
by Teri (KO4WFP) Monday, July 15, the second day of my North Carolina camping trip for POTA and SOTA, started chilly with overcast skies. Today I would attempt my first SOTA activations. I chose two easy summits – Black Balsam Knob and Richland Balsam. Daisy and I headed out after a simple breakfast up US … Continue reading The POTA Babe Becomes a SOTA Babe – Part 1→
by Teri (KO4WFP) Sunday, July 14 finally arrived, a day for which I prepared the past five weeks. It was time for Daisy and the POTA Babe to head to North Carolina for a week of POTA, SOTA, and camping. The drive was straight-forward and easy – Interstate 95 to Interstate 26. About four hours … Continue reading The POTA Babe Goes North – Day 1→
Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) for sharing the following video recorded during his multi-park rove with Andrea (IU1APL). The video was only recently published, but I’ve added it to Christian’s original field report. We’re highlighting it here for those who may otherwise miss it. (Note: Some of the video is in Italian, but YouTube closed … Continue reading Video: IX1CKN & IW0HK’s Friedrichshafen ’24 POTA Rove→
On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, my wife and I were in the middle of a week-long stay in Wilmington, North Carolina, while our daughters attended residential programs at NCSU and UNCW. That particular day, we couldn’t decide what to do because the weather was fickle! Temperatures and humidity were high, fueling a constant string of … Continue reading Beautiful POTA activation at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson and Afternoon in Southport!→
Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report: A Breathtaking “Support Your Parks” Weekend in IT-0120 by Christian (IX1CKN) …Day 1 The goal I had in mind was to take advantage of early morning greyline from a POTA reference, combining the appeal of an activating station with the propagation opportunities at that time of … Continue reading Christian Chases Greyline DX on Support Your Parks Weekend!→
Yesterday was the annual Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) QRP contest, a four-hour sprint sponsored by The Adventure Radio Society. It’s been a couple of years since I last took part, so I was glad to get out for a couple of hours this afternoon. Prior to the contest, I signed up to be a bumblebee station and was assigned bumblebee number 82.
I operated from a picnic area in nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761). There were several picnics in progress, so I headed to an area well away from them. I found a nice shady spot under the trees, where I set up my table and chair. Except for having to swat the occasional bug, it was a comfortable spot.
My operating position under some nice shady trees
My rig was an Elecraft KX3, running 5 watts. I dusted off my trusty homebrew 19-foot vertical and put it to use for this event.
In general, the bands weren’t all that great. Most of the signals I heard were weak, and there was considerable fading on the bands. A few contacts were a real struggle.
The FOBB activity was surprisingly brisk when I first started, but slowed dramatically as the contest wore on. In about two hours and a half hours of operating, I ended up with 22 contest QSOs. Fourteen of those were with fellow bumblebees. Before I shut down, I came across a POTA station and had a quick park-to-park contact outside of the contest.
Although I was in a POTA entity, I didn’t spot myself or call “CQ POTA.” However, my FOBB contacts were more than enough to complete an activation.
Given the conditions, I did better than I expected. Thanks to those stations that hung in there to pull me out of the noise.
Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the following field report: QRPppppp….WSPR By: Conrad Trautmann (N2YCH) WSPR, or Weak Signal Propagation Reporter, is a digital mode you can select within WSJT-X. You can use the data that’s generated by the WSPR network to check your own antenna’s performance for transmitting and receiving and also to see what … Continue reading Beyond the Beacon: Conrad Discovers the Unexpected Benefits of WSPR→
Tuesday, July 9, 2024, was a very radio-active day! I was in Wilmington, North Carolina, and that morning, I had the privilege of activating the Battleship North Carolina from inside the battleship. Click here to read the field report and watch the video. In short? It was amazing and certainly a fabulous way to start … Continue reading Carolina Beach State Park: A QRP Oasis Amidst the Summer Heat and Activities→
Many thanks to Karl (K5KHK) for sharing this guest post, which originally appeared on his blog, Karl Heinz Kremer’s Ramblings: A Digital Station in Your Pocket by Karl Heinz (K5KHK) How small can a complete station to work FT4/8 be? With the QRP-Labs QMX, we have a transceiver that certainly fits the bill for a … Continue reading Karl Heinz’s Pocket-Sized Digital HF Station→
This past weekend, I attended the WCARS hamfest in Waynesville, North Carolina. My buddy Vlado (N3CZ) and I purchased a few indoor tables to sell some gear we no longer needed. I also gave a short presentation about the ins and outs of going QRP. It was a lot of fun! I was surprised at … Continue reading Do I make videos of all of my field activations?→
I had a chance to use the inexpensive whip I bought through AliExpress recently. While it performed well enough, I encountered a couple of minor quality issues. That’s certainly not surprising, given its $18 USD price tag.
Extending the whip, I noticed that two of the sections were pretty tight and took some effort to pull them out. Better tight than loose, I guess. Another issue is that the crimp that holds the mounting stud in the bottom section of the antenna was a little loose. When the antenna was fully seated in the mount, I could still rotate the antenna.
My $18 (USD) whip from AliExpress mounted on my homebrew loading coil
Because this whip is longer than a quarter wave on 20M, I didn’t extend the first section from the bottom. Using an antenna analyzer, I was seeing SWR readings similar to my MFJ-1979 whip. The SWR readings seemed stable. So, I guess the suspect crimp is making a good enough connection.
Band conditions seemed so-so this morning. Despite that, I logged 25 contacts on 40M and 20M in an hour, including three park-to-park contacts. I didn’t work any DX stations today, but I worked a station on the west coast in Washington on 20M.
Even with its issues, the whip did a pretty decent job this morning. It won’t replace my MFJ whip, but it will have a place in my antenna arsenal.
Black-A-Tor Copse National Nature ReserveMany thanks to Lee (M0VKR) who shares the following field report and video: A QRP CW POTA Adventure on Black-a-Tor by Lee (M0VKR) It was another sunny morning when my wife Joanne and I set off for a new mini adventure. Our destination was Black-a-Tor on Dartmoor, Devon, a scenic location ideal for … Continue reading Lee’s QRP CW POTA Adventure on Black-a-Tor→
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