Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report: Friedrichshafen: POTA Across Borders by Christian (IX1CKN) The Friedricshafen fair is one of the most interesting events for its social aspects, where you can finally put a face to colleagues whose voices you’ve only ever heard. Among the various OM (radio amateurs) I met this year … Continue reading Friedrichshafen: Christian and Andrea’s Multi-Country POTA Rove →

A great add on to the MPAS kit or just as a stand alone.

I do find the counterpoise wires o be too thin and prone to breakage and want Chameleon to go back to the #16 Kevlar wire they are known for

Also the short length of the whip on20m is a bit finicky due to the ground I had but a grassy ground is usually pretty good but the radiation resistance was kind of low.

The kit adds items I dont have in my MPAS kit making for a well rounded deployment kit similar to this:

CHA MULTI CONFIGURATION COIL

The core component of the CHA PRV antenna, known as the CHA MCC (Multi Configuration Coil), serves as its foundation. The CHA PRV antenna is skillfully engineered and built to withstand rugged conditions, making it particularly suited for demanding portable applications such as Parks On the Air (POTA), Summits On the Air (SOTA), and other outdoor radio pursuits that necessitate an antenna that’s both efficient and easily transportable. This antenna is also an excellent choice for radio enthusiasts who reside in environments like RVs, apartments, or condos, where space is limited to a small balcony or patio.

Chameleon Antenna has designed the CHA PRV to perfectly complement the latest generation of compact multi-band/multi-mode QRP transceivers, including models like the Icom IC-705, Xiegu G90 or X6100, LAB 599 TX500, and the Yaesu FT-817/818.

SPECS

Power Handling: 500W SSB 300W CW 200W DATA

Materials: Anodize Aluminum OD Green, White Delrin, Stainless Steel and Silver Plated Copper wire

Bands Coverage: 2M to 40M with the SS58

DIMENSIONS 

Diameter = 1 1/4″

Length Collapsed = 12 1/2″

Length Extended = 19 1/2″

Weight = 0.94 lb.

CHA MCC

1 X CHA MULTICONFIGURATION COIL

CHA PRV SOTA (LIGHT KIT)

1 X CHA MCC (Coil)

1 X CHA SS58

1 X CHA SPIKE MOUNT 

1 X CHA PUCK HUB

4 X CHA TENT STAKES

4 X CHA B-RADIAL (12’6″)

4 X CHA WINDERS 

1 X CHA WW RADIAL (34′) 

1 X CHA TRIPOD ADAPTOR 

1 X CHA 12′ COAX w/ integrated RFI Choke

CHA PRV POTA (HEAVY KIT)

1 X CHA MCC (Coil)

1 X CHA SS58

1 X CHA SPIKE MOUNT 

1 X CHA PUCK HUB

4 X CHA TENT STAKES

4 X CHA B-RADIAL (12’6″)

4 X CHA WINDERS 

1 X CHA WW RADIAL (34′) 

1 X CHA TRIPOD ADAPTOR 

1 X CHA EXTENDER12

1 X CHA UCM

1 X CHA 12′ COAX w/ integrated RFI Choke

USER GUIDE

Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post: Construction Notes – VO1DR Antenna Mount for Camera Monopod by Scott Schillereff,  VO1DR Further to my article about radio during trip to Portugal, a number of readers asked for details on how I mounted my whip antenna system to my camera monopod for /P … Continue reading Construction Notes: VO1DR Monopod Antenna Mount →

I recently spent some time in Central Pennsylvania at my daughter’s house. Since I was going to be there a while, I brought along my Raspberry Pi hotspot. While I’m not really active in digital voice modes (or any voice modes, for that matter), there are a couple of DMR nets I like to check into each week. 

One issue I ran into in the past, is that my hotspot refuses to connect to their Wi-Fi network. Their Wi-Fi SSID has both an apostrophe and a space in it, so I’m guessing that’s the issue. I could have connected the hotspot directly to their router via an ethernet cable. Because of their router’s location, I would have had to move some furniture and put the hotspot in an awkward location. So, this time around I brought a little travel router to try another approach. 

Back when I was working, I had a TP-Link Nano router that I took on business trips. Typically, I would connect it to an Ethernet port in my hotel room to create a personal Wi-Fi network for my laptop and phone. A while back, I upgraded to the newer (and faster) TP-Link TL-WR802N travel router. I don’t travel nearly as much these days, so the new router hasn’t seen much use.

I brought the travel router along on this trip to create a wireless bridge from the house’s Wi-Fi to my personal Wi-Fi. The router’s Wi-Fi network has an SSID that my hotspot likes. I haven’t used that mode much, so I had to resort to the user manual to refresh my memory on how to set this thing up.

Actually, it was pretty easy to set up. It was simply a matter of connecting my laptop to travel travel router’s Wi-Fi to access the admin functions. From there, I set it up in the “Hotspot Router” mode. Then, I scanned to find the house’s Wi-Fi network and logged into it.

Testing the internet connectivity with my laptop, the speed looked good. I had previously added my travel router’s SSID and password to the hotspot, so soon after powering up I was hearing the sounds of DMR coming from my HT. This configuration worked great, and I successfully checked into a few nets during the week. 

The next time I go out there to visit, I’ll just need to power up the router and the hotspot, and everything should work. (Knock on wood)

No ground-breaking technological advances here. I just love when a plan comes together. 

73, Craig WB3GCK

[Disclaimer: I have no monetary interest in this product, and there are no affiliate links in this post. I’m just a satisfied owner.]

Many thanks to Lee (M0VKR) who shares the following field report and video: SOTA CW Activation on High Willhayes Dartmoor by Lee (M0VKR) It was an overcast and breezy morning when wife Joanne and myself Lee, M0VKR set out on our latest SOTA (Summits on the Air) activation adventure. Our destination was High Willhays, the … Continue reading QRP SOTA: Lee pairs the KH1 and MPAS 2.0 to activate High Willhayes (G/DC-001) →

When our family needs a change of scenery without a long drive, Mount Mitchell State Park is our go-to destination. I’ve mentioned before that it’s my “happy place” here in North Carolina. Mount Mitchell is only about 6 miles from our home as the crow flies, but it takes about 50 minutes to drive there, … Continue reading Tabletop QRP POTA: A Father’s Day Getaway to Mount Mitchell State Park →

Many thanks to Sam (WN5C) who shares the following guest post: Notes from a homebrew POTA adventure Sam (WN5C) I recently wrote about the homebrew transceiver I built to operate on a month-long trip through the American Southwest. Upon arriving back in Oklahoma here’s the final outcome: 27 days, 40 parks, and 669 QSOs. I … Continue reading WN5C: Notes from a homebrew POTA adventure →

While still on my extended stay at my daughter’s house in central Pennsylvania, I wanted to do some casual operating. So, I set up in the backyard to make a few contacts.

Today, I decided to give my Gabil GRA-7350TC vertical some air time. It’s been a while since I’ve used it. I set it up using the Gabil GRA-ULT01 MK3 tripod. I had forgotten how well engineered the Gabil stuff is. Anyway, I used four 15-foot speaker wire radials spread out on the ground. For the coax, I used 20 feet of RG-174.

I started out on 40M. Using an antenna analyzer, I got the SWR down as far as I could and let the KX3’s tuner do the rest. Taking a quick dial spin down the band, I didn’t hear much at all. Eventually, I came across WA2NYY activating a park in New York and called him. Despite the horrendous band conditions, he heard my 5-watt signal on the first call. Next, I heard an activator in North Carolina, but I had a rough copy. We still managed to complete the contact.

Next, I moved up to 20M and found the same crappy conditions. Eventually, I found and worked two more POTA activators.

I checked the POTA spotting page and saw that there were a couple of European activators on 15M. I tuned up the antenna and did a quick check. Nothing but dead silence across the band.

It was at that point that I checked the band conditions online and saw that there was a severe geomagnetic storm in progress. It showed poor conditions on all the HF bands. That certainly explained the lousy band conditions.

Not being a glutton for punishment, I shut down for the day. Still, I was thankful for the four contacts I made with five watts of CW into an eight-foot base-loaded whip during a severe geomagnetic storm.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post: Coffee, Cobblestones and Contacts – Portable in Portugal by Scott Schillereff, (VO1DR), St. John’s, NL, Canada On a recent trip throughout Portugal (May 29 – June 12), I operated /P QRP CW at five locations, with varying success.  Here are some details and pictures … Continue reading VO1DR Portable in Portugal: Coffee, Cobblestones and Contacts! →

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

On Thursday, June 6, 2024, I had two missions: To help fellow volunteers at the Asheville Radio Museum assemble shelving. To fit in a POTA activation over lunch. I started out the day pretty early at the QTH sorting out a few chores, then I made my way to the museum around 9:30. The Asheville … Continue reading On a POTA Mission with the RGO One! →

I’m currently out in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area for a week of house and puppy sitting for my daughter. My companion for the week is a five-year-old German Shepherd named Belle, who was adopted by my daughter and her family nine months ago. She’s a sweet dog, but she sometimes has some separation anxiety. So, I’m making sure my ham radio activities are short and close to home.

The first two days of my puppy sitting duty coincided with this year’s Field Day, so I did a little “backyard-portable” operating as category 1B. In my nearly 50 years of ham radio, this was my first-ever Field Day using my own callsign. 

My plan was simply to set up an antenna in the backyard and make a few contacts each day. The weatherman was calling for dangerously hot temperatures over the weekend, but there’s a section of the yard that has some shade for most of the day. 

My (far) Better Half came out for the weekend. While I was surveying the backyard trying to determine what antenna to use, she suggested strapping “that fishing pole antenna” (aka Jackite pole) to my grandson’s basketball pole. Great idea! So, I strapped my 31-foot Jackite pole to the pole and used a 29-foot wire and my weather-resistant 9:1 UnUn. I ran 18-feet of RG-8x over to the two chairs that served as my makeshift operating position. My rig was an Elecraft KX3 (5 watts, CW) powered by a 6 Ah LiFePO4 battery.

I started off logging contacts in HAMRS on my cell phone. That lasted for about two contacts before I switched to paper logging. I wanted to keep things simple and forgo using my laptop, so paper logging was just easier for me than using my cell phone.

With temperatures in the high 90s (F), I only stayed out there for two brief sessions on Saturday. When a strong thunderstorm blew through, I called it a day.  

After breakfast Sunday morning, I went back out to make a few more contacts before the weather heated up again. When I called it quits, I had 62 CW contacts in the log, including one DX station (France). 

My three hour effort didn’t break any records, but it was fun. I just wish the weather had been cooler, and I could have done without the thunderstorm. 

I hope everyone had a fun Field Day weekend.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Many thanks to Lee (M0VKR) who shares the following field report and video: Activating Lewesdon Hill with the Elecraft KH1 by Lee (M0VKR) After taking a day off from work my wife Joanne and I pondered about what we could do. “Shall we go over to Dorset to that hill you have spoken about and … Continue reading M0VKR’s Lewesdon Hill SOTA activation with the Elecraft KH1 →

by Matt (W6CSN) Bletchley Park Most readers of this blog are probably familiar with Bletchley Park and the significance of this place in breaking the codes used by the axis military forces during the second world war. The electromechanical systems developed and used here to aid the codebreakers in their daily work led directly to the electronic digital computers … Continue reading UK POTA Rain and Shine →

On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, I needed to make a morning trip to Hickory, NC, to take care of some family business and visit my father. I started my day early because I also wanted to be back in the Asheville area by noon. Some quick calculations over morning coffee and I decided I had … Continue reading Xiegu X6200 SSB Field Test: A Morning POTA Activation at Lake James →

Many thanks to Steve (MW0SAW) who shares the following guest post: Getting a KH1 into Wales and activating a couple of SOTA summits by Steve (MW0SAW) I suspect like many QRP enthusiasts, when the brochure of the KH1 surfaced on the Elecraft FTP site, and the YouTube videos appeared, I worked myself into a frenzy … Continue reading From Customs to Summits: Steve’s KH1 journey into Wales and onto summits! →

Many thanks to Joe (N0LSD) who shares the following guest post: Independence River Wilderness – Adirondacks, NY by Joe (N0LSD) A recent family engagement offered me the perfect opportunity to travel to a part of my state I rarely get the chance to visit. This trip would be a single over-nighter, but allow for the … Continue reading Joe’s Adirondack Adventure: POTA activations in the Independence River Wilderness →

On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, I took my production run Xiegu X6200 (on loan from Radioddity) to the Blue Ridge Parkway for its first POTA activation. The activation was a success, with good band conditions on 40 and 30 meters. You can read that field report by clicking here. Later that day, I had a … Continue reading Xiegu X6200: Second POTA activation with rough propagation, but CW saves the day! →

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