An Activation With An Up And Coming Mode

I’ve been pretty active on the Mastodon radio community for a while and I’ve noticed that there are a lot of operators using a mode called Single Side Band or SSB for something called Phone. Apparently, this is where you talk into the microphone (that box with a wire on it that comes with most radios) and converse with other operators as you might with CW or a digital keyboard mode. I decided to give it another try as I headed out to West Branch State Park – US-1999.

OK. Yeah.

I don’t do a lot of phone at the park because I don’t like being the weirdo sitting at a park bench talking to himself. Or even worse, sounding like I’m having the strangest telephone conversation ever. So I generally stick to silent modes like CW or digital. But today, I decided that I would take a few toys to the park that hadn’t been out in a while and just play for a bit.

Return Of The Rock

The Hardrock-50 is a piece of gear that I usually reserve for OSPOTA and when we go camping in the camper. It’s a fantastic amp with wonderful performance. With it plugged into my 20 aH battery, I can run for quite some time at a staggering 40 watts or more! It’s crazy to think I have that much power at my disposal.

The HR50 was a natural accessory for doing phone at the park. 10 watts of SSB is like screaming into a pillow in my experience, so I usually just skip it. With the amp, I can actually get out and hit some other stations. I usually do fairly well at OSPOTA and I credit a lot of that to the Hardrock.

I also grabbed the Chameleon whip and extension out of the Jeep trunk and set that up as my antenna of choice. It’s really great on 20-meters and works really well with the amount of power I was planning to use. My QRP antennas were off the table (but still in the trunk just in case). 

Well That Was Fast

I had enough contacts to call it an activation in about 10 minutes. I had forgotten how quickly phone pile-ups set in and my smooth handling skills were a bit out of practice. Nonetheless, the generous hams out there managed to muddle through some weird shifts on the bands with me. I was getting reports that 40 was unusable and 20 was in and out. And it was. I had more than a couple of contacts drop out from under me just as we were finishing up our QSO. The wind noise at the park wasn’t helping matters either.

Back To Basics

With 40-some phone QSOs in the log, I took the time to shift over to CW. With an amp, I was REALLY getting out. Grabbed about 17 contacts before I decided to pack it in and get some lunch. I did bring the tablet along with the intention of using ALL THE MODES but I got hungry and left my granola bar on the kitchen table. Next time!

Fear Becomes Reality

There are few things I like less than being surprised. With my head down and deep in the pile-ups I was absolutely startled by a woman and her dog who walked up behind me to see what I was up to. It was a very, very friendly older pup and the nice lady had a lot to say about her podcast project that didn’t have a name yet. She was really nice and gave me a chance to pull my head out of operating long enough to explain myself and the weirdness she was seeing. It was a nice conversation.

After I’d moved over to CW it happened again. A young woman poked her head around me and asked if I fished here often. After finishing my QSO I said that I’d done a lot of fishing at West Branch, but no catching. I did point out where I see the bass boats with old dudes smoking cigarettes and sipping coffee all the time. Not that I ever saw them catch anything, but they must be in those spots for a reason, right?

All of this took me right back to late fall and how much I love this park when it empties out for the season. When it can be busy enough for visitors on a Thursday in July, well, it’s time to move to other parks until it gets cold again.

The QSO Map

Lots and lots of contacts from coast to coast. A pile of park to park contacts are hidden in there as well. It’s awesome!  Here’s the QSO Map.

Final

It’s great to play with this hobby and cycle through things once in a while. Dusting off a mode I don’t often use can be a blast. The battery box and HR50 aren’t that cumbersome so I should toss them in more often. QRP will always be the most fun for me, but there’s no reason not to drag along a couple of extra watts now and again.

Thanks for reading along and 73!