Where: US-3315, Island Lake Recreation Area (near Brighton, MI)
When: 1:00 pm – 4 pm (1700 – 2000 UTC)
Who: On this activation, it was just me.
Weather: Beautiful day.  Sunny skies, temperature in the low 80s, and very little humidity.

Now that I’m back from Dayton, it’s time to start enjoying the summer. For many hams, that means Parks on the Air! I’ve already made a couple of activations, and plan to make many more this summer. I’ve also decided to blog about each activation.

Yesterday, I activated US-3315, Island Lake Recreation Area, the park closest to my house. They’re doing some renovations at the two spots where I usually set up—the Bluebird and Hickory picnic areas—so I set up at the Kent Lake beach area. There isn’t a shelter close to the parking lot, but there are plenty of trees to provide shade.

Notes

• I chose kind of a public place for this activation. Public places are good for attracting visitors, but you have to be more careful with your antennas. I put some caution tape on both legs of my inverted V antenna, but even so, you should keep an eye on the antenna. A family with small kids claimed a couple of picnic table near me, and at one point, one of the toddlers decided it might be fun to play with the antenna. Overall, I think that I prefer a more secluded spot. I’ll just have to hike a bit further from the parking lot.
• Having said that, the young(ish) father of the toddler came over when I started tearing down and inquired about what I was doing. He said that he was thinking of getting an SDR, so that he could start monitoring different services. I gave him my card and encouraged him to contact me if he developed an interest in amateur radio.
• I spotted my first sandhill crane of the year. Last year, they were regular visitors, and I’m happy that they’re back this year.
• 20 meters sounded kind of dead, even though I was getting some decent spots on Reverse Beacon. I’m thinking that there are fewer hunters in the early afternoons, for whatever reason.
• I was getting a weird, intermittent, man-made noise that I had not heard before at this park. I thought it might be from passing cars, but I couldn’t really figure out where it was coming from.
• I have some fancy banana plugs that I’m using on the radio end of my twisted-pair feedline. These do provide a good connection, but for some reason, the screws holding the wire in place are coming loose. I’m hoping a little LocTite on the threads will cure that problem.
• Immediately after going QRT, I downloaded the log to Evernote. I didn’t do this last time, and unfortunately, my phone completely died and I lost that log.
• Next time, I’ll bring a rag or a brush, to brush and dirt or branches on the table before I begin operating.