The event was held on June 1st and finished on June 2nd. At the time of posting this there were 106 Museum Ships (including memorials) on the list. For more info on the event check out: https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/ .
In Kingston we were fortunate enough to have the SS Keewatin berthed at the Great Lakes Museumand so for this event it was a 45 min bus ride with all the radio gear I needed to participate.
Here is a couple of pics I took while at the museum.
The gear I used for operating from alongside the Keewatin was my POTA Station that consisted of my Yaesu FT891, Eco-Worthy 20ah LIPO 4 battery and a MFJ 33 foot telescopic mast to support the home brewed 63 Foot End Fed Half Wave (10m to 40m) antenna.
It looks rather small compared to the size of the Keewatin… Thanks to the Taxi Driver who moved into the pic so I could show the size of the ship easier. No I did not use the taxi… Kingston Transit bus #3 stops right at the front door of the Museum.
All my gear fit in my wife’s laundry cart… She may never get it back now…
I used some bungy cords to secure the mast (right of the pic) to a fence behind the tree cover. It suspended the EFHW in a “inverted Vee” configuration and worked well for me with no tuner needed.
I was able to operate for about 3 hours (or less) each day. The gear worked without a hitch but not so much the operator.
As the radio room in the Keewatin has not been updated yet, I was forced to operate from alongside (the above pic) so I was unable to leave the gear to use the facilities and so once nature called… it was time to pack up.
At the end of the event according to my logs I actually was contacted by 100 stations that were “Welcomed on Board the Keewatin”… of those 100 contacts 12 of them were other Museum Ship and their details follow.
(Pictures above the name of the ship)
Col James M Schoonmaker
USS Lafferty
USS Thresher Memorial
USS Massachusetts
Tall Ship Elissa
USS Nautilus
Claud W Somers
USS North Carolina
Watson Naval Museum
USS Salem
USS Cobia
This was a “spur of the moment” style of activation. I was going past the ship a week before and then found out the Museum Ships event was the next weekend. Although the Keewatin does have a valid Callsign without the radio room ship shape they were not in a position to activate.
I asked if I could do it and was given the green light to operate (using my own personal callsign) from where I did. (alongside but outside the fence)
As the Drydock is part of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail (POTA CA-6003) some amateurs also got a new park in their logs.
Long story short… The activation was a success…. At least 100 amateurs now know of our ship and the Museum Ship community welcomed the Keewatin and its my hope that next year the ship itself will the on the air.
If we made the contact, thanks again. My logs for the two day event have been uploaded to EQSL, QRZ.com, the Museum Ships Group and will be uploaded to LoTW when they have fixed the security issue. I will also offer a copy of my logs to the Keewatin Radio Operators (see above link) for their records.
The lastest (and largest) addition to the Great Lakes Museum collection in Kingston Ontario is the SS Keewatin.
I took this pic Saturday May 25 just before the Museum opened the exhibit.
Its new home is in the Kingston Drydock which is on the shore of Lake Ontario and its history goes back before Canada’s Confederation.
The above shows the Keewatin in the Drydock over the winter. Thanks to Google Maps and Doug Knutson for the Graphics.
Now on the the Radio Part of this….
This coming weekend is the Museum Ships Weekend event (June 1st and 2nd) and the Keewatin will be on the air for this event and we are in really good company.
SHIPS PARTICIPATING FOR 2024 – 101 Ships
updated 26 May 2024 NAME TYPE OF SHIP LOCATION CALLSIGN
K1USN Watson Museum Braintree, MA K1USN USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Alameda Point, CA NB6GC USS Midway Aircraft Carrier San Diego, CA NI6IW USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier Corpus Christi, TX W5LEX USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier Charleston, SC WA4USN ST-695 Angels Gate Army Tugboat San Pedro, CA K6AA USS Montrose Memorial Attack Transport(Haskell Class) Montrose, CO N0P USS Alabama Battleship Mobile, AL KQ4RXA USS Massachusetts Battleship Fall River, MA NE1PL USS New Jersey 8am to 6pm from drydock Battleship, New Jersey NJ2BB USS Missouri Battleship Pearl Harbor, HI KH6BB USS Wisconsin Battleship Norfolk, Virginia N4WIS USS Iowa Battleship San Pedro, CA NI6BB USS North Carolina Battleship Wilmington, NC NI4BK USS Oklahoma Mast Memorial Battleship Mast Memorial, OK WW2OK **HS Georgios Averof Battleship Paleo Faliro, Greece SZ1AB USS Tennessee Museum Battleship Museum Oneida, TN W4BSF SS Col. James M Schoonmaker Bulk Carrier Toledo, OH K8E **SS William A Irvin Bulk Ore Carrier Duluth, MN W0GKP Claud W Somers Chesapeake Bay Skipjack Reedville, VA W4NNK CSS Neuse (Jun 1 only) Civil War – Ironclad Gunboat Kinston, NC KN4RAM MV Iris-Joerg Cargo Ship Wischhafen,Germany DL0MFM MV Cap San Diego Cargo Ship Hamburg,Germany DL0MFH USCG Ingham CG Cutter Key West, FL NR4DL USS Potomac CG Cutter/Pres. Yacht Oakland, CA. NE6JP USS Indianapolis CA-35 Memorial Cruiser Indianapolis, IN WW2IND USS Littlerock Cruiser Buffalo, NY W2PE USS Olympia Cruiser Philadelphia, PA WA3BAT USS Salem Cruiser Quincy, MA N1SLM HMAS Vampire Destroyer Sydney, Australia VK2VMP USS Turner Joy Destroyer Bremerton, WA NS7DD USS Cassin Young Sat only 9am-3pm EST Destroyer Boston, MA WW2DD USS The Sullivans Destroyer Buffalo, NY K2EAG USS Orleck Destroyer Jacksonville, FL K4D USS Laffey Destroyer Charleston, SC NT4HI USS Slater Destroyer Escort Albany, NY WW2DEM USS Stewart Destroyer Escort Galveston, TX N5FKP Evelina M Goulart Fishing Schooner Essex, MA W1E **HMCS Sackville Flower Class Corvette Halifax, Nova Scotia VE0CNM SS Grandcamp Memorial French Liberty Ship Texas City, TX K5BS HDMS Peder Skram Frigate Copenhagen, Denmark OZ1RDN SS Hope Memorial Station Hospital Ship Memorial Chatham, MA W1HNJ Krasin Icebreaker St. Petersburg, Russia R1LK SS Sankt Erik Icebreaker Stockholm, Sweden 8SØHRA **Ernest Lapointe Icebreaker L’islet, Qc, Canada VB2MMQC USCGC Mackinaw WAGB-83(Maritime Museum) Icebreaker, MI W8AGB SS Jeremiah O’Brien Liberty Ship San Francisco, CA K6JOB SS John W Brown Liberty Ship Baltimore, MD K8JWB Amrumbank /Deutsche Bucht Lightship Emden, Germany DF0MF LS Ambrose Lightship East River, NY City, NY W2AQ LS Westhinder III Lightship Antwerp, Belgium ON9BD Borkumriff Lightship Island Borkum, Germany DL0BRF USS LST-325 LST Evansville, IN WW2LST LST-393 LST Muskegon, MI N8LST Chatham Radio/WCC Station Maritime Radio Station Chatham, MA W1WCC SS Selma Merchant ship WWI(Concrete Hull) Galveston, TX W5MSQ **Edwin Fox Museum Merchant Ship Picton, New Zealand ZL2KS USS Lucid Minesweeper Stockton, CA N6MSO HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen Minesweeper Den Helder, NL PA38AC HNMS Mercuur Minesweeper Port of Vlissingen, NL PA6PARE KRS 575 “Hans Beimler” Missile Corvette Peenemuende, Germany DL0MFN Farragut Nav Training Sta.Brig Naval Training Station Athol, ID N7F NS Savannah Nuclear Merchant Vessel Baltimore, MD K3SAV SS Hohentwiel Paddle Steamer Bodensee, Austria OE6XMF/9 RMS Queen Mary Passenger Ship Long Beach, CA W6RO SS Rotterdam Passenger Ship Port of Rotterdam PI4HAL
SS Keewatin Passenger Steamship Kingston, ON VA3QV
HMAS Gladstone Patrol Boat(Fremantle Class) Gladstone QLD, VK4GLA **USS Pueblo Memorial Research Ship Pueblo, CO N0K MK1 PBR #105 River Patrol Boat Charleston, SC WD4PBR PB Niederoesterreich (Jun 2 only) River Patrol Boat Danube/Vienna, OE3XNO Tall Ship Elissa Sailing Barque Galveston Island, TX N5E MS Seefalke Salvage Tug Bremerhaven,Germany DK100DDSR USS Ticonderoga (1814) Schooner Whitehall, NY W2C USS Cod Submarine Cleveland, OH W8COD USS Cobia Submarine Manitowoc, Wisconsin NB9QV USS Blueback Submarine Portland, OR W7SUB USS Drum Submarine Mobile, Alabama K4DSR USS Razorback Submarine N.Little Rock AR N5R USS Nautilus Submarine Groton, CT N1S U-995 Submarine Laboe Germany DL0DMB USS Croaker Submarine Buffalo, NY N3ARB USS Albacore Submarine Portsmouth, NH NM1JY Flore Submarine Lorient, France TM2FLO HMCS Onondaga Submarine Pointe-au-Père, Quebec VA2GNQ Nazario Sauro Submarine Genoa, Italy II1NS S-61 Delfin Submarine Torrevieja Spain EH5DLF USS Batfish Submarine Muskogee, OK WW2SUB USS Pampanito Submarine San Francisco, CA NJ6VT USS Cavalla Submarine Galveston, TX N5FKP USS Silversides Submarine Muskegon, MI N8SUB H. L. Hunley Submarine – Civil War Charleston, SC N4HLH Novosibirskij Komsomolec (B-396) Submarine 641-B Moscow, Russia RU3AWK USS Thresher Memorial Submarine Memorial Kittery, ME W1WQM USS Parche Memorial Submarine Memorial Bremerton, WA N7P **”The Fin Project” Submarine Fin Memorial Seattle, WA NR7WL **CSS Acadia Survey Vessel Halifax Nova Scotia VE0MMA USS Hoga YT-146 Tugboat N. Little Rock, AR N5H USAT LT-5 Tugboat/Cargo Transport Oswego, NY W2LGA SS American Victory Victory Ship Tampa, FL W4AVM Red Oak Victory Victory Ship Richmond, CA K6YVM
And as you can see we will be in pretty impressive company…
Now the only issue with this (the first) activation of the new museum ship is that the passenger areas of the ship are open to the public but the Radio Operators Room is still waiting for some period equipment to be set up as a display. So until that is done we can’t install as we don’t know how much room there will be for the “modern” equipment.
So for this event I will be operating from “alongside” the ship (see below pic)
The Radio I use for this event will be my POTA Station gear which is a Yaesu FT891 along with a 40m (64:1 unun) EFHW supported by a 33 foot MFJ Telescopic mast. Backup antenna will be a 17.5 foot vertical (using same mast) fed by a 9:1 unun with a single raised counterpoise.
The operating plan is to be operating from the “American General” parts of the different bands. Hoping that 20m and 40m will be good for us but we have the equipment to operate from 6m to 40m
I hope to start operating at 1300 (UTC) and run till the 20ah battery dies out ( or darkness arrives) on both days.
Will be operating as VA3QV and will uploading logs to LoTW, EQSL and QRZ.com.
The lastest (and largest) addition to the Great Lakes Museum collection in Kingston Ontario is the SS Keewatin.
I took this pic Saturday May 25 just before the Museum opened the exhibit.
Its new home is in the Kingston Drydock which is on the shore of Lake Ontario and its history goes back before Canada’s Confederation.
The above shows the Keewatin in the Drydock over the winter. Thanks to Google Maps and Doug Knutson for the Graphics.
Now on the the Radio Part of this….
This coming weekend is the Museum Ships Weekend event (June 1st and 2nd) and the Keewatin will be on the air for this event and we are in really good company.
SHIPS PARTICIPATING FOR 2024 – 101 Ships
updated 26 May 2024 NAME TYPE OF SHIP LOCATION CALLSIGN
K1USN Watson Museum Braintree, MA K1USN USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Alameda Point, CA NB6GC USS Midway Aircraft Carrier San Diego, CA NI6IW USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier Corpus Christi, TX W5LEX USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier Charleston, SC WA4USN ST-695 Angels Gate Army Tugboat San Pedro, CA K6AA USS Montrose Memorial Attack Transport(Haskell Class) Montrose, CO N0P USS Alabama Battleship Mobile, AL KQ4RXA USS Massachusetts Battleship Fall River, MA NE1PL USS New Jersey 8am to 6pm from drydock Battleship, New Jersey NJ2BB USS Missouri Battleship Pearl Harbor, HI KH6BB USS Wisconsin Battleship Norfolk, Virginia N4WIS USS Iowa Battleship San Pedro, CA NI6BB USS North Carolina Battleship Wilmington, NC NI4BK USS Oklahoma Mast Memorial Battleship Mast Memorial, OK WW2OK **HS Georgios Averof Battleship Paleo Faliro, Greece SZ1AB USS Tennessee Museum Battleship Museum Oneida, TN W4BSF SS Col. James M Schoonmaker Bulk Carrier Toledo, OH K8E **SS William A Irvin Bulk Ore Carrier Duluth, MN W0GKP Claud W Somers Chesapeake Bay Skipjack Reedville, VA W4NNK CSS Neuse (Jun 1 only) Civil War – Ironclad Gunboat Kinston, NC KN4RAM MV Iris-Joerg Cargo Ship Wischhafen,Germany DL0MFM MV Cap San Diego Cargo Ship Hamburg,Germany DL0MFH USCG Ingham CG Cutter Key West, FL NR4DL USS Potomac CG Cutter/Pres. Yacht Oakland, CA. NE6JP USS Indianapolis CA-35 Memorial Cruiser Indianapolis, IN WW2IND USS Littlerock Cruiser Buffalo, NY W2PE USS Olympia Cruiser Philadelphia, PA WA3BAT USS Salem Cruiser Quincy, MA N1SLM HMAS Vampire Destroyer Sydney, Australia VK2VMP USS Turner Joy Destroyer Bremerton, WA NS7DD USS Cassin Young Sat only 9am-3pm EST Destroyer Boston, MA WW2DD USS The Sullivans Destroyer Buffalo, NY K2EAG USS Orleck Destroyer Jacksonville, FL K4D USS Laffey Destroyer Charleston, SC NT4HI USS Slater Destroyer Escort Albany, NY WW2DEM USS Stewart Destroyer Escort Galveston, TX N5FKP Evelina M Goulart Fishing Schooner Essex, MA W1E **HMCS Sackville Flower Class Corvette Halifax, Nova Scotia VE0CNM SS Grandcamp Memorial French Liberty Ship Texas City, TX K5BS HDMS Peder Skram Frigate Copenhagen, Denmark OZ1RDN SS Hope Memorial Station Hospital Ship Memorial Chatham, MA W1HNJ Krasin Icebreaker St. Petersburg, Russia R1LK SS Sankt Erik Icebreaker Stockholm, Sweden 8SØHRA **Ernest Lapointe Icebreaker L’islet, Qc, Canada VB2MMQC USCGC Mackinaw WAGB-83(Maritime Museum) Icebreaker, MI W8AGB SS Jeremiah O’Brien Liberty Ship San Francisco, CA K6JOB SS John W Brown Liberty Ship Baltimore, MD K8JWB Amrumbank /Deutsche Bucht Lightship Emden, Germany DF0MF LS Ambrose Lightship East River, NY City, NY W2AQ LS Westhinder III Lightship Antwerp, Belgium ON9BD Borkumriff Lightship Island Borkum, Germany DL0BRF USS LST-325 LST Evansville, IN WW2LST LST-393 LST Muskegon, MI N8LST Chatham Radio/WCC Station Maritime Radio Station Chatham, MA W1WCC SS Selma Merchant ship WWI(Concrete Hull) Galveston, TX W5MSQ **Edwin Fox Museum Merchant Ship Picton, New Zealand ZL2KS USS Lucid Minesweeper Stockton, CA N6MSO HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen Minesweeper Den Helder, NL PA38AC HNMS Mercuur Minesweeper Port of Vlissingen, NL PA6PARE KRS 575 “Hans Beimler” Missile Corvette Peenemuende, Germany DL0MFN Farragut Nav Training Sta.Brig Naval Training Station Athol, ID N7F NS Savannah Nuclear Merchant Vessel Baltimore, MD K3SAV SS Hohentwiel Paddle Steamer Bodensee, Austria OE6XMF/9 RMS Queen Mary Passenger Ship Long Beach, CA W6RO SS Rotterdam Passenger Ship Port of Rotterdam PI4HAL
SS Keewatin Passenger Steamship Kingston, ON VA3QV
HMAS Gladstone Patrol Boat(Fremantle Class) Gladstone QLD, VK4GLA **USS Pueblo Memorial Research Ship Pueblo, CO N0K MK1 PBR #105 River Patrol Boat Charleston, SC WD4PBR PB Niederoesterreich (Jun 2 only) River Patrol Boat Danube/Vienna, OE3XNO Tall Ship Elissa Sailing Barque Galveston Island, TX N5E MS Seefalke Salvage Tug Bremerhaven,Germany DK100DDSR USS Ticonderoga (1814) Schooner Whitehall, NY W2C USS Cod Submarine Cleveland, OH W8COD USS Cobia Submarine Manitowoc, Wisconsin NB9QV USS Blueback Submarine Portland, OR W7SUB USS Drum Submarine Mobile, Alabama K4DSR USS Razorback Submarine N.Little Rock AR N5R USS Nautilus Submarine Groton, CT N1S U-995 Submarine Laboe Germany DL0DMB USS Croaker Submarine Buffalo, NY N3ARB USS Albacore Submarine Portsmouth, NH NM1JY Flore Submarine Lorient, France TM2FLO HMCS Onondaga Submarine Pointe-au-Père, Quebec VA2GNQ Nazario Sauro Submarine Genoa, Italy II1NS S-61 Delfin Submarine Torrevieja Spain EH5DLF USS Batfish Submarine Muskogee, OK WW2SUB USS Pampanito Submarine San Francisco, CA NJ6VT USS Cavalla Submarine Galveston, TX N5FKP USS Silversides Submarine Muskegon, MI N8SUB H. L. Hunley Submarine – Civil War Charleston, SC N4HLH Novosibirskij Komsomolec (B-396) Submarine 641-B Moscow, Russia RU3AWK USS Thresher Memorial Submarine Memorial Kittery, ME W1WQM USS Parche Memorial Submarine Memorial Bremerton, WA N7P **”The Fin Project” Submarine Fin Memorial Seattle, WA NR7WL **CSS Acadia Survey Vessel Halifax Nova Scotia VE0MMA USS Hoga YT-146 Tugboat N. Little Rock, AR N5H USAT LT-5 Tugboat/Cargo Transport Oswego, NY W2LGA SS American Victory Victory Ship Tampa, FL W4AVM Red Oak Victory Victory Ship Richmond, CA K6YVM
And as you can see we will be in pretty impressive company…
Now the only issue with this (the first) activation of the new museum ship is that the passenger areas of the ship are open to the public but the Radio Operators Room is still waiting for some period equipment to be set up as a display. So until that is done we can’t install as we don’t know how much room there will be for the “modern” equipment.
So for this event I will be operating from “alongside” the ship (see below pic)
The Radio I use for this event will be my POTA Station gear which is a Yaesu FT891 along with a 40m (64:1 unun) EFHW supported by a 33 foot MFJ Telescopic mast. Backup antenna will be a 17.5 foot vertical (using same mast) fed by a 9:1 unun with a single raised counterpoise.
The operating plan is to be operating from the “American General” parts of the different bands. Hoping that 20m and 40m will be good for us but we have the equipment to operate from 6m to 40m
I hope to start operating at 1300 (UTC) and run till the 20ah battery dies out ( or darkness arrives) on both days.
Will be operating as VA3QV and will uploading logs to LoTW, EQSL and QRZ.com.
Well its not as bad as indicated from my last post…
But its still got a way to go…
This morning on my 11 am (Eastern) hour on the TPN I managed to get 7 stations in my log which is the best its been in a while. After the net ended I had some household chores to do before I could get to the next part of this post.
Today I wanted to take my Yaesu FT891 rig along with my two antennas out into my backyard and make sure everything is still working as well as I remember. Next week my shifts on the TPN will be ending for a while as I am taking the summer off in an attempt to concentrate on my POTA part of the hobby.
So here’s the setup
Rig: Yaesu FT891 powered by my ECO-Worthy 20ah LI-PO4 battery
Antenna 1: 40m EFHW which is 63 feet long and fed by a 64:1 unun. This antenna usually is used in a sloper or inverted Vee configuration. Its very nice on 10-40m and I have 2 small counterpoises which I clip on as needed. I feed the unun from a 25 foot run of RG58 with a RF choke at one end.
Antenna 2: 17.5 foot long end fed fed by a 9:1 unun. I normally would use this in a vertical or sloper configuration. Its excellent on 10m to 20m but will also work on 40m without the need of a tuner. Depending on the situation I have a couple of small counterpoises I can clip onto the unn if needed. I feed the unun from a 25 foot run of RG58 with a RF choke at one end. The advantage to this antenna is that if I use it as a vertical there is next to no footprint which could make a couple of the parks in the downtown area much easier to activate.
If the trees do not cooperate I also carry a MFJ 33 foot telescopic masting which will support the wire if needed.
How did I do today?
Operating from my deck I strung out the 63 foot EFHW kind of as an inverted xyz configuration. Hanging 63 feet of wire anywhere I could hand it without anyone seeing it or running into it. Despite the setup Contacts were made on 40m and 20m despite the band conditions. with a reasonable SWR (no tuner in line) where I normally use it
Next I used the 17.5 with the 9:1 unun as a low sloper and made 1 contact on 20. The SWR was “tolerable” on 40m but on 10m to 20m it was under 2:1 which is great for a Portable setup. Nothing to complain about on my part.
I also use this style of antenna at home in a vertical configuration and it works great for my need either “home or away”
So here’s the plan…
If you notice the above map there are 10 POTA sites (yellow dots) that I can easily access from my home in Kingston. All of them easily reachable via public transit or a bit of a walk. The one on the bottom right (the island) is not reachable via foot. There is a dock but I can’t find out if Kingston has a Water Taxi so if I can activate 10 out of 11 I will be pleased.
I guess I could also say that this would be a test of the station I will be using for Field Day this year. Not sure where I’m going to be yet but…. I know I’ll be participating from somewhere near Kingston.
Well its not as bad as indicated from my last post…
But its still got a way to go…
This morning on my 11 am (Eastern) hour on the TPN I managed to get 7 stations in my log which is the best its been in a while. After the net ended I had some household chores to do before I could get to the next part of this post.
Today I wanted to take my Yaesu FT891 rig along with my two antennas out into my backyard and make sure everything is still working as well as I remember. Next week my shifts on the TPN will be ending for a while as I am taking the summer off in an attempt to concentrate on my POTA part of the hobby.
So here’s the setup
Rig: Yaesu FT891 powered by my ECO-Worthy 20ah LI-PO4 battery
Antenna 1: 40m EFHW which is 63 feet long and fed by a 64:1 unun. This antenna usually is used in a sloper or inverted Vee configuration. Its very nice on 10-40m and I have 2 small counterpoises which I clip on as needed. I feed the unun from a 25 foot run of RG58 with a RF choke at one end.
Antenna 2: 17.5 foot long end fed fed by a 9:1 unun. I normally would use this in a vertical or sloper configuration. Its excellent on 10m to 20m but will also work on 40m without the need of a tuner. Depending on the situation I have a couple of small counterpoises I can clip onto the unn if needed. I feed the unun from a 25 foot run of RG58 with a RF choke at one end. The advantage to this antenna is that if I use it as a vertical there is next to no footprint which could make a couple of the parks in the downtown area much easier to activate.
If the trees do not cooperate I also carry a MFJ 33 foot telescopic masting which will support the wire if needed.
How did I do today?
Operating from my deck I strung out the 63 foot EFHW kind of as an inverted xyz configuration. Hanging 63 feet of wire anywhere I could hand it without anyone seeing it or running into it. Despite the setup Contacts were made on 40m and 20m despite the band conditions. with a reasonable SWR (no tuner in line) where I normally use it
Next I used the 17.5 with the 9:1 unun as a low sloper and made 1 contact on 20. The SWR was “tolerable” on 40m but on 10m to 20m it was under 2:1 which is great for a Portable setup. Nothing to complain about on my part.
I also use this style of antenna at home in a vertical configuration and it works great for my need either “home or away”
So here’s the plan…
If you notice the above map there are 10 POTA sites (yellow dots) that I can easily access from my home in Kingston. All of them easily reachable via public transit or a bit of a walk. The one on the bottom right (the island) is not reachable via foot. There is a dock but I can’t find out if Kingston has a Water Taxi so if I can activate 10 out of 11 I will be pleased.
I guess I could also say that this would be a test of the station I will be using for Field Day this year. Not sure where I’m going to be yet but…. I know I’ll be participating from somewhere near Kingston.
It’s a POTA road trip! I head out to activate three new to me parks while using a different antenna at each one. Ride along with me for an epic Parks on the Air activation as we find out which one will be the best
As a bonus, patrons can view the full, unedited phone contacts for this Parks on the Air activation. Visit my page on Patreon for details: https://www.patreon.com/kb9vbrantennas
I do return QSL, if you made a contact with me and would like a QSL, please send me one. Return postage not necessary, but always appreciated. As they say, KB9VBR is ‘good in the book.
Woke up this morning and after coffee went to the shack. Noticed that the signals were way down and I had no static showing on the meter… Went to the back yard and found 2 sections of green wire on the ground.
A short (25 foot) section still attached to the tuner and then the remainder of the wire laying across some tree branches then on the ground. This means that the break happened about 20 feet above the ground and after looking at the ends of the wire it was a clean cut/break.
No teeth marks on the wire so I’m thinking it as it happened in the tree it must of been the clean cut of a bird beak??? The support tree is not strong enough for someone to climb up 20 feet (or so) with a pair of side cutters so….
Anyway…. I’m heading off to the Kingston Antenna Parts store (some of you might of heard of Princess Auto) and pick up a roll of 18 gauge green insulated wire and try and hide it in the tree this weekend. If successful I will be back on the lower bands and if not then its 10m to 20m for a while.
This could be an issue with my plans for several radio events this coming weekend.
Lets see how this plays out
73bob
ps… I do have an EFHW I could put out as a temporary antenna but would have to take it down when not using it so….
If you look back to my previous post in which I had covered my successful POTA activation of CA5143 I mentioned that I had used my 40m EFHW antenna to make the 23 contacts made.
Well one thing I neglected to mention was the difficulty I had getting 62 feet (or so) wire stretched out in the rather dense brush just off the trail. In the past I had mentioned about getting a 2nd antenna in the kit for when the EFHW was just not able to be deployed easily.
I had tried a BuddiPole but it did not (could not) do exactly what I wanted…. Using some parts from the BuddiPole and then adding a “Imitation” Shock Corded 9 foot whip (In my opinion…FWIW the Amazoon 9.5 ft shock cord whip is a real POS)was not doing it for me either. I tried following the instructions and when those did not work I tried (to no avail) to use what I tried in the past with other portable antennas but just no joy…
Fast forward to yesterday. The LDG 9:1 UNUN that I ordered on the Monday had arrived and so I decided to duplicate the “Coastal-20” antenna that I use at home for 10-12-15-17 & 20m. If you “Google Coastal-20 you should see the basic plans. Its a 9:1 UNUN along with a 17.5 foot vertical with a short counterpoise.
Now on my first build I found the short counterpoise version did not perform exactly as I had hoped so I decided to go with 3 elevated counterpoises. I cut 1 for 10-15 &20m and it worked quite well for me on 10 to 20m. By well I mean that I was making contacts and the SWR on all the needed bands was low or low enough that the internal tuner in my Yaesu FT991a was handling it.
Mostly copying my first version with the exception of swapping out 3 counterpoises for a single 11 foot counterpoise seemed to make no difference with the SWR and it was loading up just as well as the previous one did.
The next test for the new antenna will be when I get out into the Park (hopefully this weekend) if the forecasted rain ever stops. The plan is to have both antennas available for when I participate in the POTA Support your Parks event which happens April 20th and 21st and by strange luck is also the same weekend as the Ontario QSO Party, The Michigan QSO Party and the Quebec QSO Party so there should be no problems getting contacts to activate what ever park (parks) I head out to…
This was a special one for me. The last I tried to activate the Marshlands Conservation Area I had an equipment malfunction and as such it was a “Failed Activation”.
Today I headed out to get the one that got away.
I set up (red dot on the map) and operated with my FT891 set at 30w , 40m EFHF and proceeded to give out contacts….
In one hour I had managed to make 23 contacts in Ontario, and the Eastern Parts of the USA.
In the “learning part” of my activation I still have to find a way to carry more stuff and also make the kit lighter… It was a 4 km walk there and back (thats almost 2.5 miles to those of you south of the border) and to be honest I was really glad to get home and get my feet up.
I mentioned a few posts back about using some sort of trailer to carry the kit and today’s effort reinforces that thought….
Anyway I did have fun…. and if I worked you I hope you had fun as well….. If you don’t see our QSO today in your Hunters Log let me know and I’ll try to figure out why not…
Watch me, in real time, as I deploy an end fed half wave antenna, set up my station on a picnic table, and do a QRP (5 watt) POTA activation on the 15 meter band.
I head to Council Grounds State Park (POTA K-1447) to test the new Chameleon LEFS 4010 end fed half wave antenna system. The LEFS or Light Weight Antenna System is a versatile EFHW HF antenna with tuner-free operation on 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters and can be used with a tuner on 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters. This lightweight antenna is specially good for low power, or QRP, operation and is small enough to be carried in your pack for portable POTA and SOTA adventures.
I take a look at the Coffee and Ham Radio’s Apollo End Fed Half Wave (EFHW) antenna. CaHRtenna EFHW is a 49:1 end fed antenna designed to operate on the 40 to 10 meter bands.
The god Apollo is one of the most important in Greek Mythology and is also the name of the Coffee and Ham Radio’s flagship product, their end fed half wave antenna. The coffee and ham radio guys sent me one of their antennas to build, so let’s put it together and get it on the air.
Apollo is the greek god of light. Also archery, truth, and poetry. These are some pretty lofty goals to attach a name to an end fed half wave antenna. But I have a feeling the Coffee and Ham Radio’s Apollo antenna will live up to those expectations.
The coffee and ham radio’s Apollo antenna is available online for purchase direct from them. They did send me this antenna in exchange for one of my 2 meter J-Pole antennas and a review, but my opinions are my own. This antenna comes as a kit, so you will have to assemble it before putting it on the air. All the parts are included, with the exception of some basic tools,
So let’s head to the bench, unbox the Apollo antenna, assemble it, and give it a test.
Timestamp 00:00 CaHRtenna Apollo End Fed Halfwave 01:18 Unboxing the Apollo EFHW 04:02 Building the CaHRtenna Apollo 07:55 Deploying and Tuning 12:10 Making contacts 14:24 My Opinion and conclusion
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