The spontaneous HF radio operating enabled by the new Elecraft KH1 handheld transceiver opens up a whole new set of opportunities for the POTA activator. Combined with the sprawling Golden Gate National Recreation Area (US-0647) you could do an awful lot of POTA activations and not operate from the same spot twice.

Nestled between the San Francisco Maritime NHP and the Marina Green, Fort Mason and the land it occupies was a location of military importance from before California was a U.S. state through the second World War.

My plan today was to operate from Black Point Battery, a fortification from the time of the American Civil War, or the war between the states, if you prefer. This location is of particular interest to me because over 40 years ago I worked a summer job on an archaeology crew that unearthed this gun battery.

I remember digging and sifting a lot of dirt! We frequently found spent primers used to fire the guns, there were hundreds of them! Occasionally we’d find “live” primers which had to be treated with care. What was most exciting however is when the timbers that supported the semi-circular track on which the guns would pivot were uncovered.

While it wasn’t particularly busy, I didn’t want to setup a separate antenna atop the berm because there is a pathway there that people use to get sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. I deployed the KH1 with the supplied 4 ft. whip and Tufteln 3D printed angle adapter while sitting atop a concrete entryway to one of the old magazines.

Although I checked conditions before heading out, it seemed that propagation was really quite poor today. In a half hour of tuning and calling, I’d only managed a single QSO on 20m while 17m and 15m seemed completely dead. This was unusually quiet for a Saturday afternoon.

With only two hours of parking, if I wanted a chance at a valid activation then I needed a new plan. I descended the hill down to the the piers that served as the point of embarkation for servicemen heading into the Pacific war in the 1940s.

I found a spot behind the old firehouse that offered protection from the wind which was really blowing at this point, too windy even for a tripod vertical. However, I felt I needed longer antenna to combat the lousy propagation with my QRP signal.

I walked back to the car and retrieved a quick release mount and MFJ-1979 telescoping whip antenna. This quarter wave vertical gives a 1-to-1 match on 20 meters when fully extended. A length of ABR Industries RG-316 connected the antenna to the BNC port in the KH1. I bypassed the internal tuner and got a “perfect” match.

With this setup, and being closer to the Bay waters, I was able to make more progress towards a complete activation. A rocky outcrop at the base of Black Point blocked my view to the east and southeast, but I had a clear shot over the Bay to the north so, unsurprisingly, this is where most of the contacts came for today’s activation.

Fortunately, 30 more minutes was all that was needed to fill the log with the QSOs for a complete activation. Even though this wasn’t a purely pedestrian mobile expedition, like the Wave Organ, I probably would not have even come to this spot without the inspiration provided by the KH1.

Many thanks to the hunters and other activators that ultimately made this POTA a success. Some of the call signs in the log were familiar and some were brand new to me, this is my favorite kind of operation to work both old and new friends.

Equipment used in this activation:

• Elecraft KH1 with internal tuner and whip antenna.
• MFJ-1979 telescoping whip.
• ABR Industries RG-316, 25 feet.
• Rite In The Rain spiral notepad.
• Zebra Mechanical Pencil
• Quick Release 3/8×24 antenna mount

73 de W6CSN

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It is not uncommon for California to experience a spell of warm weather in late January or February with temperatures rising into the mid-60s °F. This typically occurs when high barometric pressure builds over the eastern Pacific and into the Pacific Northwest, causing an offshore wind flow over California.

With the warm temperatures came a wonderful display of altocumulus clouds throughout the day. In fact, the real reason this activation gets a blog post is to show some pictures of the pretty clouds!

Enough about the weather, let’s talk radio. The FT-818 has been getting a lot of use recently. While it does lack a built-in antenna “tuner” and CW message memory, it’s the closest I have to a shack-in-a-box. And, it’s the only portable HF radio I presently have that goes above 20 meters.

Collapsing the lower three and a half sections of the MFJ-1979 telescoping whip, I am able to get a good match on 15 meters, which is where I started this activation. By operating on 21MHz late in the day, my hope was to get some Pacific-rim DX as well as the more likely stateside QSOs. The strategy paid off with three Japanese stations responding to my CQ POTA calls. Sigs weren’t strong, but with some persistence we were able to complete the required exchange of callsigns.

Next, I tuned the radio to 20 meters and fully extended the whip antenna for a one-to-one match. The N0NBH space weather report on qrz.com showed the geomagnetic field to be in “unsettled” territory and QRN on 14 megahertz was getting up to S5. Nevertheless, propagation was still quite good with calls from all over the USA, Canada and Alaska.

With the sun dipping below the western bluffs of the Presidio of San Francisco, I sent a final QRT after one last call from N4GO in Kentucky. El Niño winters can bring a mixed bag of interesting weather to Northern California and today’s “t-shirt” weather was perfect for getting out for a little outdoor amateur radio.

73 de W6CSN

SOTA summit: Cabeza de Mesa https://sotl.as/summits/EA1/AT-052

Activation Date: July 11, 2023

Unique: Yes, peak number 276

Call sign used: EA/M0SNA/P

Portable operation: Yes

Radios: Yeasu 857D

Antennas: SOTABeams 20/40 bandhopper

Band/Modes used: 20m and 40m voice

Operating highlights:

• Spectacular views
• EA2 – new association for me

Pack weight: Approximately 25 lbs

Drive: Park in Sotres

Hike:  ~8.3 miles R/T with ~2,800 ft ascent. 

Hike and AZ profile:

• Long, fairly easy to follow trail but steep at times
• Very few other hikers
• Large, no trees
• Rocks etc to help secure mast

Recommend: Yes but travel light

Solo operation: All alone

Cell Coverage: Good cell coverage 

Photos: Copyright Paul Gacek 2024

Out of the corner of my eye I’ve watched his movie. It didn’t really matter that I couldn’t hear anything as it was in Spanish, set during the Spanish Civil War and actually looked quite good. Boredom had me restless and I rifled through the Iberian in flight magazine that like so many has airport maps, pictures of unbelievable cuisine and something that absolutely caught my eye. Asturias; mountains, coast line, royal palaces and of course cuisine. I’m sold.

Interrupted by Covid and years later, I find myself driving toward what I thought would be a great first Spanish peak. The barrier was unmistakable and the bright neon lights declaring no entry without reservation was not what I wanted to see this early AM.

“Do you speak English?”, “Yes” she replies telling me that twenty minutes earlier, I could have driven in but now and without any reservation I’m out of luck. Come back tomorrow but that isn’t really my plan as I have this not so carefully planned trip to climb peaks, see Vitoria’s (1813) geography and then enjoy Bilbao and aspects of the Basque Country.

The idea of speeding is silly and really isn’t an option. The mountain roads are very narrow, climb relentless and wind and wind around a geologic marvel that is the Picos de Europa National Park. It’s July and while not a big destination for foreigners, it’s super popular with Spanish and I’m convinced my late arrival will yield no parking spot and all in all I’m skunked.

The downside to parking in Sotres is the 500 ft decent to then start a 2,200ft ascent but I have a space and walk down the paved road trying hard to determine which peak is mine.

The car pulls up next to me and the window winds down. “Sorry, I don’t speak Spanish” is my reply to her. “Would you like a ride?”. Thinking wasn’t required and I blurted out “yes!!”. Pilling in the back they inquire where I have been. The story of mountain top radio needs a little explanation. The three young hikers were very curious about my peak and I surmised my paltry 8 miles and almost 3,000ft was just a warm up for them. Nevertheless, this Basque Country trio are charming and pretty much take me right to my car. Absolutely a Godsend as I was knackered.

Thirty euros buys me all I can eat at the hotel for dinner and then I discover it includes all you can drink….wine, beer….

Like most Brits, I love Spain, I really do. The south is a big attraction with its warm weather, beaches and sometimes Fish and Chips. In stark contrast, the Atlantic Coast of Spain is green, wet and a place less trodden. It’s been a desire of mine to hike/drive west along the Pyrenees and then along the Atlantic coast to that little know Napoleonic debacle that was the evacuation via Corunna (1809). Another day, sooner than later.

The new year means time off work and the opportunity to overindulge in amateur radio activities. With no antenna installed presently at my home QTH, all of my operating must be done in the field.

For January 1st, 2024 I was able to complete two POTA activations at local parks. The first was actually on December 31st local time but was a New Year’s activation nonetheless as the calendar already turned in Greenwich.

The Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Site K-7889 is the park in my “backyard” where I rolled in just after 00 UTC. It didn’t occur to me to take a lot of pictures of the radio action but there was a nice sunset.

A total of 16 QSOs made it into the log, one was a duplicate and it seems two of the other contacts were “busted” as they didn’t return anything from lookup in qrz.com. I didn’t have any difficulty copying the calls and neither operator corrected me so I can only log what I copied.

Advice to hunters: don’t be afraid to correct the activator if you have any doubt as to whether they copied your call correctly, even if you are on the slower side with CW or the activator is working fast. POTA is not a contest and I’d rather take the time to log your call correctly than end up with a busted contact and you not getting hunter credit for the QSO.

The next morning we got up early for the traditional New Year’s Day hike. In the mediterranean climate of central California, there are good odds that January 1st weather will be clear and bright, if not overly warm.

We headed to the Tennessee Valley which cuts through the Marin Headlands out to a small beach of the same name. All of this area is within the expansive boundaries of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area K-0647.

The problem with being in a valley is the surrounding terrain is not exactly conducive to QRP radio operating. So we began to hike up one of the “roads” up toward Coyote Ridge. These trails are wide enough for a vehicle to pass but most parts are so steep that only a serious off-road vehicle could manage it. Besides, the gate is locked at the trailhead parking area.

After 800 feet of elevation gain I was not at the top of the Coyote Ridge but high enough to have a radio view to the east. The hike this far had been short, but quite strenuous so I was happy to find a flat-ish spot off the trail to setup a tripod and antenna.

I ran the RG-316 coax 25 feet from the antenna to the operating position where an embankment offered perfect place to sit by the side of the trail. While I worked for about 45 minutes to get ten contacts on 20 meters my hiking companion continued up the steep trail to Coyote Ridge, from which she assured me that the views were excellent.

Again, between the hiking and scratching for QSOs I neglected to take pictures of the radio setup. But picture in your mind the red Mountaintopper MTR-4B with N0SA Sota paddles and black 3ah 12v power source and that was the station.

As soon as the activation was complete, I packed up the station and we booked it back down the hill as we had a some errands to run before a family get-together in the afternoon.

Happy New Year and 73,

W6CSN

The weather in San Francisco on Christmas Day 2023 was partly cloudy and dry, with mild temperatures in the upper 50s. Additionally, the space “weather” numbers did not contraindicate the likelihood of success for a low power radio activation.

Rather than being a full field report, this post simply notes the achievement in the Parks On The Air program of making 1000 contacts as an activator from a single park reference: K-7889 “The Presidio of SF National Historic Site.”

It took 67 individual activations averaging about 15 QSOs each, over a span of a year and a half to reach the 1000 QSO mark. The “Kilo” was a 5 watt CW contact on 20 meters with KB3A in Alabama. The station on my end was the Yaesu FT-818 running to a resonant quarter-wave vertical antenna.

My thanks to the all hunters that responded to my low powered “CQ POTA” calls over these past 18 months, including many “regulars” such as Paul KJ7DT, Mike N7WPO, Jim WB0RLJ (p2p), Mike AL7KC, and Steve KG5CIK.

73 de W6CSN

Fort Baker is a former U.S. Army post situated at the north of side of the Golden Gate, opposite Fort Point and adjacent the town of Sausalito, California. The post is now part of the sprawling Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) which is also known as K-0647 for POTA.

Many of the good POTA spots in the GGNRA are heavily used for recreation and sightseeing on weekend days such as this, but Cavallo Point is out of the way enough that there was still ample, free parking today. This location offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the city of San Francisco, and Alcatraz and Angel Islands at anchor in San Francisco Bay.

Today the “pull of POTA” was strong as I wanted to get another activation done before the arrival of an anticipated solar storm as well as rains predicted for the coming week.

During the week leading up to this activation the Bay Area has experienced fine weather with mild daytime temperatures and light winds, but driving in, the sound of rigging slapping loudly against the aluminum masts of the sailboats docked in the Presidio Yacht Club marina told me that it was windy down here.

A short series of wooden staircases lead up from the parking area to Battery Yates, named for Captain George Yates of the U.S. Cavalry who fell in the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876.

The gun battery is a reinforced concrete structure which once sported six rifles that fired a three inch caliber cartridge to provide for naval defense inside of San Francisco Bay. The guns were manned through the middle of World War Two when, by 1943, they had been moved to more strategic locations.

Today I had hoped to use the same steel pipe which supported a fiberglass mast and EFHW in an earlier activation from this spot, but unfortunately the pipe was too thick to get the jaw mount securely attached.

I went with plan B which was to use the pipe railing at the back edge of the gun pit. Being unsure whether or not the galvanized steel railing made any electrical connection to what surely must be rebar embedded in the concrete, I deployed the 17 foot vertical whip with three radials just in case.

Whatever was serving as a counterpoise, it was doing a great job, providing an SWR reading of 1.0 to 1 on the Mountaintopper MTR-4B. This was probably the third activation on this Lithium-Ion battery pack, so the power was down to 3.7 watts, still plenty for a CW activation with a resonant antenna.

The activation was scheduled ahead of time on the POTA web application so all I had to do was just start calling CQ POTA and let the RBN do the spotting. I soon heard from KG6HM from right across the Bay, followed by stations from Washington, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

I was starting to think it would be only western states calling in, but the band opened up a bit, bringing N3RT from Delaware. Now we had a proper coast-to-coast activation, and, I bagged a hard-to-get state needed for an informal CW “Worked-All-States” achievement.

By this time, the wind really started to pick up and with the sun so low in the western sky, it was becoming chilly. Satisfied with the 14 QSOs in the log, we packed up, made our way back down the pathway to the car, and then to a fancy coffee house in Sausalito for a nice warm cup.

Equipment Used

• Mountaintopper MTR-4B v2 by LNR Precision
• Talentcell 3000 maH 12v Li-Ion battery pack
• ABR RG-316 coax feedline with ferrite common-mode choke
• MFJ-1979 telescoping whip from DX Engineering
• Quick release mirror mount with 3/8×24 to SO-239 adapter
• N0SA SP4 Morse paddles by CWMORSE.US
• MUJI Notebook for logging
• ZEBRA mechanical pencil for logging (the “shock absorber” spring makes this great for field use)
• Various Maxpedition Gear pocket organizers

73 de W6CSN

With the autumn days getting shorter and shorter the amount of time available for an “after work” Parks On The Air activation is shrinking, at least if daylight operations are desired.

Adapting to this seasonal change, I’ve started doing more midday operating from K-7889. It’s nice to break up the work day with a little bit of exercise and some CW.

I mention exercise because for these midday activations, my best option is to walk to the south entrance to the Presidio and set up the station at Inspiration Point. This particular location is about a mile from my home QTH with a small hill to climb to get into the park. So, for the whole outing I can also get at least two miles of walking done, which is better than no miles of walking.

Usually a park bench is available for the operating position and even if the benches are in use you typically don’t have to wait long before somebody clears out. I try to confine myself to half of a bench should someone want to take a seat on the other half.

The GRA-3750 antenna is deployed on the short rock wall, in the corner which is out of the way of people coming to see the excellent San Francisco Bay views available from this lookout point.

For security, I unclip the shoulder straps of my pack and reattach them through an iron armrest of the park bench. Hopefully this will discourage any thief from a quick snatch attempt while my back is turned or if I am focused on my operation. I’ve never had any issue here but it is an urban location and it’s wise to keep your awareness up.

The downside of a midday, midweek activation is that I have a hard stop so that I can walk home and resume work on time. Today, my stop time was 20:00 UTC and I was still three contacts shy of a complete activation. Nevertheless, it was still satisfying to work some new stations, some regular hunters, and even some substantial DX.

73 de W6CSN

Back in July of 2022 I got skunked attempting a POTA activation of the Point Reyes National Seashore netting only four QSOs from the Bear Valley picnic area. Like MacArthur, I vowed to return and finish the job of completing an activation from this national park.

The plan for today was to first hit the Marconi Conference Center State Historic Park (K-3470) then to head south and to the other side of Tomales Bay to activate Pt. Reyes National Seashore (K-0651) from Bear Valley where I had unfinished business.

The Marconi Conference Center is a state park unit that was originally the location of the Marconi Company’s KPH receiving station. The state park brochure details the radio action as well as other odd activities to take place at this location.

At Marconi it seemed only fitting to operate from the old antenna site atop Tower Hill. A little satellite reconnaissance ahead of time seemed to show a nice open hilltop area with what looked like some picnic tables.

Climbing the hill I was a little disappointed to see a large white “party tent” had been set up for some sort of occasion. But there were no people around and the picnic tables were all arranged behind the tent.

With plenty of antenna options at my disposal, I settled on the 17 ft whip set atop the GRA-ULT01 tripod. Fully extended, this antenna is a quarter wave on 20 meters. It took all six 17 foot radials to get the SWR to a minimum.

About 45 minutes of operating netted the 10 QSOs needed for a complete activation. I pulled down the antenna, tipped my hat to OM Marconi, and was off to the next park.

Not wanting to struggle with possibly poor connectivity at Bear Valley, I stopped in Point Reyes Station and scheduled my next activation so the POTA application would automatically spot me after hearing my CQ calls reported by the RBN.

Pro tip: grab a sandwich at the deli in the back of the Palace Market in Point Reyes Station so you are properly fed for the second half of your POTA day.

Pt. Reyes National Seashore is a huge national park unit with over 70,000 acres of protected landscape and seashore. Bear Valley is the administrative hub with a large visitor center to serve the public.

The San Andreas fault that runs through California heads offshore at Point Reyes and one of the interpretive paths at Bear Valley shows historical evidence of the violent ground movement that accompanied the 1906 earthquake that destroyed San Francisco.

While plenty of options were available, this second activation of the day was accomplished with the same radio, the Yaesu FT-818, and vertical antenna used for my earlier operations at Marconi. The steel base for the CW Morse paddles came in handy to hold the key firmly on this concrete picnic table.

With about an hour of working on 20 meters, including some breaks to explain ham radio and Park On The Air to curious passers by, I had 12 QSOs in the log. This was enough for a valid activation, I had settled the score with Pt. Reyes!

Even though it is autumn there are still plenty of summer vegetables available from local farms. The journey home included a stop at the farm stand for Little Wing Farm where I purchased several squashes and a bag of San Marzano variety tomatoes.

73 de W6CSN

A later arrival at my usual spot and an hour and a half of available operating time meant that if propagation cooperated I could get some “late shift” activator QSOs into my POTA stats.

Late shift at K-7889 starts at 0200Z and my first contact of the evening was a quick park-to-park with WB0RLJ at 01:22Z. I continued at a steady, but not torrid pace, working nine more stations before the end of the hour.

The QSO rate picked up a little and I was able to make eight Late Shift contacts in 12 minutes. Since I was just working from a picnic table the rapid onset of darkness signaled my time to wrap up.

Many thanks to all the hunters and fellow activators for a successful “Late Shift” POTA outing.

73 de W6CSN