As I have gotten older, the heat and I don’t get along very well anymore. So, with the heat and humidity forecasted for today, I was just going to stay home and get caught up on some things around the house. My (far) better half intervened and encouraged me to go out early before it got too hot. She’s always right, so off I went.

I drove down to Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414) and found a parking spot with some shade. Along with my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW), I used an MFJ-1979 17-foot whip with my homebrew loading coil. 

I started out on 40M and wound up staying there for my whole activation. The band was in pretty good shape, as it only took about eight minutes to log my first 10 contacts. 

About 40 minutes into my activation, I got a call from my (far) better half. There was an issue at home, so I packed up and headed out.

I ended up with 20 contacts this morning, with four known park-to-park contacts. One contact was with fellow QRP enthusiast, Jim W1PID. It’s been a while, so it was nice to hear him again. One of my park-to-park contacts was with QRPer Thomas K4SWL. We had a very light copy on each other, but he persevered and eventually pulled me out of the noise. Thanks for your patience, Thomas!

On an unrelated note, it’s great to have Logbook of the World (LoTW) back up and running, after a serious cybersecurity incident. The system also seems to run much faster now, so it’s nice to see the backlog steadily declining. I’m guessing things should be back to normal in the next week or so.

Finally, I’d like to wish my fellow Americans a very happy and safe Independence Day!

72, Craig WB3GCK

I mentioned in a previous post that I’m out in central Pennsylvania, doing some house sitting for my daughter’s family and taking care of my grand-dog. I wanted to get in at least one park activation while I’m here, but I didn’t want to leave the pup alone for too long. Fortunately, Pennsylvania State Game Lands 246 (US-8941, KFF-5862) is just minutes away.

I last activated PA SGL 246 back in 2022 and had 34 contacts. So, 10 contacts this time would not only qualify another activation for Parks on the Air (POTA), but it would also give me the 44 contacts needed for World Wide Flora and Fauna (WWFF). 

I rolled into the empty parking lot and quickly set up my 12-foot loaded whip on the back of the truck. My rig today was my trusty KX3 today (5W, CW).

I started out on 40M and was greeted with about S2 worth of noise. I’m guessing it was coming from a power line that runs over the parking lot. Despite the noise, I made 10 contacts in about 13 minutes. Then things seemed to dry up.

I moved up to 30M for a while, but there were no takers. Determined to add at least one more contact, I went back down to 40M. It took a few minutes, but I finally got one more call.

Around that time, it was starting to get hot in the truck. I also neglected to grab my water bottle as I headed out the door. Doh! So, having narrowly exceeded my goal of 10 contacts, I packed up before I got too dehydrated. Besides, I had an errand to run before heading back to the house.   

After about 30 minutes of operating, the grand total today was 11 contacts. I don’t think I had any park-to-park contacts. 

I think this might have been the shortest activation I have ever done.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Today I did something I don’t think I have done before: a single-band activation. Normally, I spend time on several bands. Today, however, I wanted to see how my 17-ft whip would perform mounted directly to the antenna mount on my truck (sans loading coil). 

I drove down to Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414) this morning and set up in one of the picnic areas. After mounting the antenna, I broke out my antenna analyzer. Since the fully extended whip is approximately a quarter-wave on 20M, I wasn’t surprised by the SWR readings. With 15 feet of RG-8X coax attached, the SWR was a flat 1.45 across the band. So I fired up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and hung out on 20M for the next hour.

When I checked the band conditions, I saw the geomagnetic field was “unsettled.” Solar wackiness notwithstanding, I logged my first 10 contacts in about 12 minutes. European signals weren’t very strong this morning, but I still managed three DX contacts: two from Italy and one from France. An hour’s effort produced 26 contacts, including four park-to-park contacts. 

I’m planning to dust off a 25 year old 20M QRP rig and use it for a future activation. This antenna configuration might come into play for that. Stay tuned…

72, Craig WB3GCK

I went back to Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380) for a quick activation this morning, and things got off to an interesting start. After setting up my trusty Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip, things just didn’t seem right. My SWR on 40M was high, and even my Elecraft T1 antenna tuner couldn’t get it lower than 3:1. 

I started checking cables and connections, but everything looked OK. Heck, it’s not a very complicated antenna, so there isn’t much that can go wrong. When I got out of the truck to change to another antenna, I noticed my 12-foot whip looked a little shorter than usual. I took the whip off and immediately found the problem. In my haste to get set up this morning, I neglected to extend the top section of the telescoping whip. Doh! Once I pulled the top section out and re-installed the whip, all was right with the world again. 

Despite getting off to a slow start, my results weren’t too bad (by my standards). I finished with 36 contacts, including one known park-to-park contact. I had one DX contact with IW2NXI.

I finished my activation just in the nick of time. An hour after I got home, there was a major geomagnetic storm in progress. Timing is everything.

73, Craig WB3GCK

I almost talked myself out of this activation today. We had a long day yesterday at a family function with about four hours of driving, so my initial inclination was to take it easy today. In the end, the POTA urge was too great to deny, and I’m glad I went.

I drove over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761), which is just a couple of miles down the road. It had been about five months since my last visit, so I was overdue for an activation here. 

Using my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip, I started out on 40M. The signals were surprisingly strong this morning. My activation kicked off with a park-to-park contact with N1BS up in Rhode Island.

Forty and 20M produced most of my contacts this morning. I ended up with 39 contacts with 6 park-to-park QSOs. I had four DX QSOs: two with Italian stations, and two with SM4BNZ in Sweden on 20M and 17M. 

I also had a nice park-to-park contact with fellow QRPer, AA4XX. It had been a while since our last QSO, so it was good to hear Paul on the air this morning. 

After about 90 minutes of operating, the bands seemed to dry up, so I packed up and made the short drive back home. 

In the end, it was a fun morning, so I’m glad I went. 

73, Craig WB3GCK

Since I’m slowly sneaking up on POTA “Repeater Offender” status (20 activations) at Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380), I made a quick trip back there this morning. Unlike the rainy weather I encountered last time, it was a beautiful, clear morning. 

Since it was a weekday, the parking lot at the Western Launch area was pretty empty. When I got out of the truck to set up my antenna, I noticed a large heron. Last time, he was patrolling the shallow, marshy area near my parking spot. Today, he was proudly standing on the dock, surveying his domain. I snapped a couple of pictures of him and continued setting up.

I went with my usual setup: my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. Starting on 40M, it took all of 12 minutes to make my first 10 contacts.

I had some errands to run, so I kept it short. In a little more than an hour, I logged 22 contacts. There weren’t any park-to-park contacts, but I did log four European stations (Italy, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Slovak Republic) on 17M. 

The heron eventually flew off. Like the heron, I took off, too—for home, that is.

Have a great weekend!

73, Craig WB3GCK

Over the course of the long Memorial Day weekend, I got in two short activations. As expected, there was a lot of activity going on at the parks. Parks in this area get a little busy on holiday weekends. 

Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)

I rolled into Ridley Creek State Park early on Saturday morning. Even at 0900 local time, the park was fairly crowded. I was going to operate from a picnic table, but given the number of people there, I decided against that. Between the hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers, and folks setting up for picnics, it was a busy place. 

Using my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot base-loaded whip, I logged 27 contacts. Most of the contacts were on 40M and 30M, with just one on 17M. No DX today, but I had three park-to-park contacts. After about 90 minutes, I packed up and headed home.

Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363)

On Monday, I had another early activation, this time at Norristown Farm State Park. As I expected, there were quite a few people at this park taking advantage of the holiday. 

This activation was almost a carbon copy of Saturday’s. I used my TR-35 and 12-foot loaded whip, and once again, I made 27 contacts with three park-to-park QSOs. Like the last activation, 40M and 30M were the most productive bands for me. 

This time, though, I worked two European stations (Italy and Sweden) on 17M. These were my first DX contacts in more than a month, so I was glad to be out of my slump. 

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday weekend. Be sure to take time to honor those who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy.

73, Craig WB3GCK

I was first bitten by the parks bug, taking part in ARRL’s National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. When NPOTA ended, I started activating parks under the World Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF) program. When Parks on the Air (POTA) came along, I started submitting my logs to both programs—and still do. 

Since POTA and WWFF are separately administered, there are some significant differences between the two programs. One notable difference involves the park designators. In some cases the park numbers are the same, but often they’re different. For example, the designator for PA 246 State Game Land is KFF-5862 in WWFF and US-8941 in POTA. Sometimes a park will be in one program but not the other. 

Fortunately, Al Zelna N3KAE has provided an online tool that makes it easy for “dual activators” to cross-reference the WWFF and POTA park designators in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the CQ Parks.net website to check it out. 

Dual Parks North America

If you aren’t familiar with WWFF, it’s the original Amateur Radio parks program. In its current form, WWFF dates back to 2012, but it has roots going back to about 2008. While POTA has seen tremendous growth since its inception, WWFF is still very popular in Europe and other parts of the world. When band conditions are good, a spot on the WWFF site or a DX cluster will often generate a European pile-up. It sure is fun having a bunch of DX stations chasing my little QRP station.

Have fun out in the parks, however you activate!

73 & 44, Craig WB3GCK

Lately, most weekends have been rainy around here. The forecast for tomorrow is much better than the rain today. Unfortunately, family obligations gave me no choice than to activate today.

I headed over to Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380) early this morning, to avoid heavier rain later in the day. Despite the lousy weather, there were a lot of cars in the parking lot. 

The rig today was my usual Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. As is my usual practice, I started on 40M. The band predictions forecasted poor daytime conditions on 40M, but that wasn’t my experience. Although some of the signal reports I received were lower than usual, I logged my first 10 contacts in about 13 minutes. My first contact was in Georgia, so that’s not too bad for 40M. The 30M band also seemed to be in decent shape. 

When I moved up to 20M, I found some annoying broadband noise across the band. I’ve never encountered that here before, so I was wondering if there was a hybrid vehicle or something in the parking lot. I skipped 20M and moved up to 17M. The band was nearly devoid of activity, and 15 minutes of CQing failed to produce a single contact. While I was CQing, though, I passed the time by watching a large heron wading by. I went back to 40M to finish up.

My final tally was 32 contacts, three of which were park-to-park. I didn’t have any DX contacts this morning, but there were some highlights:

• I had park-to-park contacts with KD8IE on two bands.
• I worked my friend Frank N3FLL. I talked to Frank on a local repeater on my way to the park and gave him a heads-up. He found me on 40M.
• I worked Al N3KAE on 40M. Al is the Regional Coordinator who uploads my WWFF logs for me. It was great to add him to the log.

My setup withstood the rain pretty well this morning. I used a piece of pipe insulation on the passenger side window, where I fed the coax through. The fit could have been better, but it kept the rain out. Once again, I used a plastic bag to protect my homebrew coil. When I took the antenna down, I used a chamois cloth to dry the whip as I collapsed it. That worked pretty well. 

Hopefully, we’ll have a rain-free weekend one of these days.

73, Craig WB3GCK

I had another rare opportunity to activate a park on a weekday. After all the solar wackiness over the weekend, I checked the band conditions before I got started. The numbers looked better, but I still expected to encounter some flakey band conditions.

I rolled into Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414) and started setting up. Once again, I used my 17-foot MFJ-1979 whip and homebrew loading coil. Thinking I would need all the help I could get, I went with the longer whip. The rig was my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW).

About a minute after spotting myself, I received a call on 40M from another activator. Another hunter called about a minute later. I was off to a good start, right? Not so fast! After those two calls, things really slowed down. 

I split my time between 40M, 30M, and 20M, and it took me about 45 minutes to make my first 10 contacts. In fact, I thought number 10 would never happen. 

An hour’s effort produced 15 contacts with 3 park-to-park contacts. Sadly, there were no DX contacts to be had. Happy to have salvaged the activation, I packed up and headed home.

Hopefully, the bands will get back in shape soon.

72, Craig WB3GCK

I’ve been toying with buying a 17-foot telescopic whip for some time now. I didn’t really have a pressing need for it, since my 12-foot whip has been doing a great job for me. As a result, I kept talking myself out of buying it—until now. When I heard the news that MFJ was shutting down production, I figured I might as well buy one while they’re still available.

With no additional matching, you can adjust the MFJ-1979 to cover the 20M band and higher. I figured this whip coupled with my “Junk Box Coil” should easily cover 40M through 20M with the antenna fully extended. The four-foot height advantage over my 12-foot whip, should yield some performance improvement. With my older, larger coil, operation on 80M might be possible.

To test my assumptions, I made a trip to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351), where I was one activation away from a POTA “Repeat Offender” award. Like my last visit, it was raining, and I seemed to be the only one in the park. 

I set up the 17-foot whip and coil on the back of the truck and quickly identified the proper tap for 40M. I used a Sharpie pen to mark the tap location. (The coil now has two sets of marks.) Despite an impending geomagnetic storm, I made my first 10 contacts in about 12 minutes. Not too bad for an early activation on a Friday morning. 

After about 25 minutes, I switched to the 30M band and marked the tap location on the coil. I picked up eight contacts on 30M before giving 20M a try. It was no surprise that the SWR was a flat 1.5:1 with the entire coil bypassed. Although conditions on 20M seemed a little weak, I logged five more contacts before pulling the plug. I ended up with 25 contacts in the log. No DX or park-to-park contacts today, unfortunately. 

For part of the activation, I used a plastic bag to keep the rain off the coil. When I got home, I brought the coil and the whip inside and dried everything off. While I had the whip extended, I measured the actual length. By my measurements, it’s 16 feet 11 inches long. 

Based on this brief test, I made a few observations:

• Compared to my older 12-foot MFJ whip, I don’t think the quality of the MFJ-1979 is as good. The older whip just seems to telescope more smoothly. Some online reviews mention problems keeping the antenna from collapsing after using it for a while. In an effort to avoid problems like that, I’ll be extremely careful when extending and collapsing the whip. 
• Performance on 40M, 30M, and 20M should be better than the 12-foot whip, given the additional length. A big difference? Given today’s band conditions, it was hard to tell.
• With the 17-foot whip and my coil, I can cover 40M. 30M, and 20M without adjusting the length of the whip. However, the 12-foot whip gives me 40M, 30M, 20M, and 17M without adjusting the whip. This lines up perfectly with the bands on my TR-35. 

I won’t be retiring my 12-foot whip anytime soon. I think for most POTA activations, I’ll stick with the 12-foot whip out of convenience. For contesting and activities like Winter Field Day, I will probably go with the 17-foot whip. I have an old 20M mono band QRP rig I want to put back on the air in the near future. The MFJ-1979 should be perfect for that. 

72, Craig WB3GCK

This was another of those weekends that involved different aspects of ham radio. I was involved in a public service event on Saturday, and I got my QRP-portable fix on Sunday morning.

Northbrook Canoe Challenge

The public service event was the annual Northbrook Canoe Challenge. This event has participants traveling 9.5 miles down the Brandywine River by canoe. The event, which benefits the Cerebral Palsy Association of Chester County, Pennsylvania, is always one of my favorites.

Once again, I served as the net control operator for the event. Chester County ARES-RACES (CCAR) had 13 operators at nine locations along the course. Several local dive teams also took up positions along the course, to ensure the safety of the participants. 

This year, I was set up at the Northbrook Canoe Company, which is the end point for the course. The weather was less than stellar, with on and off drizzle throughout the event. The CCAR team, along with a paramedic, hunkered down under a large overhang off of one of the buildings. Communications-wise, this is a straightforward event. CCAR’s repeater system provides excellent coverage in the area, so the entire course can be covered using HTs. I was able to run the net from my camp chair with my AnyTone HT. 

Fortunately, there were no serious issues to be dealt with, and judging by the cheers at the finish line, the participants had a great time, despite the weather. 

Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)

On Sunday morning, I wanted to get in a quick POTA activation. The weather was worse than the day before, with chillier temperatures and a more steady rainfall. 

I rolled into Evansburg State Park and found the park completely empty—except for one crazy old ham. After setting up my 12-foot loaded whip, I draped a plastic bag over the loading coil to give it some protection from the elements. I used my trusty TR-35 (5 watts, CW) up in the cab. 

For as early as it was (0900 EDT), the number of callers surprised me on 40M. I had my first 10 contacts in about 13 minutes. I operated for exactly an hour and spent most of my time on 40M. Moving up to 30M, I picked up three contacts there before shutting down. 

I ended up with 31 contacts, including one park-to-park contact that I’m aware of. No DX today, but the Canadian stations were really booming in. 

Towards the end of my activation, I had some rain coming in the passenger-side window where I bring the coax in. Normally, I use a piece of pipe insulation to help seal things up a bit, but I couldn’t find it in the truck. I have some more in the basement, so I’ll have to cut a new piece to fit the window. 

Now it’s time to dry off my antenna parts before putting them back in the truck for next time.

73, Craig WB3GCK

I drove over to Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for a quick activation. The bands weren’t very “QRP-friendly,” but I made the required 10 contacts plus another half-dozen for good measure.

I went with my usual setup: TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. After getting things setup, I tuned around the 40M band and heard Greg WA3GM booming in. Greg was operating from a POTA gathering at Evansburg State Park (US-1351). Since we were only about five miles apart, it was an easy park-to-park contact. 

After making 13 contacts on 40M, I moved up to 30M. My only QSO there was with W3WJ who was operating from Tyler State Park (US-1430, KFF-1430) about 20 miles away (as the crow flies). Our signals weren’t very strong, but we completed the park-to-park contact. 

I finished up with 16 contacts, three of which were park-to-park. I made all but one of them on 40M. 

Since I wasn’t too far away, I stopped by Evansburg State Park on my way home. The POTA gathering, sponsored by the Pottstown Area Amateur Radio Club (PAARC), was easy to find. The plethora of antennas was a dead giveaway. There were quite a few local hams there, and a good time was being had by all. After saying hello to WA3GM, KB3SBC, and a few others, I continued on my way home. 

We’re finally getting some warm weather here in southeastern Pennsylvania, so it was a nice morning to be out in the parks. 

72, Craig WB3GCK

The past few weeks have been crazy. I mentioned in the last post that I’ve been going through some medical issues. While I still have a few issues to resolve, I’m doing well—well enough to get in a long-overdue POTA activation.

I drove up to nearby Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351). I’m (slowly) closing in on a Repeat Offender award for this park, so Evansburg was an easy choice.

There was nothing special about my setup today. I went with my usual Penntek TR-35 (5 watts CW) and a 12-foot whip with my homebrew loading coil. This combination has always served me well, so why tamper with success?

The bands weren’t very “QRP-friendly” this morning. Starting off on 40M, it took longer than usual to make my first ten contacts. There was some static, which I assume was from some bad weather passing to the south. To make matters worse, a hybrid car parked a few spaces away, wiping out the 40M band, until the driver turned the engine off. 

Despite the less-than-stellar band conditions, my 90 minute activation yielded 27 contacts. There were two park-to-park contacts that I’m aware of. Only one European station made it into my log today. IW2NXI called me on 20M, but didn’t come back after I sent his report. Fortunately, Graziano called again later on, and we completed the contact. I heard another station (Sweden?) calling, but I just couldn’t get the whole callsign. I hate when that happens.

It certainly felt good to get back out to a park again. I really needed that. Hopefully, I’ll get back to activating more regularly soon.

I also want to thank those who reached out to see how I was doing. Thanks for checking on me!

72, Craig WB3GCK

Om de vishengelantenne (Rybakov of ander alternatief) makkelijker op te kunnen zetten wilde ik een afspan ring hebben die exact om de hengel zou passen bij het onderste deel. Het in je eentje opzetten van de vishengelantenne is lastig zonder parasol voet dus dan moet je hulpmiddelen gaan bedenken en maken. Na wat gepruts met verschillende gatenboren had Marc PD5ST de oplossing… een mooie gatenboor voor verschillende diameters. Ik had 30 mm nodig en dat kon met zijn boor. Dus nadat ik deze had opgehaald bij Marc, ook gelijk de gaten geboord. Voorafgaand had ik met een gatenzaag alvast de buitenste ring ‘ingezaagd’ zodat ik na het maken van het 30 mm gat het verder uit kon zagen.

Na alle randen eraf te hebben gevijld (dit was nodig omdat de temperatuur tijdens het zagen toch wat hoger werd dan verwacht), heb ik 4 gaten van 6 mm geboord (4 mm bleek te klein) waar de bevestiging touwen aan bevestigd worden waarmee de hengel straks overeind blijft staan. Bij de Action vorig jaar mooie lichtgevende haring touwen gekocht.

De ring past perfect om de hengel. De hengel dikte verloopt van 30 mm naar zo’n 33 mm over het gehele onderste (dikste) deel. Dus de ring moet exact 30 mm zijn en stevig genoeg zijn en niet verbuigen. Om dit voor elkaar te krijgen had ik nog 2 oude snijplanken liggen van teflon. Dit werkt perfect. Maar wat een troep. Zie de laatste foto.

Dit was het laatste dat nog moest gebeuren om de POTA / COTA of WWFF (PAFF) setting klaar te maken. Ohja, nog een tafeltje regelen waar ik de seinsleutel / paddle op kan bevestigen. En wat ik ook gewoon als tafel kan gebruiken voor het logboek (papier of elektronisch) en koffie! En Marc PD5ST bedankt voor het lenen van de gatenboor!

Het bericht Afspan ring vishengel antenne verscheen eerst op PE2V.

I wasn’t planning to activate a park today, but my (far) better half suggested I might want to. I have some medical procedures coming up and a bunch of other obligations, so I probably won’t have many opportunities in April. It had been a while since I last activated Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380), so I tossed my radio gear in the truck and headed out.

For a holiday, there was a fair number of people in the park. I pulled into a spot overlooking the lake and started setting up. Once again, I used my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. 

I spent an hour operating on 40M and 20M, and the hunters were out in full force. Although band conditions have been better, Craig sure was a busy boy. I ended up with 52 contacts. With the QRN, it was tough copying some of the DX stations. Despite that, I still logged nine of them:

• St. Maarten
• France (2)
• Slovak Republic
• Italy
• Sweden (2)
• Finland (2)

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back out there in a few weeks.

73, Craig WB3GCK

We have some family coming in, and I had some errands to run to get ready for them. Before I got started with all that, I drove to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) to squeeze in a short activation. 

I went with a usual setup: my TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip. Although I was off to an early start, it didn’t take long to make my first 10 contacts on the 40M band. The 30M band was less productive, but it produced a handful of contacts. 

I spent the rest of my time up on 17M. I spotted myself on the WWFF spotting page, and the European WWFF hunters did not disappoint. They contributed seven DX QSOs to my log:

• Poland
• Belgium (2)
• Finland (2)
• Germany
• Italy

There were a few other notable highlights. I worked NL7V in Alaska (17M), and I also received a call from Thomas K4SWL from QRPer.com (30M). Right before I pulled the plug, I saw on the POTA spotting page that fellow Polar Bear QRPer, Michael VE3WMB was on 40M. I ended my activation with a Polar Bear park-to-park QSO with Michael. My activation wrapped up with 37 contacts, including six park-to-park QSOs.

And now it’s back to the holiday preparations, I’d like to wish all those who celebrate a very happy Easter.

72, Craig WB3GCK

My (far) better half and I spent the weekend puppy sitting at my daughter’s house in central Pennsylvania. There are some POTA entities in the area, so I planned to get in an activation while we were there. We drove out in my (far) better half’s car, so I couldn’t use my usual setup.

Thanks to the work I did before I retired, I have a tendency to plan for every contingency. I started thinking about antennas for every scenario I might encounter. Since I have a lot of antenna options, my packing list quickly grew to ridiculous proportions. In the end, I resisted the urge to over-plan and kept things simple.

For this trip, I took my Elecraft AX1 antenna. With this antenna, I could go “picnic table portable” or use a window mount on the (far) better half’s car. For the rig, I went with my KX3, so I could use 20M, 17M, and 15M. 

Early Saturday morning, I threw my backpack into my (far) better half’s car and drove up to Boyd Big Tree State Preserve (K-4356, KFF-4356). My last activation at this park was back in 2022. Coincidently, I was puppy sitting on that trip, too.

The parking lot was pretty crowded when I rolled in, but I found a spot with a little room around it. It only took a minute or two to set up the AX1 on the window mount. The car is pretty small, so I had to experiment a little to find a spot on the center console to accommodate the KX3.

My goal for the day was to make at least 14 contacts to reach the required 44 contacts at this park for World Wide Flora and Fauna (WWFF). (I had 30 contacts on my previous activation.) Of course, I would have been happy just to make the 10 contacts required for POTA. But, once again, I underestimated the effectiveness of the AX1.

Running five watts of CW on 20M and 17M, a steady stream of hunters kept me busy. It only took about 20 minutes to make the 14 contacts I was looking for. The last time someone activated this park was back in November, and there have been very few CW activations. So, this was probably a new one for a lot of hunters.

DX-wise, I had one of my better outings. I had 14 DX contacts with the following countries:

• Sweden (2)
• Finland (4)
• Italy (3)
• France
• Poland
• Germany
• Slovak Republic (2)

I worked OH2LIO on both 20M and 17M. Although not DX, I was pleased to log a contact with a California hunter. My little QRP signal really seemed to be getting around.

After slightly over an hour, I had 37 contacts, including four park-to-park contacts. Not too bad for five watts and a 45-inch whip.

I’m glad I went with this simple setup. That little AX1 never ceases to amaze me.

72, Craig WB3GCK

The weather prognosticators said we’re under a Wind Advisory from midday today through tomorrow. In the best interest of my antenna, I got an early start this morning to avoid confronting the forecasted 45 MPH wind gusts. 

Instead of doing a normal POTA or WWFF activation, I headed down to Ridley Creek State Park (K-1414, KFF-1414) to take part in the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) Weekend Sprintathon (WES) contest. I haven’t been very active in the WES contests of late, so I focused my attention on that. 

I used my usual Penntek TR-35 transceiver (5 watts CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip antenna. I also used my little American Morse MS2 straight key. The MS2 is an unusual-looking key, but I’ve really grown to love it over the years. I did some earlier posts on the MS2 and the magnetic base I built for it.

Most of my operation today was on 40M. I split my time between calling CQ and search-and-pounce. The WES contests are rather laid back, compared to a typical POTA activation. The WES QSOs come at a much slower pace. I didn’t log my 10th contact until about 45 minutes in. 

As I was making my tenth contact, it started raining. So, I grabbed a plastic bag and went back to wrap up my loading coil. It was only a passing shower, so I removed the antenna’s “raincoat” a short while later. 

I ended up this morning with 15 contacts in my log. Thirteen were with SKCC stations, and two were POTA park-to-park contacts. I also worked KS1KCC, the SKCC club station in Michigan, on both 40M and 20M. 

This was a fun change of pace today, and I added a few new SKCC numbers to my log. 

72, Craig WB3GCK